The 2008 Presidential Election and Your Financial Planning (Part 2)

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The 2008 Presidential Election and Your Financial Planning (Part 1)

International Ramifications of Financial Planning

Global trade with national currencies is a mug’s game. Guess who broke the Bretton-Woods system? Even Nixon votaries will agree that the dollar reserves with Middle East Sheikhs and with Beijing threaten the American way of life nearly as much as terrorism. The World Trade Organization persists with endless confabulation, while the dollar slips from its vantage position by the day. The person who takes the White House in the 2008 election must commit to put US trade balances in order. The appreciation of the Euro is a matter of concern on this side of the Atlantic, but the priority should be to control influences on our financial planning from quarters inimical to our form of governance.

An alternate approach to the issue of global business implications on the United States could be to increase your own holdings of currencies that seem to be better managed than the dollar. A principal way to do this would be to buy stocks of US companies with comprehensive business operations in important world economies. Affiliate operations should include local sourcing and manufacturing. Profits from such stocks would then be isolated from the dollar depreciation. This approach would call for a change from the outsourcing Mantra of the Bush era. Do not allow jobs to be shipped overseas; ship business out instead. Vote for a Presidential candidate who vows to level the playing field with respect to international business.

Extending Your Financial Planning Concerns beyond the Rah-Rah

Memories are notoriously short. We know from experience that violently opposed Presidential candidates kiss and make up even before the poll results are official. Then there are Senators, caucuses, and lobbies, to say nothing of donors looking for returns on their investments! How do you know that the Presidential candidate who finally wrests your vote will actually make good on assurances? One of the three wishes you could ask of a genie is to grant you a few more! Therefore, it may be best to settle for a new President who listens, consults, empowers, and serves, to you before interests to which you do not subscribe.

Votes are cast in secret. Each of us may profess certain opinions, only to put our stamps of approval on entirely opposed animals at that last second inside a booth! However, the effects of US Presidents on financial planning are certainly appropriate for wide discussions. Our forum is waiting! Please post today and come back as often as you can!

The 2008 Presidential Election and Your Financial Planning (Part 1)

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