The Europeanization of America

Fred Garvin's picture

The Europeanization of America
What's ahead if Obama becomes president.

By PETE DU PONT

Barack Obama is likely to become the next president of the United States.

Six weeks ago John McCain was leading Mr. Obama. But according to RealClearPolitics, as of yesterday Mr. Obama led in the national polls by just under 8% and in the Electoral College by 306 to 157 (a majority is 270). Throughout his campaign Mr. Obama has successfully presented himself as a careful and sensible person and was recently endorsed by Christopher Buckley, son of the late William F. Buckley, as having a "first-class temperament and a first-class intellect."

But Mr. Obama will most likely be our most liberal public policy president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since President Bush is not popular (his approval rating is at 25%, with 71% disapproving), Mr. McCain has not run an inspiring campaign, and most people have declining confidence in our economic and financial system, voters have simply decided it is time for change. Gallup reports that just 7% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going, so voters seem to have concluded that they will take a chance on Mr. Obama, whatever his policies may be.

The only organization with a worse rating than the Republican president is the Democratic Congress—14% approval, 75% disapproval. But there, too, the Democrats will gain strength. They are expected to increase their majority in the House, and current polling shows that in Senate races Democrats will increase their members from the current 51 (including two independents who caucus with the Democrats) to at least 57. They may even achieve the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

So where is the new Obama administration likely to take us? Seven things seem certain:

The U.S. military will withdraw from Iraq quickly and substantially, regardless of conditions on the ground or the obvious consequence of emboldening terrorists there and around the globe.
Protectionism will become our national trade policy; free trade agreements with other nations will be reduced and limited.
Income taxes will rise on middle- and upper-income people and businesses, and individuals will pay much higher Social Security taxes, all to carry out the new president's goals of "spreading the wealth around."
Federal government spending will substantially increase. The new Obama proposals come to more than $300 billion annually, for education, health care, energy, environmental and many other programs, in addition to whatever is needed to meet our economic challenges. Mr. Obama proposes more than a 10% annual spending growth increase, considerably higher than under the first President Bush (6.7%), Bill Clinton (3.3%) or George W. Bush (6.4%).
Federal regulation of the economy will expand, on everything from financial management companies to electricity generation and personal energy use.
The power of labor unions will substantially increase, beginning with repeal of secret ballot voting to decide on union representation.
Free speech will be curtailed through the reimposition of the Fairness Doctrine to limit the conservative talk radio that so irritates the liberal establishment.
These policy changes will be the beginning of the Europeanization of America. There will be many more public policy changes with similar goals—nationalized health care, Kyoto-like global-warming policies, and increased education regulation and spending.

Additional tax advantages for lower and middle income people will be enacted: a 10% mortgage tax credit that would average about $500 per household per year, a $4,000 tax credit for college tuition, a tax credit covering half of child-care expenses up to $6,000 per year, and even a $7,000 credit for purchase of a clean car.

More important, all but the clean car credit would be "refundable," meaning people will get a check for them if they owe no taxes, which is simply a transfer of income from the government to individuals. In reality this is the beginning of a new series of entitlements for middle-class families, the longer-term effect of which will be to make those families more dependant on (and so more supportive of) larger government. The Tax Policy Center estimates that these refundable tax credits would cost the government $648 billion over 10 years.

These are Mr. Obama's plans. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats would increase spending for their own interests and favorite programs. More important, the Congress will consider itself more important than a freshman president who has never held an executive position, so they will do what they want and he will have to go along with most of it.

What can the Republicans in Washington to do to avoid the Europeanization of America? The obvious answer is to win some elections two years from now to reduce the congressional power of those who favor it. But in the meantime they need stronger, better leadership of their minority party.

Then they need to make the case against each of the issues noted above; why they would be a mistake, what their cost would be to the economy, jobs and people and their families, and what would be a better approach. They will not win all the fights, but on protectionism, higher taxes and broader government regulation they can win the support of a great many Americans. And that might keep America from becoming Europeanized and our people from losing their money, their jobs and the market freedom of our country.

From the Wall Street Journal

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1and1isnt3's picture
Submitted by 1and1isnt3 on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 8:19pm.

looking at his crystal ball for a moment and read his own paper he might wake up to the FACT that things aren't going too well right now after 8 years of failed policies, at home and abroad.
Perhaps he would wake up to the FACT that change is needed, even his candidate McCain now admits it. And finally, maybe he could research and report on the changes Obama is actually proposing, instead of spreading the same old lies designed to place fear into middle class Americans hearts.


Submitted by Citizen_Steve on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 8:29pm.

I hope we're not in for any Europeanization - I just can't deal with the B.O. How is it the Europeans work so much less and are less productive but still somehow can work themselves into quite a stink? I really can't understand how public transportation survives there.

Steve

Cyclist's picture
Submitted by Cyclist on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 7:14pm.

free trade agreements with other nations will be reduced and limited.

The trade thing is BIG stuff. Bonker$ probably remembers when the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed and the effect it had on the world's economy.
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Submitted by Bonkers on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 3:17am.

No, I don't remember it as such.

I do know it was sponsored by two republican senators and passed by President Hoover.

When it reached about 60% tariff on incoming goods (several thousand of them) the foreign countries had retaliated on our stuff and we sold practically nothing overseas!

It was GREED that caused the problem, wanting too much income on tariff charges, very similar to our Wall Street and bank dudes of today.
If they had left the tariff at an average of maybe 15%, it would have provided considerable income to us and would have been affordable for both countries who traded.

carbonunit52's picture
Submitted by carbonunit52 on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 8:06pm.

I mean, a few less boatloads of melamine flavored foodstuffs can't be all that bad, and just how many more widgets can American garages hold?

"I can't wait until tomorrow, because I get more lovable every day."


Cyclist's picture
Submitted by Cyclist on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 5:36pm.

I know what what you mean about that form of "protectionism". If the Chinese follow their typical modus operandi they'll find those that are responsible and take them out to wall and then charge the family the cost of the bullet. I wonder how Chinese will apply for those freshly vacated jobs?

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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.


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