The Economy, the Election, and What it means for Us

Continued from yesterday...

So what does the upcoming election mean for us as Americans? I personally don't think it really means all that much. I know that people get passionate about their favorite candidate, and sometimes are very vocal, but I don't feel that either of the major party candidates will be a good choice.

We have allowed our leaders to destroy the Democratic process by our apathy. We just don't care what they do in Washington as long as they give us money every now and then and stay out of our way. We do not care that they are bought and paid for by lobbyists and special interests groups. On a local level, we do not care that lucrative state and county contracts go to good friends and relatives instead of the lowest bidder or the most qualified. We do not question where the campaign funds come from. We just don't care. And as a result, the only people who want to become politicians are those who are in the business for personal gain, not for the want to do good.

What it all boils down to is that politicians, as a species, are not politicians so that they can help the people. And that being the case, one is just as good as the other. Either way, the American people lose.

The US economy is in such bad shape from lack of oversite, that there will not be a good or easy way out. The economy will collapse. How far, and for how long, is really the only question. Home prices have been way, way over-valued for the last 10-15 years so the local governments could collect higher property taxes. Gasoline has been over-taxed so the DOT could collect more money to pay civil engineers to design new bridges and roads that we have nowhere to put. Income taxes have been raised time and again to pay for social programs that encourage people to not work and have more babies instead of training them for good paying jobs. The Social Security Program has been tapped into for decades to fund congressional pet projects instead of being used to keep healthcare costs for senior to a manageable level. Farmers are being paid to NOT grow certain crops to keep the prices artificially high instead of letting the market take care of itself. Factory farms are pushing traditional farmers out of the business through over regulation and higher production costs.

Every dollar you earn is taxed a minimum of 4 times. Yet we are going to pay $700 BILLION to bank CEOs for driving their businesses into the ground. Where is that money going to come from? You guessed it, higher taxes...again.

Higher taxes mean fewer jobs. Fewer jobs means higher unemployment. Higher unemployment means more people default on their loans and credit cards. More defaults means more banks will fail. See a cycle here?

My guess is that it will be a very lean Christmas season for retail sales. And come January, credit card companies will start failing. That will mean all the people who live on their credit cards will no longer have access to credit. It is very possible that the card companies will demand payment in full. That would mean that every card that you have a $2000-$10,000 balance on will say, "Pay it off now or we will sue." Blood from a turnip I know, but if they get a judgment against you in court, they can seize your assets to settle the debt. Like your house, your kid's college fund, your IRA. See the picture? And the government will be on their side because they do not want the banks and card companies to fail.

Your best bet is to do what every you have to do to pay those suckers off and never look at a credit card again. Pay cash. Or use a debit card. Or better yet, do without it if you can.

The Economy, the Election, and What it means for Us

It sort of concerns me the amount of unrest this election is causing. Between the economic panic and worry over who will be our next president, people are starting to get worried about the future.

I personally do now see how a President can really have any effect on the daily lives of US citizens. Sure, he will have policies for everything, but without Congress, he is just so much carbon and water sitting in a slightly round room. Now if Congress was on the same side as the President, then there will be a huge amount of crap going on in DC. Everybody and their brother will have their hands in the taxpayer till, picking out change for every little pet project that comes along. And that is always a good thing, right? (see the sub-prime housing market)

If McCain is elected, he will have a hostile Congress to deal with, so nothing will be accomplished. He will be called every name in the book and the Democrats will eat his guts for lunch on a daily basis.

If Obama is elected, then the liberal right-wingers will have parties in the streets. Social programs that we can't pay for will abound, and businesses will stagnate and fail. Taxes to pay for all of the new programs will put us even farther in debt to foreign countries, our military will be cut to the point where we can no longer protect ourselves, and our status as a world leader will be over.

Nations all over the world are endorsing Obama for President, and I have to ask why? Why do they care who our president is? Why would Hugo Chavez, who hates the US with a burning passion, want Obama to be our President? Why would the religious leaders in the Middle East, who have declaird jihad on us, want Obama to be our President? What difference does it make to the Mayor of London who our President is? What do they have to gain by it? And why do we care?

All of this really just boils down to a couple of things. Most of the countries of the world want to see us fall. Some hate us for our crass commericalism, some for our arrogance, and others are just jealous of our freedoms. While we take for granted that we can buy just about anything we want at any time, and usually do, others have to do without even basics like food and water.

I cannot see the future, but I can imagine if the US falls to socialism, there will be a fundemental breakdown of society. Riots, worthless currency, martial law, and world-wide chaos. Granted, that is a worst case scenario, but I can see it happening.

And the US as a whole is simply not prepared for it. It would come as a shock to the majority of US citizens who live in their I-Pod world. People do not even know how to cook anymore, much less raise food crops or build a shelter. What will they do when their credit cards don't work any more?

At least me and my family are getting ready for it.