Gordon Campbell US Election 2012 Blog - Update #5

Update 12.35pm

Wow. Without even blinking, CNN just gave us an incidental summary of Romneyeconomics : he’ll give everyone a 20% tax cut, and close some tax loopholes. “That’s how he’ll deal with the deficit.” Oh good. And he’ll massively increase defence spending. No wonder The Economist recently endorsed Obama, however grudgingly. Their dissing of Romney was on the button :

…Far from being the voice of fiscal prudence, Mr Romney wants to start with huge tax cuts (which will disproportionately favour the wealthy), while dramatically increasing defence spending. Together those measures would add $7 trillion to the ten-year deficit. He would balance the books through eliminating loopholes (a good idea, but he will not specify which ones) and through savage cuts to programmes that help America’s poor (a bad idea, which will increase inequality still further). At least Mr Obama….has made it clear that any long-term solution has to involve both entitlement reform and tax rises. Mr Romney is still in the cloud-cuckoo-land of thinking you can do it entirely through spending cuts: the Republican even rejected a ratio of ten parts spending cuts to one part tax rises. Backing business is important, but getting the macroeconomics right matters far more.

Loved this verdict from yesterday’s Financial Times :

…Iinvestors are attempting to position themselves in different asset classes for an uncertain outcome. “Romney’s policy is dollar-bullish while Obama’s re-election means the status quo: dovish monetary and expansionary fiscal policy and so dollar-bearish,” says James Kwok, head of currency management at Amundi.

(Back in 15 minutes…)

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