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05 November 2008 The New World I spent Election Day high above Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive- It is a little misty here, threatening rain but not too ominously. The County of trees is nearing the peak of color, and the reds and oranges and yellows give a sense of texture on the rolling low hills toward the Red horizon of Fairfax County. Or is it Red? It is Blue enough here in Arlington: there was a knot of Obamites below, shouting at the passing cars, hold a large sign with the hours the polls are open. The cars responded, honking all day, signifying the eagerness for change. It seemed like a landslide from my perch, and the early returns seemed to confirm it in the early darkness brought by the time change. When I retired, it seemed like a landslide was building. Considering what has happened in the last two years, it is dizzying what has occurred. A war has been won, but may be lost yet in its ending; I remember the exit of discredited Mr. Nixon, and wince at the prospect that it could easily happen again. The financial neutron bomb in the market may have reached its bottom, even as the votes were cast. A perfect storm, and a perfect candidate to emerge from its eye. Opening the electronic information stream I see it complete: unified control of Congress and the Executive Branch, the only thing not complete being a veto-proof majority in the Senate. That can be fixed with admission of the District of Columbia as a State in its own right; it will be reliable above all things, having gone 94% for the Senator from There are many things to consider in this new world. I hadn't thought about the indirect consequences of what has occurred- one of my friends has. I had only been concerned about the things that I know for sure-. He wondered about the parts that are as yet unknown. I am figuring the basic cost of admission for this adventure is $1,200 a month. Add the loss of the social security cap (which the Senator pledged early and has not mentioned since), there is another couple hundred bucks. I can probably find the money, and is an irritant rather than a major problem. But that is without a single bit of initiative on the part of the New Administration. I confess, if you add the sin taxes so dear to the social engineers, there is a huge impact on discretionary income as well. My tobacco and alcohol budget is quite dear to me, and amounts to about $200 a month. Mind you, that is at military prices, blessedly free of state and local taxes. That is all micro-economics. There is much to consider in the larger picture. The world is new this morning, not good or bad, but fresh. You can feel that in the wind, and in the echoes of the cheering of last night. The cacophony downtown must have been like that of long ago, when Old Hickory came to town with his rough frontiersmen, and whiskey flowed like a river on the public floors of the White House, so recently prim and Whiggish.... Copyright 2008 Vic Socotra |