All of us are aware that the economy is currently in turmoil – the deficits in budget are on an ever-spiraling growth curve, mortgage payment defaults are continuously on the rise, spending power has drastically decreased!
Experts say that all these financial implications and economic issues have contributed towards the precipitation of results in the recent presidential election.
Now that the elections are over, are the financial burdens going to be removed pretty soon?
Mr. Obama is now faced with numerous issues, all of which threaten further weakening of the economy.
Would he be able to address all of them at the right time?
What are the priorities?
Let’s take a close look at various issues that we are all faced with now, directly or indirectly.
We have witnessed the continuous dip in housing and unemployment is projected to further increase by over 8 percent.
Due to this, majority of the consumers are already putting their wallets aside – just consider what happened in your thought process when you were at the supermarket recently.
The government has already announced assistance to the tune of about $1 trillion to the banking and housing industries, would it really address all issues and solve the problems for ever?
I don’t think so, because filling in the deficit by allotting a separate budget for it wouldn’t solve the problem permanently, it is only a ‘firefighting’ exercise.
The deficit would once again crop up, and widen, would we again be able to plug it with more finances? And moreover, will we be able to continue doing so decade after decade of economic failures?
Where does the government get the finances to plug in the budget deficits? Obviously, we will have to borrow from some other source or agency – these debts would continue piling up and there will come a time when the economy can no longer move forward and would spiral down to a pathetic collapse!
We have seen Mr. Obama repeatedly promoting the tax package during his campaign – it is also implied quite clearly that there is something more important to act upon, than the tax package – the Economic Stimulus Package.
In case Mr. Obama lets his inclination towards a special session be known, then the Congress might act on the stimulus this month itself. It is expected that after taking office, Obama might ask for an additional economic lift.
All those Economic Stimulus Payment (ESP) checks mailed across to millions of people in the US have helped lift spending a bit, but is it going to be possible to keep doing so year after year?
Most Republicans have been asking for a reduction in the tax rate, rather than the ESPs which ultimately are resulting in an increase in public spending.
Another way of doing it could possibly be to dispatch the Stimulus payment checks before the tax returns are filed, so that the benefit is clearly experienced to offset the tax burden even on individual tax payers.
One important aspect we need to pay attention to is that Mr. Obama said that he would increase the taxes on capital gains and dividends, while also increasing taxes on the affluent and giving tax breaks to others.
As we know there are a lot of loopholes in connection with the taxes on the corporate sector, they also need to be addressed.
Likewise, with respect to the huge mortgage defaults, there obviously is a need for direct mortgage relief, but is it practically feasible?
The bail out policy for the banking and financial sector along with this direct mortgage relief would be too heavy a burden on the exchequer.
Foreclosures might suddenly see a rise, and Mr. Obama needs to take appropriate precautions to address the issue before it looms large and turns out to be another destabilizing factor for the economy.
Till now bankruptcy judges are not empowered to reduce the balances on mortgages and can only change loans backed by commercial property or second homes.
Most of the democrats have always been inclined to empower the bankruptcy judges to ease the terms of home loans on primary residences as well and Mr. Obama also wants to do the same.
The expectation is that with this policy, many would be able to retain their homes, which would in turn decrease the housing crisis.
The $700 billion financial rescue package is supported by Mr. Obama as well, and he has also endorsed the decision to redirect $250 billion of that money for recapitalizing the nation’s banks.
So, what about the remaining $450 billion, you might ask.
It has not yet been clarified as to how this amount shall be allotted and for what purpose.
It is also not yet clear whether Mr. Obama intends to acquire any loans or securities.
Mr. Obama has also spoken about the reorganization of the financial regulatory system, but specifics as to the actual departments that might be eliminated or merged are not yet known.
Another welcome change is the decision to impose stronger liquidity, capital and disclosure requirements on financial institutions, and increase penalties for market manipulation and predatory lending.
It is also said that a new financial-market oversight commission shall be created to review conditions regularly and advise the president and Congress about potential risks.
Coming to automotives – all the big brands in the industry are expected to announce more losses in the current and the next quarter if the government doesn’t come to the rescue.
More assistance and aid is expected for environment-friendly cars.
Talks have been around regarding the proposed merger of GM and Chrysler, and when the merger actually happens, it is going to result in thousands of employees in the companies losing their jobs.
This deal could pose a serious threat to the aid proposed by the government and the new administration.
Though Mr. Obama is expected to do away with a few health care initiatives proposed and put in place by the previous administration, major changes in the sector are not really to be expected.
This is for the simple reason that there are more pressing issues to be attended to, keeping in view the weakening economy.
Another change expected is that the president-elect and the Democratic Congress also are likely to give Medicare the power to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies.
More children being covered under the government subsidized State Children’s Health Insurance Program, monitoring and controlling the costs towards healthcare could be the other steps Congress is expected to take.
As technology directly impacts the growth of an economy, the new president could put in place better policies to further encourage high-speed internet and wi-fi – wireless internet technology, which would facilitate a rapid growth in e-commerce, online advertising and other Web-centric business models.
Other areas related to technology like the ever continuing debate of on-par treatment and policies for internet content providers compared to telecom companies could also be on top of the list of the to-do things of Mr. Obama.
Developing alternate sources of fuel, measures for conservation of energy, practical strategies to address the increasing global warming scenario through use of environment friendly energy forms, also need to be part of the immediate issues to be addressed.
Finally, though Mr. Obama’s discussions during the campaign indicate that he understands the importance of global trade, it is still not clear whether he will follow-up with a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
All said and done, we have made our choice – let us now hope for the best.
Corney Vanhelden
http://www.articlesbase.com/taxes-articles/the-aftermath-of-the-presidential-elections-640013.html
Obama Free Health Care is not something that is available to everyone, and in fact very few are eligible for. Some United States citizens and lawful immigrants may be entitled to free health insurance, but only under certain circumstances. A few of the requirements that may allow you to get health insurance at no cost include: