Recession and the presidency of the U. S.

Recession

Lets make this, my first official article, a controversial one. Lets talk about what worries the American population.

My friend told me a few times that we are in a recession and that the primary evidence of it is the fact that the Taj Mahal in India no longer accepts American Dollars (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7098370.stm, 20 Jan 2008). I did not pay too much attention to his ranting because he is a misguided Democrat. But, like Glenn Beck likes to say, I am not an economist, but I’m a thinker. So, even though I consider myself a hopeless optimist, I happen to look at the ticker on the news and have seeing that since last year until now, we went from the DOW Jones hitting over 14,000 points to 12099 this Friday.

Even though this seems huge, and it is, I do not think there is reason to panic. Or, is there?

I do not want this blog to turn into a political blog. Sure, I will offer my opinion and I know some of you will let me know what you think and how misguided I am. I just hope that we can keep it civil and do it with respect. That is what the name of the game should be all about, healthy respectful debate.

The end of this year will see the end of the political campaign and the selection of a new president/vice president team.

So lets see what is happening in the politic world today at least.

a. John Edwards admitted: “I got my butt kicked” (his words, not mine)
(http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/).
b. Chuck Norris thinks that McCain might be too old for the White House
c. Hillary and Obama continue to fight for the nomination of their paty.
d. Huckabee continues to make strides in the Republican race.
e. Romney won Las Vegas.
f. Giuliani supposedly violated Reagan’s 11th Commandment.
g. Thompson is trying to come alive.

As a good military man, I like to examine the situation, find the problem, brainstorm possible Courses of Action (COAs), and then find the pros and cons of each, make a decision, and execute.

So as to not make this ranting that long, lets see… in February Greenspan warned of a possible recession by the end of 2007. Even though most of the economic indicators do not show a recession right now, we need to see the trends and in my opinion, they are heading in that direction.

Whether you support the war or not, it does not matter. We are on it and we need to win. The U. S. cannot afford to loose a fight that would embolden our enemies and let them know that we are a race of cowards that run at the sight of blood. Oh, wait, Hillary pretty much said that she would not remove the troops from Iraq, Obama, if he has any sense, will follow the same policy, and the Republicans will do what needs to be done. Edwards, he got his butt kicked. So the war is a non-issue right now.

The Economy is the problem.

When asked this week whom would I vote for this past week, I answered this way. Since our main problem right now is the economy, it only makes sense to elect an economist to the White house. Any other choice is foolish.

Who do we have?

a. Hillary does not know what makes the economy tick. Being the wife of a president does not qualify as experience to be president. Otherwise, the wife of Bill Gates would have created Microsoft.
b. Obama, as much of a good person as he seems to be, has being a senator for only a few years and most of his time there he spent running for president.
c. McCain, I respect as a war hero and an honest politician, but if you look at his voting record, he does not seem to know about economics.
d. Huckabee was a governor, raised taxes. Hen confronted, did not give a straight answer.
e. Giuliani, good record. Brought New York back after the most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor. The economy of New York is coming back.
f. Romney, successful businessman, conservative, anti taxes.
g. Ron Paul, clueless about the economy.

The logic conclusion is a ticket with Romney and Giuliani.

No, I haven’t decided whom I will vote for. But, unless something comes up or somebody makes a major mistake, in my opinion, those are the choices.