American Investor Prosperity- Not.

In the investment industry in West Texas, I am very much alone in my position as a liberal Democrat . Most of the people I am surrounded by are die-hard Republicans and Libertarians. These are people who still use words like "Marxism" and "liberal media" with a straight face.

I find that the bedrock of their beliefs is mainly rooted in one thing and one thing alone- the ability of government to stay out of their business. The only thing they are interested in the government doing is cutting taxes, all day, every day no matter what. Terrorist threats be damned, axis of evil notwithstanding, they don't want to spend a penny of their money more than they already do for any reason at all for their country.

They also believe, with a zealot's fervor ,that the Republican party is good for business, investing, and their bottom line. Their patriotism stops at their account values. But although some specific industries and select friends of the Bush administration have made it big these past six years, most Americans have seen their account values stagnate.

There is an interesting letter to the Editor in a recent Wall street journal (Jan.9) The letter is obviously written from the standpoint of these types of people, however, this man has come to an interesting conclusion-

(from the Wall Street Journal)

I am the median-age voter (acutally, I am 46) as mentioned in Michael Barone's "The 16 Year Itch", The thing I remember about the 1992 election is that shortly after that inexperienced Arkansas governor was elected, my portfolio did a curious thing. . .it grew at a rapid rate. It continued to do so, right up to 2000, over doubling my net worth.

Since 2000, my portfolio has remained flat. Today's S&P 500 index is almost identical to the value it had when George W. Bush took office.

I don't really care about modest overseas wars, except that the hundreds of billions spent seem to depress the stock market. I don't care about terrorism, when drug dealers kill many more people than terrorists ever will. I don't care about health insurance, I have that. I don't care about social security, I am quite sure I won't collect much of it, if any. My income has not gone up in real terms. My tax burden is modest, and changes in tax rates affect me very little. But, a 100 point gain in the S&P 500 means about $50,000 in my pocket.

It is odd that so many people forget the stock market boom of the late 1990s.

I will vote for the candidate that has the best chance of getting the stock market heading up. George W. Bush failed to do that. The stock market is the only chance that millions of us have to create wealth. Journal readers - and writers- should remember that. John Callister, Ithaca, NY

Unfortunately a lot of the "Bush base" are simply people just like this- those who are unconcerned with anything beyond their personal wealth. They cannot see past their short-term account valuations to view the bigger picture. Most of them still believe, contrary to the evidence, that Republicans = good for business.

This man understands now, obviously, that contrary to popular business belief, the Republican majority and presidency has NOT been good for Wall street this decade. Make sure you remind the people you talk to that the Republicans have been a disaster for the economy, except for Big Oil, Big War, and Big Pharma. And the seeds of recession that Dubya has sown haven't even begun to fully sprout. Throwing away billions in foreign wars and funneling money to corporations in a thousand different ways hasn't been a good investment for the American people.

The account values of a hundred or so Multi-millionaires have risen. The account values of everyone else have went to hell in a handbasket. I heard the word depression yesterday, for the first time in a long while.

Depression?! Are you nuts, you ask?

Well, for the past two years, the Wall street cheerleaders have been denying a recession. This week, the worst new year start in the stock market for the Dow since 1932, they are all finally conceding to the fact that the recession is in. Who you elect this year may or may not make you a rich man. But your vote CAN work wonders if given to the person and the party who will implement something to stop the madness of the Republican corporate welfare machine.

You tell me if that person is more likely to be a Republican or a Democrat...

Totally Off-topic Link: Fear as Foreign Policy - The Mindset of Israel