Waiting for Obama

The distinguishing characteristic of the human race is that even during the most difficult periods it never loses its amazing capacity for recovery. 2008 has been a year of terrible woes and incredibly desperate financial crises.

But 2009 will begin with Barack Obama taking up the presidency of the United States in less than three weeks’ time. High hopes, not only for the economy, have been invested in Obama, who has become a historic figure even before taking office.

After years of naked selfishness which will remain the hallmark of the Bush era, we are headed for a series of turning points of which Obama’s inauguration is only the first.

He represents the great expectations of rich and poor alike around the world. Psychological factors are an essential part of the economy. Already the most respected experts are anticipating an American recovery sometime around the summer.

The expectations of the rich lie with their hopes for the success of Obama’s rescue plan. From the beginning of the year, $700 billion will be made available to revive the struggling U.S. economy. The auto industry is on the brink of disaster and must be given a new future.

But Obama also represents a new development. This will be a turning point for the green economy. The green car, hitherto dismissed by the auto industry, will now be that industry’s salvation. As part of the fight against global warming, Obama intends to raise the price of electricity and invest in alternative forms of energy, and has declared himself in favor of carbon trading. That would spell the end for oil.

The hopes of the poor lie with the Democratic president’s promise for achieving a better redistribution of wealth. In order to redress the most glaring inequalities in American society, while at the same time bolstering the middle class which is the heart of the nation (and of the Democratic vote), Obama is proposing a reform of the American health care system which will establish “universal health insurance” at the federal level (something which Bill Clinton notably failed to do). He is also proposing a raise in the minimum wage indexed to inflation, and massive tax cuts for the middle class.

This man who has never led an administration before (he has previously been either a lawyer or a senator) will of course make some mistakes. But it is certainly a very long time since a U.S. president has inspired such high hopes and expectations across the whole world.