It seems the American people have chosen to go with four more years of repression, death, debt and international animosity, along with an economy on the verge of collapse. But after all, isn't that what democracy (at least as practiced in the United States) is all about?
Surprisingly, I am not the only one who feels this way. About 49% of the United (at least loosely) States seems to share the opinion and some examples are readily apparent. For instance, in the Wednesday November 3 edition of the Business Section of the Washington Post, columnist Steven Pearlstein writes (to whoever wins the election):
"Unfortunately, this is probably the best year we are going to have for some time [referring to the economy], the result of some lucky breaks, a modest decline in the value of the overpriced dollar, continued high productivity and an enormous amount of fiscal and monetary stimulus. The heavy dose of stimulus is unsustainable and wearing off in any case. Our luck ran out with $50-a-barrel oil and the escalating cost of the Iraq war. The benefit from all those productivity gains isn't translating into more jobs or higher incomes, except maybe in India."
He further goes on to suggest that if the President, now Bush, is to keep the US economy from free falling through stagflation into recession, he will have to do some pretty drastic things. First, Mr. Pearlstein suggests that China be encouraged to raise the value of its undervalued currency - either through the offer (and one assumes the follow through) of a seat at the G-7 conference table or through the threat of sanctions in the form of tariffs. Second, the budget deficit will need to be eliminated - not in 10 years, but no more than four, through a series of tax increases, service and benefit cuts and restraints on health care spending for public and private sectors.
Now, I am far from being qualified to speak on economic matters, but I would have to wonder just what sort of president isn't listening to his economic advisors - surely some of them are saying similar things. And this in an age when most people now cannot afford their own health care, the jobless rate is higher than it appears and the number of people out of work for more than a year is higher than anyone anticipated or counted on. Sure, some jobs have come back to the economy - these are the same seasonal jobs that come around each year at this time and disappear on January 1. They are low paying and have no benefits.
And 51% of the American people (and some 80% of registered Republicans) thing Iraq had something to do with the events of September 11, 2001 and are further bamboozled into believing that George W. Bush is going to make things right again.
If I were you, I wouldn't be traveling outside the United States on a U.S. Passport - that is just asking for trouble. I would also start knitting blankets and hoarding gold, because it will be a long, cold winter, and you cannot pay for heat when you are not employed.
4:15:37 PM 
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