This from my Arizona Republic real estate column:
The elections this past Tuesday were not a referendum on President Barrack Obama or his plans and policies. How do we know that? Because everyone associated with the Obama administration loudly insists that this cannot be so. They ought to know, right?
Senators and Representatives from states and districts that supported John McCain in the last election might have second thoughts, though, and this is very far from being a bad thing.
Americans insist to each other that they want a government that gets things done — except when they happen to be suffering under a government that is getting things done. If this election was not a referendum on Obama, it was a loud, angry shout about what the government has been doing lately.
The last time voters repudiated an over-ambitious president — the last six years of the Clinton administration — the nation experienced a period of tremendous growth and prosperity. The American people recoiled in horror from socialized medicine, and the resulting government — liberal president, conservative congress — was amazingly beneficial for the American people.
How? By getting nothing done, that’s how.
For free markets to work at their best, entrepreneurs need to be able to plan for the future. If they can surmise that prices and credit terms will not swing wildly over the next few years, they can plan their investments with a sense of security.
And if not? Not.
The Obama administration’s herky-jerky dance of currency inflation, stimulus programs, emergency bailouts and tax credits not only cannot stabilize the economy, they do exactly the opposite: They convince entrepreneurs that now is not a safe time to make plans for the future.
This goes for the real estate market, too. Buyers sit on the sidelines waiting for new tax credits. Sellers live in dread of future interest rate hikes. The Cap and Trade bill promises to complicate life for every homeowner.
So how might these elections have helped us all? It’s simple. If Senators and Representatives are afraid to act, nothing will change. And when nothing changes in Washington, everything changes, usually for the better, for everyone else.
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<a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/" target="_blank"> Phoenix Realtor Greg Swann</a> suggested I share this with you:
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James Boyer says:
I don’t know about Virginia but the election in New Jersey was not a referendum on Obama. It was a vote of hatred for local and state government here in New Jersey. After all you cannot keep growing a corrupt group of governments with more and more taxes, solve no problems, propose more taxes such as even higher tolls, cuts in local aid which push up the already sky high real estate taxes. There is no reason that the average home owners property taxes should be $10,000 + a year.
The Democrats were stupid to let Corzine run again, just plain stupid.
November 8, 2009 — 12:49 pm
Dennis says:
In my view, the Obamaites have awoken a sleeping giant – the independents.
November 9, 2009 — 8:56 am