Presidential Election--Part 2

Having said that little will change under an Obama presidency, let me add that there are indeed some substantive changes that will likely take place.

First, America has an opportunity to get a fresh face in the eyes of other nations. President Bush has succeeded in alienating nearly every other nation on the planet by his "bully pulpit" policies. Obama will be seen as a new opportunity to put away the club and rebuild some relationships with other nations. It is not likely that those other leaders will hold him accountable for the policies of his predecessor.

On the home front, Obama's election is truly historic for virtually all black people who have felt disenfranchised from the political process. From their viewpoint, it will give them tremendous interest and hope in the political process. And its impact upon the rest of the world cannot be underestimated, because it will greatly reinforce the perception of America being a land of opportunity--not only economic but also political. This will generate a great deal of good will among the other nations.

And since a great deal is being said about "security," let me say that this good will could easily make it much safer for Americans to travel abroad. Whether we like it or not, the reality is that the world sees all Americans as represented by their presidents--for better or for worse. After all, our presidents usually are elected by the majority of the people. No one thinks of the possibility that close to half the people might actually disagree with the same unpopular policies that are cause for concern among foreigners.

This could impact me as well, since I have plans to do a lot of foreign travel in the future. In fact, I have invitations from Kenya, where Obama's relatives live. Kenya has declared Thursday to be a national holiday in honor of Obama. If I were to go to Kenya today, I would be welcomed in a much greater way than if I had gone last week. Of course, this could all turn sour if President Obama decides that America has to stay in Iraq.

Second, insofar as domestic policy is concerned, we can now expect to see a major push to make homosexual "marriage" and adoptions legal, in spite of the fact that some states have now adopted constitutional amendments banning such practices. We can also assume that abortion "rights" will become more firmly established during his tenure, especially since the Democratic Party itself has gained a great deal of control in both houses of Congress. Likewise, Obama will probably appoint some Supreme Court judges, and their views on abortion will once again be paramount, as they were with the Bush presidency.

It is too bad that President Bush and the Republican Party value war so highly. This has destroyed the power base of the anti-abortion movement, at least for the foreseeable future. Non-Christians will be more hesitant to vote for a "Christian" next time around, for fear of generating more support for unpopular foreign wars.

Third, insofar as tax policy is concerned, Obama will push to reinstate the tax policy of President Clinton, which raises taxes on corporations. This may raise some money in the short term, but it will also drive more companies overseas where the tax policies are more favorable.

I have already received a letter from one corporation president saying that if Obama is elected, they will move their headquarters to Germany, where the tax rate is a flat 19%. Obama said in his campaign speeches that he believes that corporations should not get tax breaks for outsourcing jobs to other countries. That sounds good, but it is unworkable unless he is able to stop the "free trade" policy or prevent corporations from moving overseas.

The same situation exists from state to state and even from city to city. Cities try to woo corporations by giving them tax incentives. This means that cities and states today compete for "jobs" by means of their tax policies. On an international scale, nations themselves compete with each other to get corporations to move to their location and provide "jobs" for the people.

This simply means that unless Obama is willing to stop "free trade," raising the tax rate on corporations will only drive more jobs overseas where the taxes are lower and the labor cheaper.

The bottom line is that Obama's openly-stated tax policy is not going to bring back the prosperity and surpluses of the Clinton era. If anything, it will speed up our export of jobs overseas. Those corporations that remain in America are already losing money in a big way. They will simply look for more tax havens to save money and survive the gloomy economic forecast. For every tax hike there is a tax haven somewhere to counter it.

But as I said earlier, the true underlying problem is the Fed itself and the fact that Congress gave away its Constitutional right to create money in 1913-1914. real money was replaced by debt notes printed up by the Fed. America was declared bankrupt in 1933 and moved into receivership to Mystery Babylon. This problem will continue until someone puts their finger on the root problem. But neither Obama nor McCain would do anything about it, so it was not even an issue in yesterday's election.

Not that I blame them, of course. To raise the issue of the Fed would be like Charley Brown's campaign speech for Linus, where he felt it was his duty to inform people of "the great pumpkin." It's the sure path toward losing an election, as Congressman Ron Paul can tell you.

The Babylonian Titanic has already hit the iceberg and is going down. We may elect a new captain who has new ideas about where the furniture should go on the deck of the ship. He may adopt new policies about gay marriage or new prices at the cantina. But the ship is still going down, and the real issue is to find a life boat or construct one for yourself. All of the surface issues will eventually prove to be quite irrelevant.