Is this a Preview of Things Under President Obama?

Argentina recently elected a new president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The parallels between President Fernandez and Sen. Barack Obama are interesting.

Fernandez, like Obama, is a short-term politician, serving time as a local politician before serving in the country's senate. During only her second term, Fernandez ran for president.

Fernandez started her public life as an activist; similarly, Obama started his political career as a "community organizer", an activist activity to be sure.

Like Obama, Fernandez is often complimented on his looks, receiving compliments for her "striking physical appearance." Many believe they both got votes based on their appearance alone.

Both politicians are lauded for making history in their respective countries: Fernandez is the first woman elected to the country's presidency; Obama, of course, is aiming to be the country's first black president.

Their politics and attitudes also have some overlap.

According to a October 2007 Boston Globe article, Fernandez stated that "she is not against business profit."

This comment is eerily similar to Obama telling "Joe the Plumber" It's not that I want to punish your success... Both politicians seem to be apologizing for policies that do harm business profits and do punish success.

Fernandez continued in her conversation to "urge companies to be socially responsible."

Again, this attitude mirrors Obama's comment that paying taxes higher taxes is akin to neighborliness, and Joe Biden's call that paying higher taxes is patriotic.

I make these comparisons as I wonder if Fernandez' presidency is a preview to an Obama administration.

One of Fernandez' first acts as president was to increase the tax on farm exports. Like Fernandez, Obama wants to raise taxes and restrict trade.

Instead of helping the economy, Argentina's increased farm tax caused major problems in the economy, leading to protests, higher prices, and inflation. According to a USA Today article, had the taxes not been increased, the (tax) windfall could have financed needed utilities and energy sector infrastructure or funded programs for the country's 10 million poor.

Fernandez justified the tax increase because farmer's profits "should be spread to help the poor." Similarly, Obama has been preaching the notion of "spreading the wealth."

More recently, Fernandez just announced plans for Argentina to take over private pension systems in her country. The move, not yet enacted, has already sent the Argentine stock market tumbling, inciting double-digit percentage declines in stock markets.

But, Obama would never let that happen in the U.S.A., now would he?

According to James Pethokoukis in USA News and World Report: House Democrats recently considered ideas that would eliminate the preferential tax treatment of the popular retirement plans. In place of 401(k) plans, (the plan) would have workers transfer their dough into government-created "guaranteed retirement accounts" for every worker, which would yield a shockingly low 3%, and set mandatory saving requirement.

While this is just an idea being floated before the house, the lawmakers seem serious about killing 401K tax incentives; because, in the words of Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), the tax breaks are not "generating what we now say it should."

Part of the concern in Argentina is that there are no limits on how the government can use the seized funds; although lawmakers in the country are trying to limit how the government uses and invests the money.

Do you feel comfortable that the U.S. government would keep those funds apart from the general funds and not spend the money on other programs, considering that social security funds are used for other purposes?

I have to wonder, are we about to elect a man whose politics mirror the avowed socialist president of Argentina?

Scary times, indeed.