海角大神

As we close in on Election Day, the questions about what Mitt Romney would do if elected grow even larger. Rarely before in American history has a candidate for president campaigned on such a blank slate.聽

Yet, paradoxically, not a day goes by that we don鈥檛 hear Romney, or some other exponent of the GOP, claim that businesses aren鈥檛 creating more jobs because they鈥檙e uncertain about the future. And the source of that uncertainty, they say, is President Obama 鈥� especially his Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the Dodd-Frank Act, and uncertainties surrounding Obama鈥檚 plan to raise taxes on the wealthy.

In fact, Romney has created far more uncertainty. He offers a virtual question mark of an economy

For example, Romney says if elected he鈥檒l repeal Obamacare and replace it with something else. He promises he鈥檒l provide health coverage to people with pre-existing medical problems but he doesn鈥檛 give a hint how he鈥檇 manage it.聽

Insurance companies won鈥檛 pay the higher costs of insuring these people unless they have extra funds 鈥� which is why Obamacare requires that everyone, including healthy young people, buy insurance. Yet Romney doesn鈥檛 say where the extra money to fund insurers would come from. From taxpayers? Businesses?聽

Talk about uncertainty.

Romney also promises to repeal Dodd-Frank, but here again he鈥檚 mum on what he鈥檇 replace with. Yet without some sort of new regulation of Wall Street we鈥檙e back to where we were before 2008 when Wall Street crashed and brought most of the rest of us down with it.聽

Romney hasn鈥檛 provided a clue how he proposes to oversee the biggest banks absent Dodd-Frank, what kind of capital requirements he鈥檇 require of them, and what mechanism he鈥檇 use to put them through an orderly bankruptcy that wouldn鈥檛 risk the rest of the Street. All we get is a big question mark.聽

When it comes to how Romney would pay for the giant $5 trillion tax cut he proposes, mostly for the rich, he takes uncertainty to a new level of abject wonderment. 鈥淲e鈥檒l work with Congress,鈥� is his response.聽

He says he鈥檒l limit loopholes and deductions that could be used by the wealthy, but refuses to be specific. Several weeks ago Romney said he鈥檇 cap total deductions at $17,000 a year. Days later, the figure became $25,000. Now it鈥檚 up in the air. 鈥淧ick a figure,鈥� he now says.聽

Make no mistake. Wall Street traders and corporate CEOs are supporting Romney not because of the new level of certainty he promises but because Romney promises to lower their taxes.聽

Meanwhile, many of Romney鈥檚 allies who are attacking Obama for creating uncertainty are themselves responsible for the uncertainty. They鈥檙e the ones who have delayed and obfuscated Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and any semblance of a federal budget.聽

鈥淐ontinued uncertainty is the greatest threat to small businesses and our country鈥檚 economic recovery,鈥� says Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been funneled tens of millions of dollars into ads blaming Obama for the nation鈥檚 economic woes.聽

That鈥檚 the same Chamber of Commerce that鈥檚 been using every legal tool imaginable to challenge regulations emerging from Obamacare and Dodd-Frank 鈥� keeping the future of both laws as uncertain as possible for as long as they can. The Chamber even brought Obamacare to the Supreme Court.聽

At the same time, congressional Republicans have done everything in their power to scotch any agreement on how to reduce the budget deficit. Because they鈥檝e pledged their fiscal souls to Grover Norquist, they won鈥檛 consider raising even a dollar of new taxes. Yet it鈥檚 impossible to balance the budget without some combination of spending cuts and tax increases 鈥� unless, that is, we do away with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, or the military. 聽

Business executives justifiably worry about January鈥檚 so-called 鈥渇iscal cliff鈥�, requiring sudden and sharp tax increases and spending cuts. But they have no one to blame but Norquist鈥檚 Republican acolytes in Congress, including Paul Ryan, all of whom agreed to the fiscal cliff when they couldn鈥檛 agree to anything else.聽

Average Americans, meanwhile, face more economic uncertainty from the possibility of a Romney-Ryan administration than they have had in their lifetimes. Not only has Romney thrown the future of Obamacare into doubt, but Americans have no idea what would happen under his administration to Medicare, Medicaid, college aid, Pell grants, food stamps, unemployment insurance, and many other programs Americans rely on. All would have to be sliced or diced, but Romney won鈥檛 tell us how or by how much.聽

Romney is casting a pall of uncertainty in every direction 鈥� even toward young immigrants. He vows if elected he鈥檒l end Obama鈥檚 reprieve from deportation of young people who arrived in the U.S. illegally when they were children. As a result, some young people who might qualify are holding back for fear the information they offer could be used against them at later date if Romney is elected.聽

Conservative economists such as John Taylor of the Hoover Institution, one of Romney鈥檚 key economic advisors, continue to attribute the slow recovery and high unemployment to Obama鈥檚聽 鈥渦npredictable economic policy.鈥� 聽

In truth, Romney and the GOP have put a giant question mark over the future of the economy and of all Americans.聽The only way the future becomes more certain is if Obama wins on Election Day.聽