After a hard-fought campaign, it seems that not much has changed in American politics. Rather, the main cause for celebration has been that America has avoided policies that would have pushed it closer to recession and increased inequality further.
As Washington hunts ill-defined al-Qaeda groups in the Middle East and Africa, and concerns itself with Iran’s eventual nuclear potential, it has a much more pressing problem at home: Its energy grid is vulnerable to anyone with basic weapons and know-how.
Forget about cyber warfare and highly organized terrorist attacks, a lack of basic physical security on the US power grid means that anyone with a gun – like disgruntled Michigan Militia types, for instance – could do serious damage.
One of the world’s richest and most successful investors has reiterated calls for a so-called Buffett-tax, or a minimum tax rate on millionaires, arguing that higher taxes would not stop the wealthy from investing.
In a New York Times Op-ed, Buffett, who has a net worth of $46 billion, advocated that taxable income between $1 million and $10 million should be taxed at a minimum rate of 30 percent, and income above $10 million should be taxed at 35 percent.
US consumer spending is likely to decline by $200 billion in 2013 if automatic tax increases – affiliated with the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ – come into effect at the beginning of next year, said a report commissioned by the White House on Monday, as pressure mounts on Congress to reach a budget deal compromise by December 31st.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the United States could enjoy a “good year” in 2013 if the fiscal cliff is resolved. Failing to avoid the cliff, he said, would pose a “substantial threat” to economic recovery.
Uncertainty about the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling appears to be weighing on the economic climate in the US, said Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in a speech in New York on Tuesday.
Individual Americans have donated nearly $8 million this year – outside of federal taxes – to try and pay off part of the nation’s public debt, said a report by CNN Money on Tuesday, with the sum collected thus far already more than double what was received in 2011.
All three major credit rating agencies have warned that the United States could lose its stellar AAA-rating next year if it fails to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff and urged politicians to act in the interest of the economy instead of engaging in excessive political posturing.
Presidential elections have never cheap but the cost of running a campaign has been increasing steadily. With budgets bordering a mega-corporation’s, it is no surprise that presidential campaigns spend their haul in as many places with the most impact as possible. This infographic shows you how where all the money ended up.
Running for President is much like running a business: It is expensive, it is time-consuming and it involves the employment of people, money management, public relations and advertising.
America’s budget watchdog, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, has said in a new report that letting the Bush-era upper-income tax cuts expire automatically would barely affect the economy.
Studying the effects of a potential fiscal cliff, the CBO said allowing income tax rates to rise for wealthy Americans while maintaining rates for the less affluent would not hurt US economic growth much in 2013.
The Federal Reserve’s strategy of holding interest rates near zero to spur the economy has had its share of critics – especially since it caused a massive transfer of wealth from savers to spenders, while many middle class pensioners, who were relying on fixed interest returns, have been forced out of “safe” investments and into riskier investments. Yet, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is now attempting to redefine what we mean by “savings”, so as to continue dishing out ultra-low interest rates, while savers are made to suffer.
