This morning our nation awoke with a new president. After months of stimulating intellectual discourse, the people of America (or the electoral college as it may be) put an end to the statistical dead heats and elected either a stiff-necked Tennesseean or a record-dodging Texan to be the next leader of the free world. However, now is not the time to gloat about how the smarter man won out in the end. Nor is it the time to plan your emigration to Canada in the case that he didn't--at least, not quite yet. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, now is the time to be thinking about the next presidential election. In 2004 the next incumbent free-riding off the nation's economic success and the next challenger pledging to restore moral authority to the White House will invariably ask you if you are better off today than you were four years ago; now is the time to make sure that you can answer.

So, before you face the world this morning--before you collect on your bets, hide your face in shame, or tear down the campaign posters that have been obscuring your courtyard view for the past several months--sit back and take a few minutes to take stock of your current situation. Lest you enjoy falling prey to political rhetoric and inflated electoral promises, today's prudence will be tomorrow's payoff.

Instructions: Take out a clean sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Record the type of writing utensil that you are using. Are you writing with a pencil? A Bic pen? A tricolor ensemble emblazoned with a consulting firm logo? (Note: This question is not just intended to make sure that your writing utensil works. If in four years you've upgraded from a #2 to a gold plated Mont Blanc it's a sure sign that you've benefited financially and that the administration has been right on track--that you are conspicuously consuming in preparation for your first Harvard reunion is also an option, but as this is a political survey that altogether reasonable explanation will be ignored.)

Now, ask yourself the following questions:

On Taxation

Are you part of the wealthiest one percent of Americans? Are you a middle class American? What is your current marginal rate of taxation? Would you have been able to calculate your marginal rate of taxation if you had not taken Economics 1010 and 1011? Will you be able to calculate your marginal rate of taxation in 2004 after several years without Economics 1010 and 1011? If not, record appropriate formulas as well.

On Prescription Drug Coverage

How many of your elderly relatives are currently traveling to Canada to buy their medication? How many of your elderly relatives are currently traveling to Florida to buy their medication but are so senile that they think they are traveling to Canada? If your elderly relatives had prescription drug coverage, how many could actually open the childproof caps on their prescription drugs?