The Fiscal Cliff – my reaction

 

 

The US is currently going through the storm of the Fiscal Cliff negotiations, as you all probably know. I won’t explain what the deal is, since you can just go onto any serious website and see for yourself.

I might be controversial here, but I do believe that House Republicans should comply with Obama’s demands on tax hikes. They should let Obama do what he wants to do for a variety of reasons. I don’t think the Tea Party Republicans should try to force their way into a deal that avoids tax hikes. And here’s why:

1) If they give him the tax hikes, the President will have to cut spending. Otherwise, the blame for the impending economic collapse will be solely on him. It would be a political disaster for Obama. In fact, if he gets all for which he asks for, any refusal on his part to compromise with the GOP on other issues will lay the blame for the fiscal cliff squarely on him. That means the GOP will likely gain full control of Congress in 2014.

2) It’s worth sacrificing the top 2%, because, if they don’t give Obama the tax hikes, we’re going to go over the cliff and 100% of taxpayers will see their taxes increase. It’s better that only a small fraction of the population pay rather than everyone. Remember – the Democrats have Presidency and Senate, and therefore more leverage at the negotiating table. The Republicans HAVE to compromise if they want a deal.

3) If the tax hikes won’t be implemented and a deal will still be reached (a highly unlikely prospect), Obama will blame the GOP for the economic crisis that, with the President’s policies, is going to occur independently of the outcome of the Fiscal cliff negotiations. That means saying goodbye to 2016 and, as a result, probably 2020. This will only lead the country to a faster downward spiral. If the GOP complies today, the spiral will be blamed on Obama, and the Democrats will suffer, favouring the GOP in 2016 and 2020. In short, let’s sacrifice a few years of economic growth now rather than bankrupting the country with another 8 years of Democratic leadership after Obama.

4) Given that the GOP is terrible at promoting its sound economic positions, if the Fiscal Cliff were to occur because of THEIR unwillingness to compromise, the Republican Party will be hurt by the Dems even more, politically.

In short, let’s give it to Obama and let him destroy the country on his own. That will allow us to get back to a much needed Reagan-conservative era. If we don’t cave in on taxes, Obama will lay the blame on the GOP (which, as the election shows, he’s very good at doing), and the country will be further destroyed by liberal big-spenders.

Now is the time to act responsible for long-term advantages.

The centre-left Primaries in Italy – UPDATE!

As you may or may not know, Bersani won the centre-left primaries yesterday and is probably going to become Italy’s next PM in the general election next spring. (See article of Nov. 28th for more details and why this is going to happen)

He won with more 60% of the vote, demolishing the moderate candidate, Renzi.

This is a disaster for Italy – we’re headed down the drain if Bersani is elected PM. He comes from the Communist Party and is a die-hard socialist (even though he pretends to be moderate), probably more so than France’s President Hollande. Because of higher taxes implemented by the new French administration, rich families are fleeing the country en masse, and investment is, as a result, dropping badly. This will only cause unemployment to go up. Bersani is advocating the same exact policies.

If Italy and France go, which is highly likely given the increasing probability of seeing Bersani as Italy’s new PM – the Eurozone will collapse. I just hope the centre-right in Italy will put together a good coalition to avoid this prospect. However, it seems rather unlikely given the damage to the brand caused by the recent Berlusconi administration.

We are heading down the wrong path – when will our electorate finally realize? First France, then the US, now Italy. People need to open their eyes, and it’s up to us to encourage them to do so. Please spread our message! The only way to avert the collapse of the West is to get onboard the ship of fiscal responsibility. 

Time is running short. And the institutional left (Universities, media, public sector) is to blame. Let’s expose this together.

Communism vs Capitalism Cartoon

This weekend, please take time to watch this fun cartoon that perfectly sets out the main arguments for capitalism and against socialism. It was produced in 1948, when the possibility of Soviet influence in the USA started to become a realistic prospect. Of course, we all know that socialist influence is now higher than ever, but instead of being promoted by foreign states or institutions, it is being subtly advanced by American politicans who rape the Constitution.

The most dangerous influences always come from the inside, where you least expect them. We must not be afraid to call socialists for what they are.

Obama is one of them, and anyone who fails to realise this self-evident truth is either dumb or blindfolded.