A Good Fiscal Agreement in the US
Published in La Vanguardia
(Spain) on 3 January 2013
by (link to original)
(Spain) on 3 January 2013
by (link to original)
Translated from
by Natalie Legros.
Edited by Gillian Palmer.
The beginning of the agreement reached by the U.S. Congress on the necessary fiscal measures in the U.S. is good news. It drastically reduces the possibility of applying extreme measures that would have had a very negative effect on the world economy and it creates a more favorable outlook on what will surely be a demanding 2013.
President Obama managed to save a difficult moment for the American economy and for the rest of the world, while the Republicans managed to overcome their internal differences and opposition to tax increases. The concept of global responsibility was imposed on the U.S., which is very important in light of the conflicts — like Syria, Iran or North Korea — that remain open.
In the fiscal cliff agreement, it has been asked that Americans with incomes of more than $400,000 pay more taxes. It was the Democrats' demand, even when these required their applicability from lower levels. But what's important is that the middle class will not see their taxes increase, something that both parties accept; they consider it a base of the country's political and social stability and a key to assuring recuperation. Even when subsidies of the unemployed are kept, cost adjustment remains pending, keeping in mind the staggering North American debt. Only the permanent appeal to the Federal Reserve's purchases maintains its status quo.
The agreement, finally, is positive because 2013 is going to be very political, especially in Europe. And everyone will now leave with a precedent of a huge sense of responsibility — and not of a partisan battle.
President Obama managed to save a difficult moment for the American economy and for the rest of the world, while the Republicans managed to overcome their internal differences and opposition to tax increases. The concept of global responsibility was imposed on the U.S., which is very important in light of the conflicts — like Syria, Iran or North Korea — that remain open.
In the fiscal cliff agreement, it has been asked that Americans with incomes of more than $400,000 pay more taxes. It was the Democrats' demand, even when these required their applicability from lower levels. But what's important is that the middle class will not see their taxes increase, something that both parties accept; they consider it a base of the country's political and social stability and a key to assuring recuperation. Even when subsidies of the unemployed are kept, cost adjustment remains pending, keeping in mind the staggering North American debt. Only the permanent appeal to the Federal Reserve's purchases maintains its status quo.
The agreement, finally, is positive because 2013 is going to be very political, especially in Europe. And everyone will now leave with a precedent of a huge sense of responsibility — and not of a partisan battle.
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