AP Headline: “Executives See Credit and Housing as Big Threats”.

But you know what they see as the second biggest threat? They don’t put it this way, but I will:

The election of Democrats to the presidency the second biggest threat to the American economy, because they’ll raise taxes.

Martin Crutsinger: “Turmoil in credit and housing markets will be the most significant threat to growth this year, according to a survey of top financial company executives released Friday. These executives believe there is a high probability — 88 percent — that the country will suffer a recession in the next 12 months. The responses came from executives whose firms are members of the Financial Services Forum, which represents 20 of the largest financial companies in the country including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Allstate Insurance and Fidelity Investments. After credit market tumult and troubles in the housing market, the executives listed the next biggest threats to the economy now as the possibility the government will impose higher taxes or raise protectionist barriers to foreign competition.”

Well, what party is going to do that? What party is out there promising to raise taxes?

Both Hillary and Obama are promising to raise taxes, and when you listen to Obama tell us why, it’s not about raising revenue. The whole purpose of the tax code is to raise revenue, to fund government services, blah, blah, blah. We all know this. But not with Obama. To him, the tax code is to be used as punishment. It’s to try to perfect everybody, make everybody equal, it’s to punish people who, in Obama’s view, have enough. And the same thing with Clinton, who’s out there saying she wants to take Big Oil’s profits and pour them into research on alternative fuels.

So… the way I would write this story, “After credit market tumult and troubles in the housing market, the executives listed the next biggest threats to the economy now as the possibility that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be elected president,” because they’re the ones who are talking about imposing higher taxes and raising protectionist barriers to foreign competition, i.e., NAFTA, and not passing the Colombia free trade agreement. Second biggest threat to economic growth is the Democrat Party.

The AP makes it clear, but if you don’t have the ability to put two and two together there and understand who’s for raising taxes, you’ll never get it.