What An Obama Presidency Might Look Like

Dustin Ensinger writes:

The arduous campaigning is over. Now comes President-elect Barack Obama’s real work: fixing an economy not beset by such turmoil since the Great Depression, handling two wars and the ever-present threat of terrorism, ending the nation’s addiction to oil, providing health care to the uninsured and restoring America’s reputation around the world, just to name a few.

If it was an Everest-like ascension for Sen. Obama to defeat Sen. John McCain to become the nation’s first African American president, governing will be much the same. Except now the Senator is trying to reach the summit with two broken legs and a 200 pound backpack on.

No president in modern history has entered the White House with such a raft of problems to contend with, perhaps with the exception of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 when he inherited the Great Depression from Herbert Hoover. But, come Jan. 20, 2009 that is precisely what Sen. Obama must do. And, as the exit polling showed, the top concern for most Americans is fixing the ailing economy.

To do that Obama has said that he will focus on reviving the middle-class by allowing the Bush administration’s tax cuts to expire. Currently, the tax code puts the majority of the burden on middle-income earners and rewards the wealthy. Under Sen. Obama’s proposed plan 95 percent of Americans would receive a tax break. Only the top two percent of earners, those making over $250,000, will see their taxes increase. In addition, Sen. Obama has vowed to end tax loopholes for companies that outsource jobs overseas and will instead provide a tax credit to those companies that hire American workers. Capital gains taxes will also be returned to pre-Bush levels.

Another key portion of Obama’s plan to strengthen the middle-class is to make a serious investment in alternative energy. Obama’s plan includes enacting a windfall-profits tax on energy companies that would finance tax breaks to American families. Obama has also claimed that he will invest $150 billion over the next 10 years in alternative energies. The plan will create five million new “green jobs” according to his Web site. To pay for part of his plan he will impose a cap-and-trade emission tax that will essentially put the right to pollute up for auction to the highest bidders.

Exploding costs of health care are also causing a serious strain on American families and the economy. Currently, 47 million Americans have no health insurance. Obama’s plan will address the uninsured and the exploding costs. He has said that he will maintain the employer-based system and even expand it by providing tax incentives to businesses that provide health care to their employees. To combat the number of uninsured Americans, Obama will provide a tax credit to those individuals seeking insurance to help them cope with the costs. In addition, he would mandate coverage for all children, but has not said what the penalty would be if your children were left uninsured. He has also said that by expanding the number of people with health care it would make it easier to negotiate with insurance companies for lower premiums.

Perhaps the most important issue of the day, the economic crisis, is the area where Sen. Obama was able to draw a clear distinction between himself and his opponent. During and immediately after the crisis Obama opened up a lead in the polls that he never relinquished. Many pundits have attributed his handling of the crisis as the turning point of the election. While Sen. McCain appeared erratic and uncertain - suspending his campaign, threatening not to debate, injecting himself into the debate over the bailout package - Sen. Obama appeared calmed, posed and pragmatic. However, appearing to be able to handle a crisis and actually handling one are two different things.

Sen. Obama has acknowledged that the financial meltdown is the most pressing issue facing the nation and could alter his plans in other key areas. To help Americans that are currently hurting, he has proposed exempting taxes on unemployment benefits along with extending them. He would also advocate imposing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and has said he would allow bankruptcy judges to renegotiate the terms of mortgages. Many advocates have praised this plan saying it will force banks to renegotiate on their own for fear of a judge determining the payments they receive.

Finally, Sen. Obama has vowed to take a more thoughtful approach to globalization. Instead of “free-trade” he is advocating a “fair-trade” policy that includes protections for worker and environmental rights. He has said that the American people would be more than happy to pay a little more for American-made products if it also meant good American jobs.

Will Sen. Obama be able to climb that mountaintop twice and restore America to its rightful place in the world? Only time will tell.