In the Aftermath of the First 100 Days of Mitt Romney's Presidency

The day is May 3, 2013. The US has found itself in a precarious economic and geopolitical situation. It's been a little over 100 days since Pres. Mitt Romney's inauguration as the American populace makes its way to face an uncertain future...

Neil Cavuto: "Today the Dow closed at 10,534 up 70 points with gains from Wal-Mart WMT and Kraft KFT leading the way. The S&P 500 closed today at 1,080 up 15 points, and Nasdaq closed at 2,160 up 12 points over rumors that Amazon.com's AMZN going to be breaking ground with 100 new retail stores. Gold is currently trading at $1,818 per ounce."

In electing Pres. Romney, it would appear that the majority of Americans want the marketplace to be business-friendly. Given a possible spur in optimism going into the future owing to Romney's dedication to rebuilding the economy and tax cuts for businesses and consumers, the market may find itself significantly rebounding from previous slips and slides related to military actions in the Middle East and considerable drops in discretionary spending and consumer confidence. Given the emotional economic roller coasters of 2011 and 2012, it would appear that Americans are ready to brace for changing economic times.

That being the case, though a substantial boom appears to be on the horizon, various sectors of the economy find themselves having to rearrange themselves and their fiscal policies in order to deal with changing socio-cultural attitudes and fiscal norms. As the US consumer begins to retract into survival mode, businesses related to entertainment, leisure, non-essential retail goods, and luxury goods find themselves struggling as the economy begins to regain a solid footing.

Wolf Blitzer: "We're getting breaking news right now that three people have been critically injured in violent scuffles that have broken out in downtown Los Angeles today. The fights appear to be aftershocks related to the riots that occurred in LA and Tampa in 2012 following the presidential election. But we should note, they appear to be unrelated to the Occupy movement and the ongoing protests in Oakland."

Issues related to income inequality, student loans, and societal discontent may begin to weigh heavy on American commerce. In the aftermath of Romney's election, claims of rampant "crony capitalism" abound. In particular, criticism and unrest related to inequitable circumstances and income inequality may begin to reach a fever pitch going into the summer of 2013. In fear of what possibly could come in terms of food and energy price-rises and shortages, many American citizens may begin to retreat towards a local mindset, relying on family and friends for support. As the specter of societal unrest increases while city and states find themselves cutting budgets, local communities work through the family structure and local religious entities in order to deal with socio-economic issues related to rising food and energy costs. Some communities may begin to create agricultural, farming communes complete with schools and health clinics by which families can work and eat collectively as rising gas prices begin to make other forms of labor, transportation, and education obsolete. Self-sufficiency seminars across the nation begin to become popular.

Brian Williams: "In Oakland today, protests associated with the Occupy Oakland movement continued. Protesters have seized portions of the city dubbing their camps the 'Oakland Commune' with a red flag waving to symbolize the occupation. Law enforcement personnel have been hindered in securing the area because of protesters' ability to blockade buildings, ports, and thoroughfares through civil disobedience. A similar communal effort has been established in San Jose with protesters calling the territory the 'San Jose Commune'. Budget cuts in law enforcement appear to be strengthening the regional Occupy movements in peacefully claiming vacant public territory."

As young Americans begin to lose faith in the higher education system, many young entrepreneurs begin to start communes and co-ops for families and friends in order to avoid rising food and energy costs. Such communes and co-ops find support initially through religious organizations and begin to take hold as quasi-legal arms as cities and states have to limit budgeted funds for law enforcement. Turned off by law-enforcement spy drones, societal unrest, overregulation, and privacy concerns, members of communes and co-ops seek to reside off-the-grid by pooling familial and communal resources, effectively separating themselves from urban and suburban metropolitan centers. In some ways, these community efforts may create an economic "boom" for agricultural and food sectors, but aggregate demand for non-essential goods significantly falls owing to radical changes in consumer spending. Corporations like Best Buy BBY, Kohl's KSS, and Sears SHLD are hit the hardest as middle-America consumers effectively run out of money. Some retailers begin to shorten daily shopping hours to 10 am to 6 pm. Alternative and local currencies begin to keep the US dollar somewhat in check, if only domestically; the use of alternative and local currencies may begin to cause problems with respect to student loan debt and tax revenue. Gas prices collapse from $6 per gallon to around $3.60 per gallon as many middle-class Americans can neither afford to purchase cars nor afford to pay for the gas to drive to get to work. Corporations begin to take radical steps toward work-from-home plans for employees and younger Americans begin to seek out alternative avenues for labor in communes and farming co-ops. Protests begin to substantially impede the flow of commerce to a standstill as masses of young protesters "occupy" thoroughfares, shopping centers, and public and private buildings making everyday business cumbersome.

