Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Day After
Well, in the words of Kent Brockman ... "I, for one, welcome our new Socialist Overlords." The election is finally over, which is reason enough in itself to be thankful. And the majority has spoken. Well, somebody once described democracy as three wolves and a sheep sitting down and voting on what to have for dinner. To get a little advance peek at what kind of tax hikes to expect next year, read this story about HENRYs ... as in, "High Earner, Not Rich Yet". Or as Obama would say, "Greedy Rich People who don't pay their fair share." That used to mean anybody who makes $250,000 a year or more, although that threshold seems to be floating downward as of late. In case this sounds like sour grapes, it's highly likely that McCain would have raised taxes too; he's certainly not going to fight against them, in his eagerness for a "bipartisan" Senate. Might be a good idea to read up on Limited Liability Companies. Just because I'm going to get plucked like a Christmas goose doesn't mean I need to make it easy for them. Think I'm paranoid? ... don't assume that your 401(k) is safe, either.
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4 comments:
Sorry, but I think you're being a tad bit over-dramatic.
If you really think that Obama is gunning for you or the HENRYs, then I fear you've fallen victim to the Republican Marketing Machine. You know, the same machine that tells everyone that the stock market goes down because a democrat is ahead in the latest polls... it's mostly inaccurate and preys on fear.
Here's a quick comparison from the not-exactly-unbiased Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html
Doesn't look like it's going to be fun for those that make over $2.8 million a year, or even those who make over $600k a year... but that's a problem I'd LOVE to have.
As for the Fortune article, it is a sycophantic article written to appeal to the "HENRY class", or in typical marketing fashion, those who aspire to be in that class. As they say, it has never been more expensive to be rich than right now. It is written with a core truth (more taxes = bad incentive), but a lot of the supporting arguments are misleading, if not inappropriate.
I'm no fan of taxes, but I also don't think Obama is the Socialist that the Republicans make/made him out to be.
As for the article on 401ks... don't mistake OpEd pieces for journalism.
The WaPo Article.
Oh, well hey, if it's in the Washington Post, it must be true. Sigh. Yes, since I'm doubting the Word of the Most Enlightened One, I must be a victim of Republican brainwashing. Snore. Yes, I read the Obama and McCain tax policies. I believe they're ... what's the term? Oh, yeah - *lying*. Part of this suspicion is based on my general belief that all politicians lie, especially during an election campaign. Basically, pols say whatever it takes to get elected and then "suddenly discover new data" about three months after inauguration that calls for "decisive action".
Even now, we're starting to see a trickle of stories about Obama's beliefs, theories, and economic philosophies that were suppressed until after the election by compliant allies in the media. In a month or two, we should see some stories or speeches along the lines of "Now that I've had a chance to study the data more closely, I see the economic situation is worse than I expected." This is not talk radio WingNuttery ... this is straight from the standard-issue Political Playbook. We'll gradually be softened up to prepare for the eventual *real* tax plan.
The only place he's likely to cut spending is the military; other than that, he's not going to cut back on any of the Bush-Gone-Wild spending spree. And his new spending promises tally up into the trillions. Again, this is on top of the bailout parties that Bush's people have thrown over the past few months. Expect the federal budget to hit $3 trillion, very soon.
From there, it's simple math, not partisanship. That money's gotta come from somewhere. The top 10% are doing pretty sweet, but they ain't doing THAT sweet.
And in case you haven't noticed, the market has tanked 1000 points since The One's ascension. Now granted, it's probably just a fluke - or hedge fund margin calls. OR, it could be large and small investors pulling the remains of their portfolios out of the market before their capital gains tax gets jacked up next year.
Of course there is truth in what you're saying... but I've seen too many people rage and rail against the demons that they think they see but aren't really there.
I'd just caution about being blinded by emotional reactions... Too many people see the Glen Beck (or pick your favorite pundit) ranting and railing about whatever political topic he's got his teeth into today... thinking that this is the way to react to political dealings in the world. While that kind of thing sells ads, it's not worth much outside of entertainment tv.
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