Analyses
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Barack Obama / Debates / Elections 2012 / Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan / Politics / Politics News / United States / Focus Articleby Roberton Williams In the second Presidential debate, Mitt Romney repeated the idea that he could pay for much or all of the 20 percent rate reduction and other tax cuts in his tax plan by capping itemized deductions at $25,000. He had previously suggested a $17,000 cap in an interview and, in the first debate, $25,000 or $50,000 caps—and possibly phasing deductions out entirely for high-income taxpayers. Capping deductions would raise revenue in a highly progressive way but how much revenue and how progressive depend on the cap. Itemized deductions disproportionately benefit high-income taxpayers for three reasons: High-income taxpayers are more likely to itemize...
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Biden / mathematics / obama / Politics / Romney / Ryan / tax plan / United States / Focus ArticleMathematician and teacher Alexander Coward looks at the Mitt Romney tax plan and asks: do the numbers add up? There is a lot of talk this election cycle about the Romney tax plan. Is it a huge unpaid-for tax cut skewed to the wealthy that must either blow up the deficit or necessitate an as-yet unspecified tax increase on the middle class, or is it a revenue neutral simplification of the tax code that will encourage growth and prosperity. Do the numbers simply fail to add up, or is it a well crafted vision for a different type of relationship between the individual and government. One side says one thing, the other side says the other. They both say they have studies to support their views...
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Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaFair Observer's five best articles for September. For those of us in the northern hemisphere this is the time of autumn. On the east coast of North America, it is a time of russet, yellow and gold. In Europe, it is a time of “mists and mellow fruitlessness” as described by Keats in Ode to Autumn. In India, it is a time when the monsoons have ended and festivals such as Durga Puja and Dussehra are around the corner. At Fair Observer, we think this is an apt moment for us to introduce to you what we believe to be the five best articles of the month. We chose the articles after much editorial debate. Needless to say, it is an imperfect list and many of you will disagree with...
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By Felix HaasWhat is this mysterious particle that the mainstream media calls "the God particle" and that governments spend billions trying to find? Scientists working in particle physics were under real pressure to deliver something new, when the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva started measuring its first low energy collisions in March 2010. They were particularly eager to find the last particle predicted by the Standard Model which so far had escaped detection: The Higgs boson. First proposed in 1964 by Englert, Brout, Higgs, Guralnik, Hagen and Kibble, about three years later Salam and Weinberg incorporated the new particle into a theory, which came to make up the electroweak part...
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By Atul SinghDear Reader, As many global news sources are reporting, Fair Observer’s Associate Editor for the Middle East, Natasha Smith, was sexually assaulted and physically abused by a mob in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. What happened was despicable and utterly unacceptable. Natasha was subjected to an inhuman ordeal that is part of a pattern in which women have been assaulted by mobs of men. Such incidents have to end. Natasha has written about her ordeal with dignity and courage on her blog. She has now returned to England. Our thoughts are with her and we wish her strength to recover from her terrible experience. Yours sincerely, Atul Singh Editor-in-Chief
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Analysis on the unexpected relationship between the dollar’s international acceptability and the US military’s global presence. Since World War II, the US has provided two essential services to the rest of the world: an international currency and international military protection. Producing them was costly, both in terms of achieving dollar stability and undertaking military expenditures in many parts of the world. However, the benefits were far more important. Foreigners were prepared to hold more dollars than they actually needed and to forgo risk premiums even when the dollar weakened. The more the dollar was held abroad the more gains the US could collect, as the production...
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By Kevjn LimAnalysis on the centrist party founded by Ariel Sharon, and its role in current Israeli politics. In Israel’s fractious politics, parties poised as ‘centrist’ have repeatedly proven themselves long on well-meaning rhetoric but short on survivability. Kadima, Ariel Sharon’s brainchild, broke part of the mold in 2006 by becoming the first and only such party to win a parliamentary majority and to lead a governing coalition. Yet, only three years later, it consigned itself to the opposition despite commanding the lead at the ballots for the second time straight. In late March, during Kadima’s primaries, Tehran-born former defense minister Shaul Mofaz ousted Tzipi...
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Gregor Konzack interviewed Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), at the Munich Security Conference. Mr. Zannier speaks about the need for organisations like the OSCE, NATO-Russia relations and what needs to be done to solve protracting conflicts in the world. Q - Can the OSCE have a positive impact on NATO-Russia relations? You as Secretary General of the OSCE will definitely have a response to this comment by Natalia Burlinova. A - The Munich Security Conference is pointing to the need for the kind of activities the OSCE is doing. It is pointing to the fact that there is a need for building trust and fostering reconciliation...
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*[This article was originally published by Knowledge@Wharton on March 28, 2012]. Is the great 30-year bull market in bonds coming to an end? Yes, perhaps -- or maybe not: It depends on whom you ask and how flexible your timing is. While many people think of bonds as conservative holdings, they have produced stellar returns for decades, thanks to the taming of inflation and other factors. A basket of stocks would have returned a mere 19% from the start of 2000 through 2011, for example, while a basket of bonds would have returned about 113% through a combination of rising prices and interest earnings. But many experts say economic recovery could now reverse the process by driving interest...