Election 2012
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GOP Candidates 2012: An Investor's Guide
This year the Republican field is as competitive as I've ever seen. You can make a case for multiple candidates winning the caucuses, and any candidate could be boosted into the thick of the race by a strong finish.
For investors, there are two criteria when looking at presidential candidates: First, how well will a candidate's ideas and personality play in the market and in the U.S. economy? And second, how likely is the candidate to beat President Obama in November?
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Four Things to Know About Super Tuesday 2012
Usually by the time voters reach Super Tuesday, the party has a clear leading candidate. This year, however, could bring a little GOP shake-up. There are ten states holding a primary election or caucus on Super Tuesday2012. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is slated to take about four of them, but has faced increasing competition from previous underdog former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Santorum surprised the Romney camp Feb. 7 when he swept three states - Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado. While Romney has won the most elections so far, there is still a large number of Republicans he has failed to win over. Some GOP members think he's too liberal to represent the party in Washington. With some surprise wins for Santorum already this year, tomorrow's Super Tuesday battle could further rattle Mitt Romney's lead. As we enter one of the most closely watched days in Election 2012, here's what you need to know. Super Tuesday 2012 Which states are key? There are 437 delegates in the Super Tuesday states, more than double the amount that already voted. Only 422 technically are up for grabs tomorrow, since the rest are superdelegates and unbound to the results. That's still more than one-third of the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch a nomination. Here's how they break down per Super Tuesday state: To continue reading, please click here...
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The Mitt Romney Tax Plan: Trying to Please Everyone
The Mitt Romney tax plan, released by the candidate yesterday (Wednesday), aims to give everyone a little something by cutting taxes across the board - but without dramatic reform.
Romney's tax plan shows a series of mild tax cuts for all income earners and corporations. The GOP hopeful's plan isn't as aggressive as his rivals, but also adds less to the federal deficit than their plans do.
Basically, there's no one standout winner - except maybe Mitt Romney.
While this middle ground could prove too timid, it could also dodge heavier criticism directed toward other candidates - and push Romney a step closer to the White House.
The Mitt Romney Tax Plan
Romney attacked President Obama's increases in taxes and spending when he released his tax plan Wednesday. He promoted his as more balanced and fair than the president's.
"The right way forward is a flatter, fairer, simpler tax system that generates the revenue we need to fund a smaller government that is restrained to its historical size," said Romney.
Here's what Romney has proposed for individual and corporate tax rates:
- Make an across-the-board 20% cut in marginal rates, including:
- Reduce the top income rate from 35% to 28%.
- Cut the lowest tax bracket rate from 10% to 8%.
- Reduce middle-bracket tax rate from 25% to 20%.
- Maintain the current 15% rate on income from qualified dividends and capital gains, except eliminate taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains for taxpayers who pay less than $200,000.
- Repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for both individuals and corporations.
- Eliminate the estate tax.
- Cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
- Employ a territorial corporate tax structure.
- Enforce the R&D tax credit.
"My plan sends signals of stability to business leaders and investors around the world, conveys a process for accomplishing these goals, and draws on my leadership skills and real-world experience to integrate and implement a comprehensive economic policy," said Romney.
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President Obama’s Corporate Tax Rate Plan Won’t Get Anywhere in 2012
The Treasury Department today unveiled U.S. President Barack Obama's corporate tax rate plan, in an effort to get ahead of Republican candidates who will be promoting their plans this week.
President Obama wants to lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 28%. He wants an even lower rate for U.S. manufacturers to encourage corporations to produce at home.
Although the move could benefit U.S. corporations down the road, right now it's much more a political tactic than a realistic policy change.
"This is a very cynical move," Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at the Potomac Research Group, told Bloomberg Television. "It comes one day before a Mitt Romney speech in Detroit in which Romney will outline his tax proposal. So in effect the White House is saying, "Hey, we're in favor of tax reform,' even though they know there's virtually no chance of getting anything done this year."
This year will likely mark the start of serious corporate tax rate discussions, but with an election in the fall and bipartisanship in Washington, don't expect a tax rate change in 2012.
