BBC: Obama shackled by debt

BBC ^ | Nov 5, 2008, 11:04 AM | Robert Peston

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Barack Obama's economic and business policies are, on paper, more conventionally left wing than those of Gordon Brown.

They include:

a) a windfall tax on the "excess" profits of oil companies;

b) a redistributive tax cut for those on middle and low incomes, funded by a claw back of tax cuts received by the wealthiest 2% during President Bush's two terms;

c) serious public spending on roads, bridges, transport and infrastructure;

d) subventions for renewable energy and for the development of green technologies, especially in the automotive industry;

e) tax penalties on US companies that relocate jobs overseas and tax breaks for companies that create jobs in America;

f) greater rights for trade unions to recruit;

g) curbs on what credit-card companies can charge and increased rights for homeowners struggling to pay their debts.

In theory, it represents a significant shift of money and power from private sector to public sector and from the super-rich to those on middle and low incomes.

In a UK context, Obama's decisive victory may provide cover for a leftward move by the Labour government, to the delight of many Labour MPs and the anxiety of many in the City and in business.

But I couch all this in hypothetical terms.

Because Obama may turn out to be less red in the practice of his presidency than his words and aspirations would imply.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Awwwwwwww. Maybe he could’ve used all that nice campaign money he just wasted as an utter ‘rock concert’ for ‘american idol’.

[Callahan]

Here’s to hoping Obama follows through on his socialist fever dreams and scares America back to actual American policies.

[A_Tradition_Continues]

How long will it be before the word “shackles” will be forbidden around the half black man?

[elhombrelibre]

Thanks for the ping. I believe his supporters are going to be greatly disappointed because they’ve naively accept all of his empty promises that lacked any explanations of how he do it and even what it was he’d try to do.

[buckeye27]

assuming, America gets scared....

I used to believe that America would reject this notion based just on the suggestion of it. I lost that belief last night.

[green iguana]

Some of the comments to that article are hilarious. Example - doofus Tigerjayj says:

“Mr Obama is the most humble politician I have seen in my lifetime.”

What planet is this guy from?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

He is definitely a Kool Aid drinker.

[buffyt]

My husband has been a chemical engineer with Dow Chemical Co for THIRTY FIVE YEARS and they do not send jobs overseas. We are a GLOBAL COMPANY. We have offices and factories/chemical plants all over the world. We do not RELOCATE jobs overseas. We may send some Dow people for temporary relocation, but we do not SEND JOBS overseas. Plus we are just as likely to BRING Dow people TO the USA as to send them to other countries.

e) tax penalties on US companies that relocate jobs overseas and tax breaks for companies that create jobs in America;