Contrary to popular opinion, the latest election results put more pressure on enacting health care and climate change, not less. Talk to anyone in the progressive movement and it’s understood that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They must address these issues now or the window of opportunity might close.

• The progressive movement not only has the first president in decades who shares its views, but he’s also a popular president.
  
• The president will have more difficulty advancing his agenda as his honeymoon phase evaporates.
  
• The House and Senate enjoy supermajorities, which historically will decline after the next election cycle.

Thus, it’s widely understood that it’s now or never from a timing standpoint. This week’s election results only underscore the significance of the next 75-90 days to act aggressively. After that, the focus will have to shift toward the economy, job creation and posturing for next year’s mid-term elections.

If enacted, health care and climate change will become the driving forces in our economic and political lives for the foreseeable future, dominating our budgets for decades to come.

After all, nationalizing health care, like the other great social programs, is essentially non-reversible – once enacted, it’s with us forever. Unless the system collapses, it becomes too difficult to unwind.

The longevity of these types of programs is based on the brilliant way they are enacted. The system is redone and people align themselves to their reality before the costs are borne. After that, any significant changes would be devastating.

The commodity support system is a prime example. Regardless of whether or not you support ag subsidies, it’s now nearly impossible to envision a system without them. They’ve become so ingrained in crop production that their removal would hurt far too many people. Thus, adjustments will continue to be made at the fringes but the core principles are largely untouchable.

The upcoming December climate change meeting in Denmark and the proposals to be discussed are even more irreversible than health care. As such, the results will be even longer lasting and potentially more impactful on the economy.

The proposals would essentially put climate change at the forefront of every decision being made by individual countries. They would also cede the expertise and decision-making role on these issues to the extremists of the climate change movement. Watch out!