· Lowering taxes for middle class families.
· Providing quality, affordable health care to every American.
· Making college accessible and affordable.
· Confronting the growing problems in the housing market.
· Bolstering retirement security by promoting savings and investment.
· Returning to fiscal responsibility and moving towards balanced budgets.
· Harnessing innovation to create the high-wage jobs of the 21st century.
· Creating a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund to jumpstart research and development of alternative energies.
· Strengthening unions and ensuring our trade laws work for all Americans.
While campaigning for a stronger middle class will surely garner votes come election time, the real question is how these policy changes will likely affect investors.
As with most Democrats, Clinton will likely let the Bush tax cuts expire, causing an instant tax hike for most investors. In addition, she wants to impose more taxes on businesses, which will also negatively affect many investors. The bottom line for investors with any of the Democratic candidates is essentially that if a Democrat is elected, investors can expect to see increased taxes.
The Bush tax cuts were advantageous for investors, who happen to be some of the wealthier people in the country. Since most Democrats emphasize equality and better distribution of wealth in their platforms, most investors would likely be better off voting Republican, based solely on economic factors.
However, money isn’t everything to everyone, so financial motivations may not be the only factor voters look at. Warren Buffet has criticized the Bush tax cuts as being too favorable to the wealthy, and he is one of the people who benefited from them most.
Labels: economy
