Thread:

How much better off would the USA have been with McCain/Palin?

It's pure speculation, of course, but the first three topics would almost have to grouped as they directly influence each other. (Well, they all do in a way, but the first three for this discussion)
I think that strictly on ideology, they would have to be better off than right now. Worse than 2 years ago, most likely, but still better than at this moment due to the stimulus spending that occurred?
You left out the HC bill, but I think that the absence of that would have left more time and attention for the economy. As it is, the HC bill is exacerbating the recession due to companies looking to scrimp even more, leading to further pay cuts, withholdings, and lay offs.
The Wars, I can't really guess. They are a mess for sure, and political maneuvering that would have occurred is anybody's guess?

The Spill, I believe that the catastrophe would have been made less of a political opportunity that it has been turned into.
IE: Perhaps more help would have been accepted initially in skimming and recovery while waiting for the well to be cemented.
BP would possibly have been less villianized on the hill and focused more on the well, with the grandstanding from the WH minimized until after the well is fixed?

Originally Posted by Ultra26 # 1

Just the way I see it.

How can the debt be better if recession and employment is worse?
You must be thinking directly about stimulus spending??
As recession worsens, debt MUST escalate as more costs to support the citizens increases, coupled with less generation of revenue?

Originally Posted by Tom Brown

How much better do you suppose the United States would be at this point in time if McCain and Palin had won?

It would be nice if you'd address the following items specifically:

- debt
- recession
- employment
- wars
- gulf oil spill

I was going to let a little more time go by before answering but I'm on a lunch break and have a moment to post.

Debt:

I think McCain would be a little better in this regard, but not a lot. McCain and I are aligned, with respect to a conservative financial view, but I think McCain's commitment to Iraq would hinder an otherwise positive influence on the national finances.

Recession:

I suspect things would be about the same, or maybe a wee bit better with McCain. For whatever reason, cash seems to flow more freely with a Republican at the helm. Many of those reasons are psychological but real, all the same. Still, it's going to be a tough road for a while, regardless of who is in power.

Employment:

I expect it would be about the same as it is now. The reduced stimulus would probably be offset by slightly more free business spending.


Wars:

McCain's commitment to Iraq and escalating the search for Osama Bin Laden which undoubtedly would bring increased military activity in Afghanistan, would be extremely unpopular right now. Sure, the right wing extremists in here would love reading the body count on TV every day but most people were sick of war and McCain was advocating an escalation.

Also, wars are spendy so it would have reduced money for domestic stimulus. Personally, I think domestic stimulus is a low value use of money so I'd do a little, but not a lot.


Oil Spill:

Same. What do you expect? ... someone to go out with a mop and bucket?



Other programs:

It seems clear McCain would have cut other programs to pay for military spending and also to try to balance the books. In addition, he would have undoubtedly raised taxes at some point, just as the Obama administration will. It just has to happen. 2 + 2 simply does not equal 17.

The PR forums would be a lot slower...

Originally Posted by Tom Brown

How much better do you suppose the United States would be at this point in time if McCain and Palin had won?

It would be nice if you'd address the following items specifically:

- debt
- recession
- employment
- wars
- gulf oil spill

The debt situation would be slightly better in that McCain would have spent a little less the last 2 yrs. However the future debt problem would be VASTLY better in that McCain would not have made the huge commitments to future spending that O has.

The recession would be about the same, except that unemployment would be at 8% instead of 10% because the health care plan would not have passed. There would be less uncertainty for biz as to their future costs. Also the Bush tax cuts expiring.............. dunno yet.

Wars would be about the same. Dems are entitled to scream about how O has come over to McCain.

Gulf oil spill would still have happened. The response might have been better, McCain would have taken help from all those extra ships. McCain was in the Navy, he must know something about ships.

Debt- A little better
Recession- Better
Employement- Better
Wars- Same
Oil Spill-Same

In short, we would still be going all to Hell. But we would be going there more slowly.

Debt- Probably less debt as a result of stimulus more debt due to massive unemployment - overall worse.

Recession - worse

Employement - many more unemployed due to likely collapse of the financial markets

Wars - not much different

Oil Spill-probably the same