Crush Liberalism

Obama depressing the markets?

I can’t blame The One for the Fannie/Freddie mess that is crippling the economy, beyond his unwillingness to confront the issue head-on two years ago (like McCain did).  After all, he wasn’t the only gutless politician with special interest ties to Fannie/Freddie…he was only the second biggest recipient of their largesse.

However, indications are that the socialist-in-waiting is bringing down the markets even more so.  Charles Gasparino sees it:

Barack Obama has re mained cool and confident amid the financial melt down, even as John McCain at times has been embarrassing, lurching from one proposal to the next. But while the polls are reflecting Obama’s steady hand, the markets haven’t. In fact, they’re getting worse by the day as Obama’s lead widens.

Most investors know the devil is in the details – and the details of Obama’s economic plans are anything but reassuring.
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It could be a lot lower – it all depends on the policies of the next president.

And, as it looks increasingly likely that Obama will be that man, the markets are casting a vote of “no confidence.”
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Recently, Obama said he wants to expedite loans to small businesses, so he seems to have a clue that they produce much of the country’s job growth. Yet his income-tax hike on upper brackets will hit vast numbers of small businesses – they’d face the highest rates they’ve seen in decades.

Overall, his plan includes some of the most lethal tax increases imaginable, including a jump in the capital-gains rate. He’d expand government spending massively, with everything from new public-works projects to increases in foreign aid to a surge in Afghanistan – plus hand out a token $500 welfare check that he calls a tax cut to everyone else.

This is clearly the wrong way to go in the wake of an economic meltdown – yet Obama, for all his talk of how willing he is to compromise, of how he’d bring people together, is sticking to his tax guns.

I know at least one top Wall Street executive, an Obama supporter from the start of his campaign, who has recently urged Obama to rethink his tax plan – and that was before last week’s record losses on the Dow.
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And if he governs like a liberal ideologue – with a belief that the government that works best is the one that’s biggest and raises taxes the most – he won’t even have to work hard to get his way. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid won’t stop him – the Democratic majorities in Congress are only likely to grow.

And the markets know this – even if pundits (even many of the financial ones) refuse to face it. …

As does James Pethokoukis:

Are investor concerns about an Obama presidency influencing the stock market? And by “concerns” I mean “existential panic.” And by “Obama presidency” I mean “a tax-hiking and regulatory reign of terror.” And by “influencing” I mean “eviscerating.” …

Pethokoukis gives his top five indications that the markets fear Uhhhh-bama. As well they should fear him.

The American people are so frightened right now in these turbulent times (understandably so)that they are willing to elect a leftist empty-suited wimp to run the country, just for “change” sake.  They need to be careful what they wish for, because the economic devastation that will result from capital flight from the markets will exacerbate an already limping economy.

October 24, 2008 Posted by crushliberalism | economic ignorance, Obama, socialism, taxes | 3 Comments