Thursday, November 6, 2008

Today's Convulsing Stock Market

WHERE LAISSEZ FAIRE GOES TO DIE

There's no doubt in my mind that these past two days--and actually on numbers of them leading up to the election---the stock market continues to convulse over an Obama administration and its potential to wreck the economy almost beyond repair. The possibilities of making our economic woes more prolonged and deeper are real indeed.

The irony is the the American people elected Obama on the mistaken and flawed belief that he can make it all better with a few magic waves of his neophyte wand. (The idea of bringing in billionaire Warren Buffet comes to mind.)

Nothing is further from the truth. His tendency will be to make government over-regulate, over-correct our problems. This will make them last longer. It's a hard temptation for his self-importance to resist. And how might Mr. Obama and company (Pelosi, Reid et al) specifically make it worse? There are many ways. But for starters:

1) Big Labor, you know the anachronism that's been in decline for decades now and now wants to reassert itself back into political relevance. It sees a last chance with this new group of 'business and cultural engineers' now coming into power. Make no mistake, labor unions are no longer about taking care of individual workers in harsh working conditions. Rather Big Labor is really about raw, naked power---power that's actually in great decline. BL is desperate to get back in the game as the auto industry goes under and in doing so will run more jobs and businesses out of the country and off the map. Getting into businesses and then loading them up with unreasonable demands will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Think outsourcing is a problem now? We ain't seen nothing yet. Jobs and businesses will fly out of the country like bees out of a smoking hive. Obama will then attempt to make outsourcing illegal and unprofitable through lefty legislation and regulation. And presto, businesses will shut down and with them jobs will be lost in droves.

As labor seeks passage of the Employee Free Choice Act law---making it harder for businesses to resist its bullying attempts take over a company's labor force----again businesses will simply leave the country or close down altogether. Jobs will be lost and with them tax revenues, often forever.

Labor unions' attempts at regaining glory days of its lost youth will only fail in the end like an aging desperate starlet who will do anything to get attention. But not before they've strong-armed a weak and obligated Obama into acceding to their selfish demands and taken down the economy with it.

2. Trade barriers in global markets. This ill-conceived plan is thought to help American workers and goods better compete in world markets. But in reality trade barriers only inhibit the flow of goods and money and act as a tax on consumers. That's a tax on each of us.

4 comments:

Tregonsee said...

I am shocked, SHOCKED, at your lack of faith in The Light Worker. You sound like one of those strange people who thinks that reality matters.

Treg

Anonymous said...

His economic agenda is the reason I feel this country shot itself in the gut on Tuesday.

Such wounds are survivable, but incredible pain is on the way.

Webutante said...

Reality can have very sharp teeth, as we're probably in for times like we've never known in our lifetime.

Jet Beagle said...

I'm concerned about big labor's influence, but perhaps not as much as you are. I can't see UAW unionizing Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, etc. Those Asian owned auto plants spread across the Sun Belt are the future of the U.S. auto industry.

Senators from right-to-work states may be able to block the worst of union legislation. Of course, senators have been known to ideology for pork.