There has been an awful lot of buzz about the results of the mid-term election last week. The people of the nation indicated they were unhappy with the Democratic majority and their actions over the last two years. The result is a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, which is probably a good thing to help balance out the power but clearly a change demanded by the voters.
What kind of change will it bring? Well, there is speculation that the Republicans will try to undo the health care bill enacted under the Democratic majority in the last year. There is talk about the Republicans slashing the budget and getting government spending under control. There is talk about all the things the Republicans will do to “reverse” the Obama administration’s actions over the last two years. At least that seems to be the expectation of the voters to some degree. Kind of like the voters’ expectation(s) when the Democrats won the majority in Congress two years ago. Remember the whole “change you can believe in” campaign? And the Republicans may try to do all these things as well as a lot more. But whether they will succeed is another story. Even if they do succeed, what will the impact be for you and your financial situation?
The answer is: absolutely nothing. No matter what happens with the change in elected officials, the impact for you will be minimal. Any new regulations they pass won’t take effect for a while, and when they do take effect we won’t see the full results for several years. The economy isn’t going to magically improve just because one political party is in power. In fact, if either party has full control of the government it’s likely they will prolong the country’s economic recovery.
It doesn’t matter which political party is in charge. Congress is not responsible for your personal situation. You are. Congress doesn’t create jobs. Businesses do. The President doesn’t control your spending. You do. Your Governor doesn’t pay off your debt. You do.
Your personal financial situation is controlled by you and you alone. It’s your responsibility to do a budget, set aside money for emergencies, eliminate your debt, spend less than you make, and ensure you have the right insurance protection for your family. Don’t sit back and wait for the government to change things to help you. If you want your situation to change, don’t wait for someone else to fix it. Fix it yourself.