New President, New Congress: What It Means For Global Private Equity

The Democratic Party firmly in command of both the White House and Congress - 2009 is shaping up to be a year of stepped-up activity on key issues affecting the private equity industry. President-elect Obama is committed to lowering taxes for persons with incomes under $250,000, expanding the availability of health care insurance to the uninsured, and investing in alternative energy technologies, among other costly proposals. These ambitious goals will run headlong into a deepening federal budget deficit stemming from the financial crisis, a crisis that in the past two months has imposed even greater pressure on Congress to find ways to "pay for" these new policy proposals.