Simply put, my prediction for 2009 is people will be afraid. We ended 2008 with a horrible economic outlook. Why horrible? Not because of what has happened but what might happen. I have chosen what I believe to be the two greatest fear-inducing circumstances.
The economy.
The new president.
The economy
Since September there has been a parade of CEOs and CFOs holding a press conference to explain how their company has plenty of cash and is in good financial shape only to have that same talking head seek government help for the very same company. The worst part was no one seemed to know how much bad debt companies held, so no one could know where the bottom was!
Is it safe to assume that most businesses will fail? Speaking as the ultimate greenhorn when it comes to the financial world I can tell you it seems more likely as not. Every day I read about another business or bank going down in flames, but at least it was not preceded by the "we're in good shape" speech.
I would always know when a sports team would lay an egg when the coach's pre-game talk included a lot of the words "we've got to." Did you notice the same words used by all concerned this past year?
The new president
The meteoric rise of Barack Obama has not only led to suspicion that he is the antichrist, but that he is something of a messianic figure. Now, while many look to him to pull a rabbit out of a hat for our nation as far as the economy goes, I can assure you he is not the antichrist. Why do I say his election has sparked fear?
He has plans for a lot of sweeping changes for our country. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There are certainly a great many areas where change is needed. From what I've seen of his agenda I cannot agree with what he has in mind. His choice of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State did not help his case at all.
One thing I do know about finances is you cannot borrow your way out of debt, which is what our government has tried to do. I have not seen anything from the incoming administration that would suggest his plan is any better than dubya's.
I am convinced that the race of our new president has caused fear as well. I was listening to Rush Limbaugh a couple of weeks ago and listened as a caller accused him of disliking Obama because of the color of his skin. At first I thought this was a ridiculous notion until Mr. Limbaugh responded. He said he was "only playing," which in itself sent a twang of concern through me. It was, at best, a lame response.
No one that I know, who voted for Obama, did so due to his policies. One person told me "well, all the other presidents have been white." This was a young man who had told me two weeks prior to the election that he felt it was "stupid" to vote because of race, but got caught up in the frenzy anyway.
It is his policies, not his skin color, which causes me concern.
There you have it, folks; my prediction for '09. Fear of what is and what might be, of the actual and perceived. Should we run to the hills? No. Should we live in fear? No. Let's live life to the fullest day by day. Let's pray as if it is up to God and work as if it is up to us. Let's bask in the historical event of having the first black president and let's fight for our country's financial health.
God bless you, America .
Ken McCreless is just a guy who loves to write. No dazzling website or publishing milestones, just a love for words and a respect for the power they wield. Contact him at ken@kenmccreless.com
Now right out the gate, I want to say that I did vote for President Elect Obama, and I was and still am, throughly convinced that he will do his best to do what he can for this country. But lets face it, we have dumped this poor man into a scalding hot pot of boiling problems. I agree with what you say about the rabbit out of the hat theory, and I predict that you are right in a lot of ways. It will take more tha a term in office, to fix our financial problems. I have my own theories that I will not bore you with, but this article was well thought out, and well written. I enjoyed the read, keep up the good work, I will write more about this later, as I have to do a story for my local paper concerning my thoughts on this very subject. Thanks for the good read.
You are right, Gary. These problems will be with us for many years, as our grandchildren will still be paying off these bailouts and such. With the economy and Hamas and Iraq and so on, Mr Obama needs our support. Thank you for reading and commenting, I appreciate it.
Hi Ken, great job! Good food for thought. While I agree Obama is not the ant-christ, I would like to add that he is also to the messiah figure he is made out to be. He is a man with great ideas to unify this nation, and I pray for him to do, but it is going to take every american re-thinking and revising our lifestyles and put others needs above our own more often than not.
I look for great things in the new year despite the bad things that will come along as well. We need to be optimist and a source of encouragement to each other. Again, great job!
Good article, Ken. I don't know many people who are afraid, but many who are cautious and are waiting to see how things pan out; paying attention to what they are doing with their finances and abilities. I agree - we need to live our lives to the fullest, but add a little bit of Philippians 2:4 into the mix.
I talked to several individals who are afraid, which is where this article came from. I, myself, grew up with a lot of "The End is Near!' histrionics, so I'll just wait and see what happens. As a hardcore history buff I want to be excited about the first black president, but his policies get in the way. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Ken, birds of a feather flock together. The bottom line our money will pay, to pay us, to rebuild them. Good Job. PS: as for the Antichrist I also think not, perhaps pre cursor and setting the stage, maybe yet I'll hold judgment until peace in Israel. Be well.
Your concerns are what many people have for their concerns. I have always hated politics as I was a firm believer in "who was already rich got richer and those that were poor, got poorer". I have only seen one political person actually follow through on his campaign promises. Bryon Brown, mayor of Buffalo NY. He has been in our news ever since he became Mayor of Buffalo. I do not live in Buffalo, but Buffalo is the larger metro area near me and this is the news I see. The majority of people will agree with you, we are all scared of 2009 and what it has for our futures.
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