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MY PREDICTIONS FOR 2013

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My serious (and not so serious) predictions for 2013:

2013 will see the economy rebound and the media will gush over the “Obama Recovery.” The reality is that too much capital has been sitting on the sidelines the past 24 months, paralyzed by tax code uncertainty. That’s now settled and the influx will cause growth rates over 2.5% for the next 12 months, however, what follows…….

…… is a 2014 that will see the economy stall, as the double whammy of the President’s “Affordable Care Act” and “Dodd-Frank” will institute a host of new regulations that will strangle any gains made by the modest economic recovery of the previous year.

Yes, the President will still blame George W. Bush.

In February, the President will unveil massive new gun control legislation at his State of the Union, with parents of Sandy Hook victims in the House Gallery. The legislation will die largely because of the block of Dem Senators from Red States (Manchin, Landrieu, Begich, Pryor, Donnelly, Tester, Johnson, etc.) will listen to their vocal constituents and vote no.

Republican Tim Scott, the only African-American in the United States Senate, will give the GOP’s response to the President’s February State of the Union. It will be well received and his name will immediately be mentioned as a viable “VP” pick for the GOP in 2016.

Insurance premiums will skyrocket as health insurance companies anticipate the new “Affordable Care Act” mandates. The President will blame “greedy” insurance companies, House Republicans, the Denver Broncos secondary, and George W. Bush while never considering the impact of his own legislation.

In entertainment, Spielberg’s masterpiece “Lincoln” will sweep the Academy Awards, making it the first and only time the Oscar for “Best Picture” goes to a film portraying Republicans as heroes and Democrats as villains.

In sports, the New England Patriots will win Super Bowl XLVII; despite the victory, Pats Coach Bill Belichick will continue to look like someone just ran over his dog.

The SEC will win their 27th straight college football national championship. The BCS Commissioner announces a rule change and will now automatically award its national champion to the winner of the SEC Title game.

Despite being $16,000,000,000,000.00 in debt and going up roughly $3 million every minute, Paul Krugman will continue to write op-eds claiming we need more federal deficit spending.

Vice-President Joe Biden will say something incredibly racially offensive and/or sexist, and the media will largely ignore it as “Joe being Joe”;

The month of May will see the longest Republican Convention in history, with 137 candidates vying for the Lt. Governor’s nomination, 135 of them from Northern Virginia.

The summer will see a surprise Supreme Court retirement announcement, most likely on the last day of the court session in July or August.

The same day as the announcement, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Court will affirm same-sex marriage, confirming a cultural trend that’s been emerging in America for the past decade.

In October, a Washington Post tradition continues, with a gubernatorial poll that claims the Governor’s race is “in the bag” for Terry McAuliffe. It will largely be based on Presidential turnout-models that are not the historic norm and will be wrong come election day;

In November, Ken Cuccinelli will emerge victorious, running a very disciplined, focused campaign. During the campaign he will also roll out a series of “bread and butter” domestic initiatives on everything from transportation to education. Cuccinelli is a serious man running for a serious job, and Virginians will feel more comfortable entrusting him with the Governor’s Mansion as compared to the somewhat ridiculous Terry McAuliffe.

Come mid September, we will enjoy another Fall of glorious weather, changing leaves, football and fellowship in the Old Dominion State. Virginians will once again realize that Fall in the Commonwealth is one of the richest treasures on earth.

Finally, as always, my daughters will surprise and delight me in countless ways and will once again remind me that I’m the luckiest man alive.