What May Lie Ahead for Business in America

I wonder if soup lines that wrap around the block would make these "sighs of relief" echo louder?


What May Lie Ahead for Business in America:


A special report. From Wall Street to Detroit, there were plenty of sighs of relief. But the mood was tempered by worries.

But even as stocks rose on the news, the exuberant mood of business executives was tempered by worries about continuing high prices of oil, the nation's ballooning budget deficit and the increasing cost of health care. Military contractors, for example, expect that the Pentagon budget will flatten out, forcing the government to rein in spending for new weapons programs, as it needs to put more money into the war in Iraq.

And all employers - but particularly the auto industry, which is footing the bill for health benefits for thousands of retirees - are worried about the brisk rise in medical costs and whether the administration has a realistic plan for dealing with the problem.

The telecommunications and media industries expect the White House and their regulators to continue to step back and allow greater industry consolidation, even as regulators are faced with major decisions about the future of Internet and telephone services.

But the biggest smiles yesterday came from Wall Street executives, who were pleased with the tax cuts in the first Bush term and hope for more of the same from the second.

fuck you all.