Politics Nerd Time: Yeah We Did!

Hell of a week! The phrase "President-elect Barack Obama" sort of rolls off the tongue, non? I have spent so many hours this week e-mailing particularly good editorials and interviews to other interested persons, and every so often being submerged in these tremendous waves of sentimentality. I hope that this is the start of good things. I think he is a capable, intelligent, and decent man, and I am confident he will stand the tests well. The simple act of electing him has done so much for the image of the United States, but the real work is on its way. There are a lot of things I'd like to see in the first hundred days, so here's a little wish list for you.

Maybe with the legislative and executive branches Democratic-controlled we will (despite Obama's vote on FISA) get some kind of due process back for accused terrorists. That is a relatively cheap step to take, and it might not be complete within 100 days but it could be started. It would also cement international goodwill if America started acting like the land of the free again.

I would also like defence accounting and contracting procedures tightened up, to avoid excess spending on contractors, because there have been some magnificently stupid things done in that arena in the past few years.

The climate change file is about to get even more interesting in the US, so I'll be watching that attentively. Personally, I don't expect the Canadian offer of a bilateral agreement aimed at carbon markets to get much of an airing in Washington. It wouldn't hurt to harmonize the carbon markets, because more reduction projects in the markets would make the markets more competitive, making carbon reductions cheaper, which is a Good Thing. That could be done at the same time as a domestic cap-and-trade system, so long as the accounting procedures were compatible between the two systems so that reductions created in Canada could be applied for US companies and vice versa. The Albertan fear that the fuel carbon standards idea will spread from California may be well-founded, and that could put a serious kink in bilateral relations. It will be interesting to see whether Obama honours trade agreements or tries to follow California's lead and get around them by arguing that the environmental exceptions in GATT apply (there's a decent case that they do, because I wouldn't expect any American-produced oil to have as heavy a carbon footprint as Canadian oil).

As far as the economy goes, I honestly have no idea what should be done. I oscillate daily between the "string the bastards up!" and "bail the bastards out" schools of thought. A more progressive tax plan, such as Obama's proposal from the campaign, would be a good strategy for the slightly longer term. It amused me that some people invoked (gasp!) Sweden as an example of what happens when you have progressive taxes. Yes, it must really suck to have a high life expectancy and raise your children in an environment of equal opportunity for all. Beyond that, well, we'll see. I have some sympathy with Sarkozy and Lula's calls for an overhaul of global capitalism, but I am unsure what, exactly, would replace it. The same goes for health care; I am by no means a health policy expert, so I won't give big strident opinions on that.

Lord, all I ever talk about is policy. And you, gentle reader, have more of that to look forward to, because once I have finished my term paper on the Iraqi security forces, it will probably be turned into a post for this blog.