"This is such a bitterly gridlocked and divided Congress that something this enormous I think has no chance of making it before 2013," said Valliere.
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Romney Avoids Nevada's Housing Market Problems with a Tactic That Could Work – for Now
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NEWSFLASH: Mitt Romney Has Rich "Friends"
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How Presidential Candidate Ron Paul's Campaign Could End the Fed
Led by presidential candidate Ron Paul's "end the Fed" mantra, Republicans have made their attacks on the U.S. Federal Reserve into an election year rallying cry.
It's one that could turn ugly in November if the GOP manages to score big.
Where Paul has been the lone voice in the wilderness criticizing the central bank for years, others in the GOP recently adopted the Fed as a scapegoat for the financial crisis of 2008.
Many of the Republican attacks include calls to fire Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and to scale back the Fed's mandate - or in Paul's case, eradicate it altogether.
And while Paul - who actually wrote a book called "End the Fed" in 2008 - has little chance of becoming the nominee, his campaign does have a larger philosophical objective.
"It is Paul's goal to permanently establish within the Republican Party a group that is dead set on not having the Fed," Douglas Holtz-Eakin, chief economic adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, during his 2008 run for the presidency,told MarketWatch. "This is not going away."
Ron Paul Scores Big With Younger Voters
Although Paul's overall support generally hovers in the low double digits, his message is very popular among younger Republican voters.
Paul won 48% of the under-30 vote in Iowa, 47% of the under-30 vote in New Hampshire and 31% in South Carolina. It's a demographic every candidate covets.
Paul's resonance with young voters, combined with the public's dim view of the Fed has set off an all-out GOP assault on the central bank.
For added juice, Republicans in general have sought to tie their criticisms of the Fed to U.S. President Barack Obama and the Democrats.
"If you are a [Republican] running for Congress - those freshmen in the House - they thought that Bernanke was walking around talking about buying assets for Obama to make it easier for him to spend," Holtz-Eakin told MarketWatch. "It lit the fuse."
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Five Things Obama Didn't Want You to Hear in His State of the Union
Seeking to put the best possible spin on his message, President Barack Obama took some liberties with the truth in his State of the Union address.
Although the president never actually lied, he repeatedly left out facts that contradict his claims of success.
President Obama hadn't yet left the House chamber when the reality check started. And it didn't take long to find some pretty big the holes in the State of the Union address.
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Restoring the Dream: State of the Union Pitches an Economy "Built to Last"
In a speech before the nation last night, President Obama's State of the Union Address spoke of a new American economy that is "built to last."
Of course, in the wake of the dot com bubble, the subprime mortgage fiasco and the funny money of the last decade, that's certainly an objective all of us can heartily agree with.
The American Dream is in need of repair.
The good news is that with one exception the President's State of the Union Address did outlined some useful steps that could be taken to help boost the economic recovery.
Naturally though, I think the details could use a little tweaking!
The Worthy Goals in the State of the Union Address
To start off with, the President outlined his primary strategy to help bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. That's an entirely worthy objective.
What's more, this goal actually has a decent chance of being met--- at least partially.
Here's why...
Chinese manufacturing costs have been rising rapidly over last few years, since its workforce is now demanding a larger share of the profits in the country's new found prosperity.
Also the President was correct when he claimed that there are several intrinsic advantages to manufacturing here in the states. As a result, the cost equation has been swinging pretty rapidly in favor of bringing manufacturing jobs back home.
His example of the Master Lock plant in Milwaukee running at full capacity for the first time in fifteen years is just part of a greater trend.
The President's proposal to lower corporate tax rates, while eliminating the loopholes that allow companies like General Electric to pay almost no U.S. taxes, will also undoubtedly help to bring even more manufacturing jobs back home.
Not only is this sensible, the President's proposal is politically clever as well.
After all, it's always pretty smart to call for something already starting to happen. That way your success is almost guaranteed!
Unfortunately, some of the President's other ideas were less satisfying...
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State of the Union Excerpts Outline Speech Focused on Income Inequality, Job Creation
