Thursday, October 23, 2008

We predict a lot of things in America: sporting events, weather, and political polls among others. Well, I have some predictions on what will happen if Obama gets elected president.

Inflation above 10%
Obama's tax plans are to supposedly 'reduce the taxes' on '95% of Americans'. However, what is going to happen is a shift in the tax burden from the more obvious income tax to a hidden tax behind every single good and service we pay for in this country. Unlike the FairTax, though, which eliminates all taxes except for an obvious, above-board sales tax, Obama's plan will be hidden and only seen in one statistic - inflation. See, corporations do not actually pay any tax they are assessed. It looks like it, but in actuality, they pass those taxes off to the consumer in higher prices. Obama's doubling of the tax on corporations will just double that portion of a product you purchase. Add to that my next prediction, which will increase the salary-based portion of a product's price, and you can see how inflation is going to end up being worse than under Carter.

Minimum wage will be raised
The minimum wage was originally intended to make sure people were not being forced to work at substandard conditions. Now, it is a hidden welfare program...for labor unions. Why is that? Well, union wages are tied to the minimum wage. As the minimum wage goes up, so does the amount paid to union workers, and it is normally not a 1 to 1 basis. An increase in the minimum wage ends up increasing salaries across the board, thus causing inflation mentioned above.

Unemployment will rise
Companies will have a choice, raise prices due to the policies above, or else move overseas. The only other alternative is cutting workforce, a move already happening in the tech industry. Either way (leaving the country, or cutting jobs), unemployment will rise and continue to rise.

Universal health care will cause our standard of medical care to fall
It's nice to have health insurance coverage, and having health care affordable to those who can't afford it is a good thing. Unfortunately, in the attempts to be beneficial, the government is sticking its nose in where it shouldn't. The result is going to be long waiting periods, fewer doctors, and no money allocated for research into areas of medicine we need to explore. With universal health care, though, comes universal price controls on health care services. Price controls always lead to shortages, as those providing the service lose money. Many doctors currently practicing will retire instead of dealing with the paperwork and garbage generated by the government red tape. The end result? Don't get sick.

Interest rates will rise
Once Ben Bernake is replaced by Obama, the old school economists which have been proven wrong again and again will be back in control. Can you say, Robert Reich, Fed chairman? Since inflation will be rising as above, the reaction from old school economists is to raise interest rates to try and stop inflation. Raising interest rates tightens the money supply. Now, if you have actually been listening to those in favor of the monetary bailout program for financial institutions, the reason that it had to be done is to 'loosen' the money supply for loans...not tighten it.

The combination of above, plus the tightening of money supply will lead to a depression as bad, if not worse, than the Great Depression.

Here are some minor things you will see:

Troops will be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan, only to be forced into Sudan, creating a greater crisis as China moves to oppose us.
Welcome to the new Cold War, with China replacing Russia as our opponent. See, Obama will move to protect Africa while ditching the Middle East. Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, where we had to remove the governments first before we could fix things, Obama will try not to do that with Sudan. This will create a major incident for Obama. If he tries to remove the government, though, it could end up a bigger mess. Sudan is a no-win situation in any event, unlike Iraq and Afghanistan where some success could be quantified.

Iran will either get a nuke, or Israel will act to stop them.
This is, I believe, what Biden was referring to. And I think Biden showed his hand in saying Obama will chastise Israel, instead of Iran, if Israel moves.

Global 'climate change' advocates will get Kyoto passed
Even though many scientists believe we are going into a cooling period, the global warming crowd will get their dream treaty of Kyoto signed by an Obama administration. The restrictions in that treaty will cause even more costs to be passed onto the American people, despite claims of taxing 'Big Oil'. See my inflation statement above. Just what we need is more pressure in that direction.

CSPI will attempt a class action lawsuit against fast food restaurants
Local attempts at these lawsuits have been stymied. With Obama in charge, though, I expect to see a large national suit similiar to the tobacco suit which has done so much to curb smoking...not.

Smoking will be prohibited in cars, and in homes with children
This is where the smoking nannies are headed. It is all 'for the children', you know.

RIAA and MPAA will step up lawsuits against citizens for minor infractions
Folks, there is no coincidence that almost every performer, entertainer, and executive in the music and film industries are backing Obama. It is not because of policies, but it all comes down to money, and you are going to end up paying for it.

Attempted implementation of the Fairness Doctrine
The liberals like this 'fairness' garbage too much, and think they can blunt the Republicans by trying to bring back this old version of censorship. First, I think there already are contingency plans against this sort of thing by radio. Second, I think there are plans to make sure television stations and newspapers fall into it this time. This is going to backfire big on the Obama backers, as they lose the anti-Bush libertarians.

Abortion on demand
No restrictions on abortion will be passed, and many current restrictions will be repealed.

Internet purchases will be taxed
Democratic governors are pushing this issue, and have for a number of years. A combination of Republicans and Democrats in Congress have prevented this from happening. However, the biggest advocate of taxing the Internet is none other than Nancy Pelosi. With the votes she can muster on her side, I predict sales tax will be implemented for sites such as Amazon and eBay.

Slavery reparations
The Civil War has been over for 140+ years. No one is alive today who was a slave. My family moved to this country just after the Civil War in one case (dad side), and after the turn of the century on the other. My family never owned slaves in its entire existence, so why am I the one blamed for slavery and why do I have to pay out of my pocket for it? Yet, Obama's cronies will push for compensation for slavery years after the fact. Let us get this straight: the Asian-Americans interned in World War II deserved reparations. I believe American Indians deserve just compensation for the land which was stolen from them (but not return of that land). But slaves were not only given freedom, but they were allowed to take over plantations that were surrendered.

I, among other conservatives and libertarians, will be labeled as a racist.
I'm really expecting this to happen no matter the outcome, but the amount of intimidation used against those speaking out against Obama and his policies will only grow worse until someone cracks. When that happens, things are going to get really ugly. In the interim, expect to see a resurgence of the KKK or other like-minded groups. The more people are called racist, the more apt they are to start acting that way. It is negative reinforcement, but Obama's policies that will hurt inner city people far more than they expect have to have a scapegoat in order to protect Obama. Will it get as bad as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe? If it does, this county will be headed towards a second Civil War. I hate to be a pessimist on this, but I can see it happening.

For the record, I am NOT a racist. I wanted JC Watts to run for President. I would have voted for Condi Rice. I get along will with all of my multicultural co-workers. My dad's entire construction crew was either black or hispanic, or a combination thereof and I worked a season with those guys. But I will still be labeled one because I will never kowtow to any Marxist, no matter their skin color.

There are many more things that will happen, all of which will restrict our freedom and our pocketbooks in the next four years. Of course, we'll be told things are just fine, etc. by the press in order to placate Obama's goons.