Politics. Yep, the election is worrying me. Reports of issues at the polls are always troubling, but more so today. Why? What am I afraid of?
I'm afraid of 2000. More specifically, a "tied" election that goes on for weeks or months until a legal process decides the election. You may not remember, but back when Bush took the election from Gore the market was horrible until the December 13th official conceding by Gore. Markets and business activity abhor uncertainty. How can one invest, when the policies likely to come are completely unknown. If you run a huge company, how do you run your business not knowing if your taxes are lower or higher next year? Do you take advantage of laws today or wait to see what comes?
Imagine if that uncertainty overlapped with today's financial crisis? So I worry about not only a rudderless ship, but a rudderless ship in a hurricane. The financial condition of the world is still highly unstable and uncertain. I doubt it would handle a non-election without sliding significantly and making the hole deeper.
Not that this is likely. Indeed the polls and election math make it very, very unlikely. Nonetheless, the scenario can't be ruled out, so that's on my mind today. Happy voting!
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Looks like I didn't need to worry about this afterall. Whew.
ReplyDeleteThank jeebus it was decisive. I don't think I could have withstood a repeat of 2000.
ReplyDeleteAny chance you'll be doing a summary of the Pres-Elect's economic plan? My over the top uncle was assuring me we are returning to the days of Carter while I rolled my eyes, but I really don't know much about how similar Obama's proposals are to that era.
I don't plan a specific summary of Obama's plan, primarily because it will probably change dramatically before Congress even takes it up and more when they actually debate it. I intend to take certian proposals if they make the news and are worthy of analysis. I also hope to address how commentators frame the discussion, because you are sure to get a biased view from the media on each side. As for Carter, I just posted a bit on it in the biased reporting article- in short, this is MUCH different than the 70s.
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