Gearing Up for President Obama
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Janssen
What the retail real estate industry should look for under a new administration.
Not Keen on Change
Ecstatic voters may have partied in the streets in cities across the country to celebrate the victory of President-elect Barack Obama. But Retail Traffic readers were likely not among the throngs, according to a survey conducted in the week after the election. According to our findings, just 30 percent of Retail Traffic readers were “very” pleased with the election results while 47 percent were “not at all” pleased.
As one reader put it, “I think he will crush the middle class with more taxes, bring about socialized medicine and cause me to downsize my work staff [because of] additional regulatory burdens.” Many other readers also wrote in with concerns about higher taxes and think his plan to “redistribute the wealth” will ultimately worsen the downturn. One reader said, “He will have a negative effect on investment of capital because of his proposed tax structure.”
However, some readers did think an Obama administration will have positive effects. Some think he will restore the United States's global standing and reputation. One reader said his economic and tax policy is a “dose of sanity.” And another said “his election is the beginning of the restoration of credibility in the governing institutions of the United States.”
Overall, 48 percent of survey respondents said they were Republican compared with just 21 percent Democratic. Another 21 percent said they were Independent. The balance were from smaller parties or preferred not to say.
Why aren't readers pleased? Almost half — 45 percent — think Obama's election will not benefit their business and 44 percent think Obama will be bad for business in general. Only 14 percent think Obama's victory will be “very” beneficial and 16 percent said it would be “somewhat” beneficial.
The most important issue to Retail Traffic readers during the election was the “availability of credit” followed by “stability of the nation's financial institutions,” “changes in tax rates/structures,” “economic policies/stimulus programs” and “national security.” Least important to readers were the issues of “minimum wage legislation,” “green energy,” “unionization issues,” “immigration issues” and “environmental regulation.” Readers expect Obama's presidency to most positively affect the development of alternative or green energy while they expect it to most negatively affect changes in tax rates/structure.
Approximately 200 readers took part in the survey.
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