The stock market is unhappy about Obama’s victory. European markets fell 2% yesterday and are down another 3% as of 5:00 a.m. Eastern. The U.S. dropped 5% yesterday, its worst post-Presidential-election-day decline in history. Japan fell 6.5% overnight.
Some say this is all in reaction to yesterday’s report from The Institute for Supply Management that non-manufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy contracted last month, with its index falling to 44.4% from 50.2% in September. But the lousy economy story was well-known before the ISM report.
Could it be the market is thinking about Obama’s tax-raising ideas and how now is not the time for such funny business? You bet. Neither candidate was able to name what he would cut from his policy dreams due to budget constraints, remember. Combine Obama’s long list of policy objectives that will add to the financial burden, and the environment that will make tax increases impossible, and you have a recipe for even more debt.
It says a lot about our mainstream media that The Onion is the best source of coverage. Look how accurate it was with this January 17, 2001 story:
Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’
WASHINGTON, DC — Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that “our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.”
“My fellow Americans,” Bush said, “at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us.”
What’s “America’s Finest News Source” saying now? Here’s the current top story:
Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress
WASHINGTON — After emerging victorious from one of the most pivotal elections in history, president-elect Barack Obama will assume the role of commander in chief on Jan. 20, shattering a racial barrier the United States is, at long last, shitty enough to overcome.
Although polls going into the final weeks of October showed Sen. Obama in the lead, it remained unclear whether the failing economy, dilapidated housing market, crumbling national infrastructure, health care crisis, energy crisis, and five-year-long disastrous war in Iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change.
“Today the American people have made their voices heard, and they have said, ‘Things are finally as terrible as we’re willing to tolerate,” said Obama, addressing a crowd of unemployed, uninsured, and debt-ridden supporters. “To elect a black man, in this country, and at this time — these last eight years must have really broken you.”
Added Obama, “It’s a great day for our nation.”
Carrying a majority of the popular vote, Obama did especially well among women and young voters, who polls showed were particularly sensitive to the current climate of everything being fu**ed.
Part of the market’s distaste for the Obama victory may be due to millions of “mindless pawns” left in the wake of his campaign, who are vulnerable to easy manipulation by “someone with evil intent” because they’ve “proven their minds can be taken over by empty rhetoric.” For more on that threat, here’s a special report from The Onion:
