In just a few days, on November 4^th, the people of the United States of America will vote to elect a new President.  At the time of this writing, in the 34 States that offer Early Voting Facilities, about 18 millions have already voted, after waiting in line for an average of 3 to 4 hours.  In addition, hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots have also been turned in, by mail.  This trend is expected to remain strong until elections day, when a record number of participants is anticipated to cause longer lines and longer hours at the polls.

 These are indeed historic elections that will bring a woman, if not an African-American, to the White House for the first time, at a time when the United States is facing increasing domestic pressure to bring the troops back home from the war theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as popular demand for economic reforms that will make capitalism work better for Main Street and the average member of the middle class.  For Americans, the stakes are high.  But, should Haitians care?

 The stakes are high.

 In addition to serious issues of homeland security and their staggering costs in the post 9/11 era, including the unpopular war in Iraq that costs $ 10 billion a week, a huge public debt of about $ 10 trillion dollars, annual deficits of $ 500 million, a continuously declining GDP that just had a 0.3 % contraction, reinforcing fears of a severe and prolonged recession, a 6 % unemployment rate, the highest level since 2004, a still crumbling housing market, and a frozen credit market, in spite of corrective monetary policies, and the largest government intervention in the market, since the great depression, to the tune of $ 700 billion, the United States is also handicapped by declining investors and consumers confidence.  Surely, the stakes are high in these elections.  The average American realizes that the future of the country has never been so bleak, and that choosing between Senator John Mc Cain and Senator Barack Obama will also spell success or failure in implementing a coherent and effective national rescue program for the United States.

 Haitians should care.

 Obviously, Haitian-Americans and Haitian nationals who reside permanently in the United States, have vested interests in U.S. domestic and foreign policies that affect their lives directly, whether it is in the sacrifices of family members who have died while serving in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, for example, or in scaling down their standard of living as they continue to face rising costs of living, with declining real incomes in a struggling economy. With reduced disposable incomes, those living in the United States must decrease their remittances transferred to relatives in Haiti, the amount of which now average $ 1 billion annually. 

  But, all Haitians must have an interest in the affairs of a superpower that so passionately values liberty, the cornerstone of Haiti?s existence as an independent nation.  In fact, one can argue that Haiti?s endemic poverty and the misery of its citizens are the result of the country?s inability, throughout its entire history, to build the political and economic institutions necessary for the protection of liberty and the individual freedoms without which no society can flourish as demonstrated in 1776, a fateful year for the United States, by a philosopher of natural law, Adam Smith, in his book ?The Wealth of Nations.? 

The 2008 U.S. elections offer yet another opportunity for all Haitians to reflect on the merits of democratic government as an institution of freedom without which the market economy, as the most powerful engine of economic growth and individual development, could not deliver what it does best, i.e. to bring economic prosperity to free individuals in a free society subjected to the rule of law and respect for human rights.  In these, Haitians should find plenty to care about. ----