Obama: A Big New Deal For Business
Green And New Businesses Set To Flourish In Obama Administration
Nov 5, 2008
With the financial cupboard bare, pundits like Ken Stier of CNBC say many of the President Elect's programs will be scaled back. However, Obama is likely to make huge efforts to fund his version of Roosevelt's New Deal - the program to spur green businesses such as American-made fuel-efficient cars, and rescue the construction industry through road building and infrastructure projects.
Startups And Small Businesses
It should be possible to eliminate all capital gains taxes on startups and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation. Because thousands of entrepreneurs starting new businesses build their countries' economies, he will make an effort to keep the Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loan program that helps small business owners every year. Elsewhere, he should make it easier for small business to bid on federal projects. As things stand, they have to compete with giant corporations that have clout through lobbying organizations.
Green Collar Jobs
Obama's promised $150 billion to create 5 million so-called green collar jobs to develop more environmentally friendly energy sources of business may be cut back and so may the $60 billion for a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to rebuild highways, bridges and airports. Despite that both could generate millions of jobs.
In the current economy, he should be able to implement fair trade policies with other countries although, China, in particular, won't like it. Such nations depend on healthy first world economies like the United States so the nasty medicine will be swallowed, albeit with bad grace.
Weapons Industry Unlikely To Be Harmed
The labor-intensive weapons industry is unlikely to be harmed: "This president is going to care more about manufacturing jobs than any other president in a generation," said analyst Loren Thompson, of the Arlington, Virginia, Lexington Institute, a think tank specializing in defense issues.
Teamsters' President Jim Hoffa asked Doug Cunningham of laborradio.org in an October 22 interview, "What is Obama going to do to keep jobs in America? That's what means the most to every American that's out there. I ran into people today that are worried that their plant may close down."
Protectionist Policies
Rupert Murdoch worries the world financial crisis could worsen because Obama would implement protectionist policies. In a November 1 interview with The Weekend Australian's Glenda Korporaal, he said, "Presidents don't often behave exactly as the campaign might have suggested because they become prisoners of of all sorts of things -- mainly circumstances and events." He warned trade measures against China run the risk of retaliation and threaten world financial institutions.
Paul Celluci, former US ambassador to Canada thundered that Obama's administration presents a "danger" to Canada by threatening the fundamentals of Canada-US trade relations. Obama's warned he may renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Levelling the playing field on taxes to give Main Street relief will anger corporations unwilling to pay increased taxes. They will axe benefits and employees.
Anticipating an Obama win, solar stocks rose sharply as investors saw it as good news for the alternative energy business. Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov cautioned investors any "instant gratification in terms of goodies from Washington" since Congress has already approved an eight-year extension of the Solar Investment Tax Credit.
Better Financial Climate For Small And Medium Sized Businesses
Tax cuts for working families should squeak by economists but the big thing could be a better financial climate for small and medium sized businesses that, in turn, will produce more jobs. If the US heals itself, the rest of the world will recover.
