My Economic Ally
The Economy is officially the number one issue on the minds of Americans given the new record price of oil today and other negative economic indicators. Analysts also point out, rightly so that it is the current party that takes the blame for a bad economy. John McCain is running for that party at the moment and he is going to have a hard time justifying current GOP policies that have not done any good for the American economy. Deregulation has allowed American companies to take advantage of the system to “cook the books” and create the current sub-prime crisis that sparked the global economic downturn. The Iraq war continues to cost the American people and future generations of Americans more money that they do not have. Tax cuts to the oil companies have done nothing to prevent the price of oil increasing to $145.44 cents as of today. Companies deserve a certain measure of freedom but you let a dog run free and you can guarantee he is going to do some damage.
A recent Gallup poll show’s the negativity of each state with regards to the Economy:
This poll clearly indicates how important the economy is to the entire of the United States and the Gallup methodology is as sound as ever conducting a proportional amount of interviews with the States population. This news is the golden egg for Senator Obama because like I suggested above; Senator McCain is going to have a hard time explaining how his economic policies are going to change the economy. Conducting a quick calculation in terms of electoral votes, Senator McCain retains a total of 72 electoral votes based on every state with a negativity score of 55% or less. This would mean a decisive victory for Senator Obama in the most optimistic scenario but a victory none the less in the most pessimistic scenario.
The task for the McCain campaign is to craft an effective economic strategy that veers away from the current GOP set of policies but not so far that Senator McCain distances himself from the Republican base. That isn’t going to happen given this his lack of knowledge on economic issues:
July 03 2008 10:11 pm | American Politics
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
you know what amazes me is, that people actually believe the governments can actually control the economy of any country.
yes, governments can be an influence but history shows that any influence is temporary not permanent. the greatest influence on the economy is the people, themselves.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:52 am
If Obama is to benefit from the economic pessimism of the voters, he needs to do more to differentiate himself from McCain. He needs to support repeals of all corporate oriented trade deals and aggressively oppose a war against the people of Iraq that is devastating the US economy through added debt and skyrocketing oil prices.
July 4th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Problem is, Obama is moving more toward the center every day and many hard-core liberals aren’t happy about that, just like many hard-core conservatives have issues with McCain. I’m hoping that if McCain wins, he will pick someone who is economy smart, like Romney. He does need help with economical issues, there’s no doubt about it.
Happy Independence Day, Crian! Sorry you have to work.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Happy 4th of July everyone, you are right Griper that a government can only influence the economy of a country but take a look at the Chinese, they have effectively helped their country grow by pegging the Yuan. The people can only influence the economy in so far as they believe the Government is in control of the economy.
It is my belief Lib, that Senator Obama is totally different to Senator McCain but he cannot play on that difference in the current political environment due to concerns about National Security, Patriotism. I am listening to the audiobook by Eric Alterman today and he suggests that purely liberal views are unlikely to win any presidency. I agree with that understanding hence my continued support of Senator Obama.
Hey Gayle, I am pretty sure former Governor Romney is pretty much set as the VP. He will be a great help to McCain, even more so on the VP debates if it is against Senator Clinton.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Crian,
“The people can only influence the economy in so far as they believe the Government is in control of the economy.”
a belief is not a fact though. the influence of the people remain regardless of the belief of the people.
and the belief is that the government can control the economy not that it does. that is why you see a change of administrations when the economy is poor.
the law of supply and demand is what controls any economy, even socialism. and for government to be in control of the economy is to declare it can control both supply and demand. governments can control supply but it cannot control demand. that is why socialism is doomed for failure evey time. it cannot control the demands placed upon it.
as for your example of the Chinese, was it the pegging of the yuan or the infusion of free enterprise into their economy that has helped them? my bet, it was the latter. that and adding the economy of hong kong to their own did not hurt either. and i wouldn’t doubt that their stance in regards to Taiwan is greatly influenced by its economy and the desire to add it to its own.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Hey Griper, good point on the supply and demand, I believe it is the basic principle behind all economics but the pegging of the yuan has done wonders for FDI in China, I would say that would be 50% of the equation and the other 50% would be the supply/demand cycle.