So where is the new Obama administration likely to take us? Seven things seem certain:
The U.S. military will withdraw from Iraq quickly and substantially, regardless of conditions on the ground or the obvious consequence of emboldening terrorists there and around the globe.
Protectionism will become our national trade policy; free trade agreements with other nations will be reduced and limited.
Income taxes will rise on middle- and upper-income people and businesses, and individuals will pay much higher Social Security taxes, all to carry out the new president's goals of "spreading the wealth around."
Federal government spending will substantially increase. The new Obama proposals come to more than $300 billion annually, for education, health care, energy, environmental and many other programs, in addition to whatever is needed to meet our economic challenges. Mr. Obama proposes more than a 10% annual spending growth increase, considerably higher than under the first President Bush (6.7%), Bill Clinton (3.3%) or George W. Bush (6.4%).
Federal regulation of the economy will expand, on everything from financial management companies to electricity generation and personal energy use.
The power of labor unions will substantially increase, beginning with repeal of secret ballot voting to decide on union representation.
Free speech will be curtailed through the reimposition of the Fairness Doctrine to limit the conservative talk radio that so irritates the liberal establishment.
These policy changes will be the beginning of the Europeanization of America. There will be many more public policy changes with similar goals—nationalized health care, Kyoto-like global-warming policies, and increased education regulation and spending.
More important, all but the clean car credit would be "refundable," meaning people will get a check for them if they owe no taxes, which is simply a transfer of income from the government to individuals. In reality this is the beginning of a new series of entitlements for middle-class families, the longer-term effect of which will be to make those families more dependant on (and so more supportive of) larger government. The Tax Policy Center estimates that these refundable tax credits would cost the government $648 billion over 10 years.
Needless to say, in my opinion, each of those 7 things are bad, and will substantially degrade the relative freedoms in our society. Where are the Clinton Democrats and the DLC; have they all been run over by the progressives? Where are the free traders in the Democratic Party. For a party that at one time bemoaned how much Bush wasted the success of the Clinton years, they sure don't seem to want to repeat the success from the Clinton years either. How increasing taxes, throwing up trade barriers, increasing the power of unions, and increasing regulation is expected to breed success is beyond me; it's a recipe for doing nothing, but enjoying your government hand-out.
As Jonah Goldberg noted today, Obama is not simply rehashing the failed policies of FDR, but is also harkening back many of Woodrow Wilson's failures.
Blowing away the dust and cobwebs from ancient wares doesn't make them new. Save for his skin color, Obama doesn't represent anything novel. Rather, he symbolizes a return to an older vision of the United States that was seen as the "wave of the future" eight decades ago.
It sure seems like we've progressed since then; it's that progress that so-called progressives want to stop. Change we can believe in?? -for the sake of this country, I certainly hope not.
4 comments:
A question:
Who are you voting for? Who do you support? Do you like McCain? You seem to be really into trashing Obama at every opportunity, but I don't see you ADVOCATING anything.
How do YOU think we should fix the economy? How to YOU think we should handle Iraq? Are you on board with McCain, or just trashing Obama because you need an outlet for your inner bitterness?
What I'm advocating for? You see that list of things that dupont says will occur with Obama as president (coupled with a democratic congress)? well, i support just the opposite. I am advocating for free trade, I am advocating for lower taxes, I am advocating for less government spending, I am advocating for less government regulation (well, smarter regulation at least), I advocating for less bowing at the knee of unions, and I am advocating for free speech.
Of course I am bitter, I'm bitter because, despite a wealth of historical knowledge, what Obama is proposing for the economy is a recipe for further disaster, yet, there he is, still atop the polls. I'm bitter that McCain has let Dear Leader get the best of him on the economy when it's provable that what Obama pins the blame on (deregulation) is not the cause of our current economic mess. I'm bitter that the american public can fall in love with a voice, a voice that doesn't care what it says, only to get itself elected. That's why I'm bitter- I'm bitter that the most unqualified and inexperienced candidate for president this country has seen for some time is on the verge of winning.
Btw, I was hoping to use some of this for my post about my vote, but nooooo. . .you just couldn't wait.
So, the question remains - are you pro-McCain, or just anti-Obama?
He's just anti Obama. Really, really, really anti Obama...like thinks he's the anti-Christ, like what D's thought of W when he was re-elected in '04. If he had his way, Guiliani would be the R candidate this year.
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