The 2012 US Presidential Campaign and the US Economy

The highlighting issue of the 2012 US presidential campaign is the US economy, job opportunities and employment rates. If the economy manages to rise considerably near the election campaign, President Obama is likely to win another term in the office.

When Barack Obama took office in January 2009, the United States was suffering from an economic crisis.  Involvement of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan seriously deterred the economic situation over the last few years. Employment rates noise dived. Immediately after joining office, Obama extended the $700 billion bank bail-out passed by President Bush in 2008.  It didn’t work. Only 6% of the total budget went into the infrastructure. It failed to create the job opportunities it was supposed to.

The fact that president Obama’s regime claim the economy has improved over the last 4 years appears to be a delusional statement. Considering job employment statistic over the last 4 years around 89 million people dropped out of the work force. About 0.5 million suffered job losses and only a handful of job opportunities was created in August. There has been about a 50% increase in the federal deficit during Obama’s term. The economic situation does not seem very bright. However, when questioned about the sluggish economic growth, President Obama’s response is that the Congress is to blame. He blames the Republicans in Congress for not allowing him to pass a budget.

It seems the President is refusing to give up on failed polices and does not intend to prosecute banks and other organizations who profited off the economic crisis. Many CEOs made off with big money and hard earned money from investors by selling real estate backed investments knowing well about the upcoming crisis. While these people managed to make off with all the money, the President is fully intent on punishing the middle class by imposing Cap and Trade to force Americans to pay more for their energy demands so they’d start paying attention to conservation.

From the situation of US economy over the last 4 years, it is obvious President Obama has failed to live up to the American people’s expectations. When they hoped for tax cut downs and increased employment rates, the reverse has happened. President seems to stick to his policies and refuses any adjustment no matter what the people demand.

The GOP contender, Mitt Romney is Barack Obama’s major challenge. Romney and other republicans believe that extending President Bush’s tax cuts will improve economy and create more job opportunities. Romney’s approach centers on cutting taxes at corporate and personal level to raise economic standards.

Although economy remains the prime issue in the US presidential campaign this year, the Iran issue also holds significant importance. How both candidates take stance on the Iran issue will be critically important. If President Obama goes for war with Iran, can the dwindling economy take its toll? How would the US relations with Arab countries be affected?

As elections approach, the US has seen a steady rise in employment rates and tax cuts. Where economy was Romney’s strength, it appears he would have to change his strategy to improve his status. How the situation eventually turns out to be, only time will tell.