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Election to benefit some industries, harm others
2008-11-02
WASHINGTON - Battered by the financial meltdown, America's business community is anxiously calculating how Tuesday's presidential election will affect it. Muzi.com News 10082313-1 (muzi.com)Energy, pharmaceutical and telecommunications companies could face tax and other policy changes no matter who wins the White House. The outcome also could determine how well alternative energy developers, generic biotechnology companies, stem cell researchers and others fare. Muzi.com News 10082313-2 (muzi.com) Labor unions put major resources behind Democrat Barack Obama and could wind up a big winner if he takes the White House. Nuclear power and the coal industry would get a boost if Republican John McCain prevails. Obama promises to raise corporate tax rates and income taxes on families making over $250,000; McCain promises to cut corporate taxes and extend all of President Bush's tax cuts. Muzi.com News 10082313-3 (muzi.com) A look at how some could fare: Muzi.com News 10082313-4 (muzi.com) UNIONS Muzi.com News 10082313-5 (muzi.com) With Obama in office and an expected stronger Democratic majority on Capitol Hill, unions could achieve their top goal of making it easier for workers to organize. Labor wants to winning passage of a measure that would require companies to recognize unions once a majority of employees sign cards expressing support. Muzi.com News 10082313-6 (muzi.com) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the bill. Steven Law, the group's general counsel, said the elimination of secret ballot votes "creates tremendous incentives for intimidation and harassment." But Bill Samuel, director of government affairs at the AFL-CIO, says, "We see (it) as a way to strengthen the middle class" by enabling more workers to push for higher wages and benefits. Muzi.com News 10082313-7 (muzi.com) Obama has endorsed the measure; McCain opposes it. Muzi.com News 10082313-8 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082313-9 (muzi.com) ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND NUCLEAR POWER Muzi.com News 10082313-10 (muzi.com) Both candidates back expanded use of alternative energy such as solar and wind power -- through greater spending in Obama' case and tax credits in McCain's. Muzi.com News 10082313-11 (muzi.com) Obama proposes spending $150 billion over 10 years to speed the development of plug-in hybrid cars and "commercial-scale" renewable energy, among other goals. Muzi.com News 10082313-12 (muzi.com) McCain favors the construction of 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030 and spending $2 billion annually in support of "clean coal." Muzi.com News 10082313-13 (muzi.com) While McCain has been a critic of government support for ethanol, most analysts think congressional support for the alternative fuel would enable it to survive under a McCain administration. Muzi.com News 10082313-14 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082313-15 (muzi.com) STEM CELL RESEARCH Muzi.com News 10082313-16 (muzi.com) Few sectors have more to gain on Election Day than the nation's fledgling stem cell companies, which long have bemoaned the administration's policy limiting federal money for embryonic stem cell research. Bush believes the research is immoral because the process of culling the stem cells kills the embryo. Muzi.com News 10082313-17 (muzi.com) Both Obama and McCain support federal spending on stem cell research and could move to overturn current restrictions. Muzi.com News 10082313-18 (muzi.com) Industry executives say the policy change would shore up investor confidence in stem cell developers. Muzi.com News 10082313-19 (muzi.com) "It will relieve a lot of uncertainty among the investment community that we are going to become an outlaw industry," said Richard Garr, chief executive of Neuralstem. Muzi.com News 10082313-20 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082313-21 (muzi.com) BIOTECH GENERICS Muzi.com News 10082313-22 (muzi.com) Both candidates have endorsed creating a pathway for generic biotech drugs, a long-sought goal for generic drug companies such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Mylan Inc. Muzi.com News 10082313-23 (muzi.com) Unlike traditional chemical drugs, biotech companies such as Amgen Inc. and Genentech Inc. face no generic competition in the U.S. because the Food and Drug Administration lacks authority to approve copies of biotech medicines. That is because biotech drugs, which are made from living cells or bacteria, are more complicated to manufacture than chemical drugs. Muzi.com News 10082313-24 (muzi.com) Both campaigns have praised generic drugs as a tool to lower health care costs. Muzi.com News 10082313-25 (muzi.com) "We know that expanding the use of generics and eliminating barriers to that goal must be a centerpoint of any health reform effort," said Dora Hughes, a health care adviser for Obama, at a recent industry conference. Muzi.com News 10082313-26 (muzi.com) In politics, of course, not everyone is a winner. Some possible losers include: Muzi.com News 10082313-27 (muzi.com) OIL COMPANIES Muzi.com News 10082313-28 (muzi.com) Companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are likely to face higher taxes under a President Obama, who supports a windfall profits tax. Muzi.com News 10082313-29 (muzi.com) The two companies did not help their cause by reporting record profits in late October. Still, as oil prices fall, profits are likely to follow suit. Muzi.com News 10082313-30 (muzi.com) Even if a windfall profit tax is not imposed, at least eight different taxes and fees could be slapped on the cash-rich industry by a Democratic Congress looking for extra revenue, said Kevin Book, an energy analyst at FBR Capital Markets. Muzi.com News 10082313-31 (muzi.com) They include adopting a surtax on oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and eliminating a 2 percent tax cut included in recent legislation, Book said. Muzi.com News 10082313-32 (muzi.com) On the other hand, oil companies could profit if McCain wins since he is a big champion of offshore drilling. Muzi.com News 10082313-33 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082313-34 (muzi.com) PHARMACEUTICALS Muzi.com News 10082313-35 (muzi.com) No matter which candidate wins the White House, the largest drugmakers, such as Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc., will struggle to defend lucrative government programs. That includes the Medicare drug benefit, which pays for medications taken by 47 million older people and which provided much-needed revenue to the drug industry last year. Muzi.com News 10082313-36 (muzi.com) Dozens of insurers now separately negotiate prices with pharmaceutical makers; the government reimburses insurers for the final cost. Though the program has come in under budget, most Democrats say greater savings could be had by letting the government directly negotiate prices with drugmakers. Muzi.com News 10082313-37 (muzi.com) Obama has pledged to take up the effort, arguing that savings could total up to $30 billion. McCain also supports giving the government power to negotiate prices, but only at the request of individual insurers. Muzi.com News 10082313-38 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10082313-39 (muzi.com)
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