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No matter who takes the US helm, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, the winner will have to tackle the budget deficit problem which many experts consider threatening the global economy. Some even call it a fiscal cliff. The GOP and the Democrats approach the issue differently but its solution will be decisive for financial well-being of all countries around the globe. Neither candidate plans tough austerity, but both back tougher taxation. Obama proposes to tax the rich, whilst tycoon Romney wants to tax everybody.
Russian economist Yevgeni Yasin believes, “This is all pre-election rhetoric, but, in practise, unpopular measures would be inevitable. Any drastic decision could trigger side-effects in the global economy. If the USA keeps on squandering money like this, its economy, as well as the global one, would fluctuate for some time, but, then, finally collapse”. Andrei Vavilov, the head of the Financial Research Institute, said, “Anyway, the winner would have to “relaunch” the American economy for further growth. It’s crucial to stimulate business activity, which is a priority for Romney, whilst Obama pays less attention to this sphere”.
According to a Foreign Policy magazine poll, half of the leading American economists find Obama’s economic strategy more reliable and rebuke Romney’s plan as being dangerous and unrealistic. Larry Summers, ex-US Treasury Secretary and the head of the National Economic Council, mocks Romney’s economic course. Meanwhile, Wall Street investment banks think that time is running out and urges the President and the Congress to prevent a collapse. However, politicians are unlikely to handle financial issues when the presidential race is approaching its peak.
19 October 2012
Anna Zhdanova
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_19/US-on-the-verge-of-a-fiscal-cliff/
Editor’s Note:
The fiscal crisis is due to four factors:
- Overly-expensive wars in foreign parts unrelated to national defence or national interests
- Tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans enacted during wartime (!)
- Deregulation of the banking industry
- Businessmen using Third World locales to circumvent labour and environmental regulations
The way out is clear. Firstly, we must “bring the legions home”, end the wars, and cut military spending for at least 20 years. Secondly, we must restore taxation on the rich to the levels of 1980. Thirdly, we must repeal all of Reagan’s “deregulation” and reimpose strict regulation of the banking industry. Fourthly, we must stop “outsourcing” by penalising businessmen who send jobs overseas.
That would cure the ill… but the Republican Party wants short-term gain over long-term health. It does indicate whom to vote for on 6 November, doesn’t it? Remember, a vote for Romney is a vote for war, higher taxes, and a corporate dictatorship. If we hold back the Republican racists this time, they may never get up again (due to changes in American demographics). That’s why we all have to vote…
BMD
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo
Voices from Russia 
How the USA will Elect “Obamney”
Tags: 2012 US Presidential election, Barack Obama, Democratic Party (United States), Election, elections, Electoral College, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, political commentary, politics, President of the United States, presidential election campaign, Republican Party (United States), United States, United States presidential election, US elections, USA, Washington D.C., Willard Romney
Here’s a snapshot of Mittens‘ base…
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The incumbent American president, Barack Obama, who’s running for a second term, and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney have to go through yet another, third, round of live TV debates ahead of the crucial vote, which occurs on the first Monday of November every leap year. On 6 November, a sophisticated election mechanism, which looks more like a game for rich adults, in which presidential candidates are like Monopoly tokens, will make its last turn before coming to a standstill until the next election season. However, no matter who wins, the general line never changes. Some people joke that the name of the next president is “Obamney”.
The American electoral system has had almost no alterations since its inception in 1787. As it was more than two centuries ago, the election for the President and Vice President is indirect. Firstly, voters in each of the states choose delegates or electors to the Electoral College, consisting of 538 members, equal to the total number of seats in the US Congress, plus three delegates from the District of Columbia. Wyoming, the least populous state in the USA, has three electors in the College, and California, the most populous state, has 55. Most of the states use the “winner take all” principle. Thus, if the Republican Party comes first in some state or another, all the electors from that state will be Republicans. Voters actually vote for a party-list of electors.
The election race begins almost two years ahead of the general election with so-called primaries, or party elections, during which parties or political alliances select potential presidential candidates through caucuses or local conventions. Three months before the final vote, national party conventions decide which of the candidates should run for the White House. Why is it all so complicated? French political observer Dmitry de Koshko said, “It’s a tool of control over people. The old electoral system was preserved for the interests of those who hold the levers of power in politics and the economy, to enable them to maintain their influence and the opportunity to choose candidates”.
Ukrainian analyst Mikhail Pogrebinsky added, “The American electoral system enables the oligarchy to stay at the helm through allegedly democratic means. Someone once said that the difference between elections in the USA and elections in Russia is that, in America, despite ‘choice’ in the elections, it doesn’t matter who wins, because the same élite always rules. In Russia, a lot may change, so the winner is known in advance”. After George W Bush’s lame victory in the 2000 election, many Americans didn’t conceal their disappointment with the American electoral system. The voices of ordinary voters are actually irrelevant, since the entire model of American democracy, including its elections, is a sort of game for the rich.
19 October 2012
Nikita Sorokin
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_19/How-Obamney-is-elected/