This headline fronted many newspapers the morning after the election. There is no question but that the election of Senator Obama as our next President is hailed as a mandate for change. Of course, this begs the question of what we change and how. Over the next four years we will have our answers.
For consumers, let us hope that their voices will, once again, be heard on a national level. We are all paying for the Republican policy of "hands off" of private industry's efforts to make money. The reality of the public impact of this laissez-faire approach to private industry is being felt by decimated pension funds and fired workers all over America. It is clear that these failed policies must change and a balance struck between "free" enterprise and reasonable government enforcement of the rules of trade.
As for insurance, a change to absolute respect for the integrity of the financial reserves must be achieved. How perilously close insureds came to having their insurance trusts raided in efforts to make AIG Financial Services solvent may never be fully appreciated. The fact that a pre-federal bailout program investigation into releasing surplus reserves or approving insurance asset sales to fund AIG's non-insurance operations is enough to cause great concern. Centerview Partners to Advise Insurance Department on AIG. Further, that the AIG state regulated insurance entities maintained their fiscal integrity such as to be a targeted treasure trove for the parent's survival speaks volumes of the need to re-examine the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
President-elect Obama will face many challenges in these unique times of economic and foreign policy failures inherited from the current administration. His early post-election comments bode well for a time of reconciliation of our financial, foreign, and domestic policies with our need for an inclusive society and inclusive approach to world politics. It is hoped that his policies of inclusion are not merely a switch from a perceived emphasis upon the rights and privileges of the rich to those of the poor. Rather, that he will bring about consensus and equity among all Americans. We are a free society that values the right and ability of anyone to achieve professional, business, and public office successes. Our President-elect embodies this American dream. His regulatory and taxing programs must provide the equities needed for all dreams to flourish, even those who dream to make it rich.
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