The election is behind us,
with President Obama's strong victory over Mitt Romney. Mr. Obama did not do as
well this time, winning by 3.3 million votes compared with 9.5 million in 2008.
But he overcame a weak economy and some unpopular policies to win a second
term, and that is no small feat.
Still, one could argue his
greatest challenge is in front of him, because America's economy continues to
do very poorly. Employment levels are still 3% lower than before the recession
that began almost five years ago, meaning our so-called recovery of the last
few years is far below other recoveries dating back through the 1950s.
People of all income levels
feel the impact of economic weakness. The number of people receiving food
stamps has increased by 15 million, or almost 50%, in the past four years. The
number of taxpayers earning $1 million or more per year was just below 400,000
in 2007 (having risen quite a bit from 170,000 in 2002), but it has plummeted
and was only around 268,000 in 2010.
Things may get worse before
they get better. Just a few days ago, the Congressional Budget Office predicted
that the "fiscal cliff" we face in January, if the president and
Congress don't do something very soon, would push us back into recession and
raise the unemployment rate above 9% by the end of next year.
There is much to be done in
Washington. The White House and Congress must look beyond the immediate fiscal
cliff and focus on economic growth for the longer term. One place to start is
with corporate tax rates, an area where Mr. Obama has indicated shown some
willingness to compromise with House Republicans. The U.S. has the highest corporate
tax rate in the developed world, around 14 percentage points above the average
rate among major advanced economies. This is a limiting factor in job creation.
In addition to tax reform, there must be spending control and some reduction in
the massive levels of regulation we have seen in the last few years.
Unfortunately, what we may see
over the next four years is the opposite, the continuing Europeanization of
America, putting the government in charge of all that we do—from stricter
management of the economy and family and health decisions, to higher taxes and
higher government spending. If nothing is done soon, the higher taxes will take
effect in weeks. First, the end of the Bush tax cuts comes on Jan. 1, resulting
in higher taxes on almost everyone. Second, because of ObamaCare, taxpayers
making more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples) will pay an additional
3.8% on investment income, not a good move for job creation. And we see no
inclination on the part of the White House to reduce federal spending or lessen
the regulatory burden on our nation; in fact, we see just the opposite.
***
What happened in the recent
election? Certainly some of the results were as expected. White men voted for
Mr. Romney 62% to 35%, and white women voted 56% to 42%. Blacks suppported Mr.
Obama 93% to 6%, and Latinos 71% to 27%. Voters earning less than $50,000 a
year voted for Mr. Obama 60% to 38% while those with higher incomes voted for
Romney 53% to 45%.
Democrats voted for Obama 92%
to 7% and Republicans for Romney 93% to 6%. Mr. Romney, unlike John McCain, won
with independents. But that was not enough to win in 2012 because the Democrats
did a better job getting their vote out.
State ballot issues can also
tell us a good bit about our nation. In California, Gov. Jerry Brown's Prop 30,
a $6 billion tax increase, won with 54% of the vote. In Florida, voters
rejected a ballot item that would have limited spending increases to the rates
of inflation plus population growth. Both were victories for public-sector unions
and others who favor larger state government.
For the first time, advocates
for same-sex marriage won at the ballot box. Maryland, Maine and Washington
state all legalized it by referendum or initiative, and Minnesota voters
rejected an amendment that would have written the traditional definition of
marriage into the state constitution. That brings the number of states where
gay couples can marry to nine. And, there was a big pot vote in some states.
Measures allowing recreational pot use passed in Colorado and Washington state
but failed in Oregon.
***
Looking back on America's
experience after World War II, the results of the recent election, and the
challenges faced in Washington, it is obvious our country has become more
liberal. Yes, we had Ronald Reagan, but we also had Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter. And now, we have Mr. Obama, the most
liberal of them all, elected to a second term. The truth is that the American
ship is headed across the ocean toward Europe, aiming to become more like
France, Italy and Greece.
Those who worry about the
Europeanization of America, and the related economic and social decline are
right to be unsettled. Republicans and conservatives must spend some time
learning lessons from the election and then do all they can to slow the ship,
stop it, and change its course, or soon enough we will look like those
countries do today.
No comments:
Post a Comment