Beware of Obama and Dems

Either John McCain or Barack Obama will face a Democratic legislative majority more liberal than any since the Great Society. An Obama presidency would help fulfill a great number of Democratic wishes:

* Increases in business and capital gains taxes. Obama's promised tax increases would depress financial markets, shrink the job market and cause the economy to contract even further. All of these effects would be long lasting.

* A permanent, partially nationalized banking industry. Since the government has strong-armed its way into partial ownership of the nation's largest banks, dispersal of breathtaking sums of capital will become one more political fiasco. Various well-connected interests will work ceaselessly to curry favor with Democratic majorities. It is not clear that either political party would willingly surrender such vast powers. Democrats, in particular, are unlikely ever to return control of such sums of capital to private investors.

* Harmful trade restrictions. Obama's promised subsidies for companies that do not relocate abroad are tariffs in all but name. It is introductory economics that free trade benefits both national partners. When Democrats forget this, they also invite foreign governments to impose costly tariffs in retaliation.

* An expensive and inefficient government health care system. According to Lewin Group analysts, the price of Obama's proposed health care plan is at least one trillion dollars over ten years. The federal government would have no choice but to impose price controls and to ration care to contain costs, changes that would affect privately insured care, too. We could all look forward, then, to long waiting periods, sclerotic bureaucracy and rationing.

* The elimination of secret balloting in union elections. This protection for American workers has existed for nearly 80 years. Without it, unions would be free to harass individual workers to gain recognition. Unionized segments of the American economy would grow more slowly than non-unionized segments, and would have higher unemployment, as do their European counterparts. This legislation made it through the House in 2007, but was defeated in the Senate. Look for it to pass under larger Democratic majorities and an Obama Administration.

* Suppression of political speech. Pelosi supports a return of the so-called "fairness doctrine." This Great Society relic would require that equal time be given by open-air broadcasting outlets to conflicting political points of view. This requirement would even apply to commercial broadcasts. Obama's own plan would subject broadcasters to control by government-appointed "local boards", and require expanded "local programming" in lieu of nationally syndicated programming.

The primary purpose of both plans is to drive political talk radio from the airwaves and thus establish through coercion what Democrats cannot through persuasion: domination of all forms of mass broadcasting.

The most powerful argument for McCain is simply that he would oppose most of these efforts. Obama's superficial trappings seduce many of his supporters. What Obama's supporters refuse to see is that the change Obama would bring is a permanent loss of prosperity and freedom.

Cara Lawler is a sophomore economics major and a member of the Executive Committee of the Oberlin Republicans and Libertarians. Timothy Hall is an associate professor of philosophy.