Preparing for the Years Ahead

We are just a few days removed from Barack Obama's election as President of the United States and still a couple months away from when he actually takes office. It's never too early to start planning for the future and I think it's important to understand how policies that Obama plans to put in place may affect your daily life.

If your finances are like mine then supposedly Obama plans to give us a tax cut and people who are wealthy will have their taxes increased. On the surface this seems great for people who aren't well off financially but the problem is that it punishes people for being successful. Why should people work hard to succeed when the government promises to punish them for it?

He also plans to raise taxes on businesses. This has the great potential to do two things: one is that businesses will likely raises their prices to cover the cost of the tax increase and the second thing that could happen is that business close up shop and move over seas. In both instances we will need any tax cut we can get because things that we already can't afford are going to cost us more.

There's also that promise of $1000 for everyone in America that is supposed to come from the pockets of the oil companies. Again to punish them for being successful. Look I need any money I can get, so it's not like I would take the check and through it back in his face, but the reality is that a one time check for $1000 won't even heat my house for one winter and does nothing to actually lower the price of oil. My other problem with this idea is that I feel it was just an effort to buy votes for $1000 each and I sincerely doubt he will even follow through with this promise.

So what can we as individuals do to prepare ourselves for potentially far worse economic conditions in the country? The short answer is that we need to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. And preparing for the worst can mean a lot of different things depending on how bad you think things might get in the next four years. I should really say the next eight years. If Bush was able to go two terms while the media was destroying him before he even took office, then certainly Obama being the media's anointed one can go two terms.

I think a wise person would not spend beyond their means, would save money instead of going into debt. I wise person would become self-reliant in as many areas as he or she is capable. I think a wise person wouldn't just be thinking about stocking up on canned goods but growing their own food and learning how to can it themselves. I think now more than ever you need to be the best that you can be at your job so if the company you work for is making cuts you hopefully won't be one of the first to go. Find ways to make yourself energy independent because you realize that the country will never be.

These are all things that people would be wise to consider any time but especially right now when there is so much instability in our own country and abroad. We've had plenty of presidents who turned out to be pretty bad and it's way too early to start judging Obama as president, but I feel it is necessary to understand the potential consequences of his policies so that we are prepared and can handle the things that directly affect our lives.