Rush Limbaugh: "We can thank the heavens above that this nation has a new leader. Or should I say, a leader. Yes, we may not be where we want to be right now, but the future is starting to look bright. Hey, everyone...make no mistake about it...this is a fresh start, and I'm not going to listen to any conservative pundits that are ticked about this. Don't be bitter...be hopeful. I've gotta tell ya, folks, I've been sleeping a lot more peacefully since the election."

Mark Levin: "People have been griping to me, 'But Mark, but Mark, we don't have a real conservative in the White House; the Republican Party has been hijacked.' And I see your point...but you know, would we have been any happier with the alternative? At least, now we have some hope that things can be corrected in this country. I mean, don't I look a bit happier since the election, Mr. Producer? Or at least, not as depressed?"

The presidential election has left both sides of the political aisle dissatisfied. Both conservatives and liberals find themselves unhappy and begin to fear an emerging and apparent corporate influence in Washington. The public begins to entertain the idea that Romney "purchased" the presidency and as such is an "illegitimate" public figure. The nation's new treasurer Paul Ryan has risen up as an influential political leader, committed to getting the nation's fiscal house in order. Even so, for those who retain capital and monetary resources, there is a strong bullish sentiment going forward. Despite formidable economic headwinds, it would appear that there are yet a handful of booms left in capitalism's chamber going forward. Intuitive long-term economists begin to see global capitalism's winding down with several major surges (related to lifestyle economic efficiency and technology) left to come until the capitalist superstructure becomes globally impractical. That being said, entrepreneurs and capital firms can see that those booms are not going to entail the sale of mortgage-backed securities and/or consumers' purchasing new cars, coffee makers, and margarita machines. Rather, the handful of booms left in the capitalist system will be related to technological growth in energy usage, household and business innovations, agricultural changes, water purification, and efficient, economic housing.

Chris Matthews: "President Romney today said that the US economy will improve gradually over time even with rising food prices and energy costs. Must be pretty easy to say that when you don't drive and don't do your own grocery shopping, am I right, Mr. President?"

Distortion in the public discourse and selective news-reporting from the mainstream media in past years begin to backfire as Americans begin to zone out various media outlets in favor of alternative news sources online and abroad. Fox News clearly and consistently dominates cable news ratings (though its dominance may be challenged early in 2014 with the arrival of a rumored Huffington Post News Channel). Hollywood, mainstream television networks, and printed media continue to suffer as more and more Americans rely on Netflix NFLX and other Internet sources for news, movies, and entertainment. Movie theater attendance collapses in the wake of lackluster films and a lack of US consumer discretionary income. Various newspapers and magazines across the country consolidate, retract, and limit themselves to only online publication. For middle-class Americans, global concerns begin to get wholly eclipsed by hunger and adversity present within the nation.

Jim Cramer: "For way too long we've been dealing with (*'The house of pain', *'The house of pain'), it's finally starting to feel like we're headed toward greener pastures (*'House of pleasure', *'All aboard')."

Americans begin to witness the utter implosion of bureaucracy in law, taxes, religion, government, and education owing to time, cost, and lethargy. As everyday bureaucratic processes begin to be seen by many in the populace as a waste of time and money, bureaucratic processes begin to be limited in practice to what is societally necessary to conserve resources and keep the peace, and even then, many bureaucratic processes are addressed through online means. Red tape is discarded not necessarily by will, but by need owing to limited funds and resources. Societal notions of law and order begin to be perceivably limited to keeping the peace. Mild deregulation of markets and the loosening of rules begin to take hold out of a blended sense of apathy and hope in greater freedom for firms. As such, even in light of global risks, firms and individuals begin to look forward to a considerable financial boom in the months and years to come.