May 10, 2008

Ohio is a melting pot of politics with conservative social values and liberal, blue-collar workers. While history shows that there isn't much difference for stock market returns when a Democrat is President versus a Republican, there are some significant economic choices that will have to be made by this next President. First, Social Security and Medicare are guaranteed to go broke, unless spending cuts are made. Clinton and Obama have said they want to continue the status quo path towards bankruptcy. Second, the country is skirting with recession right now. Again, two of the candidates want to raise taxes on income, capital gains, and dividends, exactly the wrong thing to do at the wrong time when we are trying to create jobs and raise incomes. Third, the estate tax is increasing dramatically over the next few years, causing family businesses to have to sell the business just to pay the tax.

Therefore, if you are saving for retirement, in retirement, have an income, own a mutual fund or stocks, or might die someday, then the election is important to you. It is imperitive for you to find a financial planner or investment advisor that can review your entire financial situation. First, a financial advisor can talk to you about the higher income and capital gains taxes proposed by some of the candidates. Higher taxes always cause people to shift income, money and investments around and look for loopholes. Second, you will need to determine how the higher taxes will affect your estate plan and discuss this with your investment advisor. You will also need to review your retirement savings plan with your financial planner, and consider that you won't be able to rely on Social Security or Medicare to pay your bills in retirement if these programs go bankrupt. A financial advisor can help you put together a retirement plan that saves enough to cover your own retirement income needs. You should search and find a financial planner or investment advisor that can cover all of these issues and your unique financial needs.