2012 U.S. Presidential Election

[PanzerJaeger]

Statements like this bother me. There are some real differences between the candidates, even if those differences are getting a bit lost in the Issue of the Day 24-hour news cycle. Here's a smart person talking about it:

Below all the mudslinging lies a real divide. Obama has been making the case that the U.S. economy needs investment — in infrastructure, education, training, basic sciences and technologies of the future. Those investments, in the president’s telling, have been the key drivers of American growth and have enabled people to build businesses, create jobs and invent the future.

Romney argues that America needs tax and regulatory relief. The country is overburdened by government mandates, taxes and rules that make it difficult for businesses to function, grow and prosper, he says. He wants to cut taxes for all, reduce regulations and streamline government. All this, in his telling, will unleash America’s entrepreneurial energy.

Both views have merit. It would make for a great campaign if our nation had a sustained discussion around these ideas. Then the election would produce a mandate to move in one of these directions.

This is typical Zakaria oversimplification. According to Romney, tax and regulatory reform free up capital, which is then reinvested in new ventures. That business growth fosters growth in the tax base and organic revenue growth, as opposed to foreign indebtedness.

This is really an argument over public versus private investment and which approach will yield sustainable levels of prosperity.