It is Not a Mandate...

Over the next few days, and weeks, you are going to hear phrases like the voters have given us a mandate or the will of the people and I would suggest that each time you hear those sorts of phrases you check your wallet, because it means you have just been charged.

Let us start at the top.

Healthcare

For those of you that think Obamacare is the scourge of Satan, you are probably just drooling at the Republican win because the scourge of your existence is about to be repealed. The reality is probably going to be somewhat different, and it will not be in your favor. In fact, I am willing to bet that you will see an increase in costs far above what the Healthcare bill intended. These increase will come subtly, such as increased co-pays or higher drug costs or other fees that you will not really notice at once. And then the premiums will increase, despite the smaller pool of insured people.

If you were hoping to finally get healthcare, well, that door has likely been slammed in your face and you are out in the cold. I suggest you drink plenty of orange juice this cold and flu season, because that is about your only option. You might also want to make sure you can prove you are in the country legally if you intend to get services from a hospital (more on that in a moment). The last statistic I read was that there was 1 in 47 Americans living without healthcare. I expect that number to go up, and the burden on local jurisdictions, especially hospitals, will increase. Which will lead to higher taxes and other costs.

The Economy

If you think your taxes will go down, think again. Sure there might not be an increase in the Federal income tax, but someone is going to have to pay for the hospital visits, as I eluded to above, and the increase in service costs that are being borne by the local jurisdictions. These new taxes will be called user fees or disposal charges or infrastructure costs, but they will be new taxes, because big business will not be paying their share, so someone has to.

And while we are looking at costs and services, expect a lot fewer services. Everything from the public library to fire and rescue services will be cut as much as possible. In my local jurisdiction, one city was talking about eliminating their paid fire department in favor of going all-volunteer, despite the overwhelming evidence from surrounding jurisdictions that there are not enough volunteers to staff fire and rescue services on the weekends, much less at noon on a Tuesday, and more and more are turning towards a paid staff. The Republicans have made no secret their hatred of things like a well funded education system, so expect class sizes to bloom and teacher salaries to decline. Which means fewer and qualified teachers, but hey, that is the problem for the next generation to deal with.

I expect they are popping the champagne on Wall Street today, which cannot be good for us. The banking industry has managed to ratchet down credit to the point where the little guy cannot buy anything, while still managing to make huge profits, but with the results of these elections, expect, again, subtle fees to start creeping into your daily banking. Fees for carrying a zero balance, fees for not using your card, fees for using your card, fees for having an account with out a high minimum balance, fees for actually spending your money. Gone are the days when it was your money.

Finally, if you are a federal worker, I hope you have a current resume and real world applicable skills, because a reduction in force is coming. All those benefits and perks that you have enjoyed are about to be yanked away from you. Forget that most of them barely help bring your salary up to par with your free-market counterparts. Forget that most of you are doing the job out of a sense of patriotism. And forget that once the reduction begins, there will not be enough federal workers to do the job, so contractors will have to be brought in and a job once paying a full time fed to do at $60,000 will cost $150,000. But the Fed will not be doing the job, so there is a real cost savings. At least on paper.

Immigration

The momentum will not be towards fixing the broken immigration system, but more towards throwing up the walls and denying services. You will have to carry proof of citizenship with you if you expect access to services. And I do mean citizenship. Even if you are in the country legally, such as a resident alien, you can expect to be treated as a third class citiz...er...person. This will make some of the changes in the late 80s seem tame by comparison. But don't expect a fix. Just a continued devaluation and stripping away of your right.

Security

Speaking of rights, expect more and more of them to be eroded. Don't ask, don't tell? Ha, that is liberal. If you are a homosexual serving in the military, forget any sort of openness or relaxed atmosphere that you have had up to now. Your best move is to bury those feelings deep and learn how to lie really well. Get yourself a friend of the opposite sex who can be your alibi, because you will likely need it.

Civil Unions between homosexuals? Expect them to be ignored more than they have been and concerted effort expended to ensure that they do not encroach further.

Roe v Wade? I would not be surprised to see that attacked and dismantled, in ways that circumvent the courts in short order.

The Outcome?

Last night's elections were not a good thing for the United States in general. The people have not spoken. Sadly, it will be ten or twenty years from now before we can look back and realize this is when the end began. But there is some hope. It is possible that the government will get so gridlocked that nothing will be accomplished and perhaps the American people, the REAL American people will begin to understand what a mess they have created and demand real fixes to it. But I am not holding my breath.