Voters are revolting. Not just in California and America, but around the world. Everywhere, people are grumbling about the economy. Voters are revolting. Not just in California and America, but around the world. Everywhere, people are grumbling about the economy.
Voters are revolting. Not just in California and America, but around the world. Everywhere, people are grumbling about the economy.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy presented himself as a world leader, working with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to keep the European economy functioning.
Sunday, French voters said, Non. He was dumped in favor of Socialist Francois Hollande.
In elections in Greece, the winner Sunday was a word the Greeks gave us: chaos. Conservative Antonis Samaras came in first place. The second-place finisher, the Radical Left Coalition’s Alexis Tsipras, spurned overtures from Samaras to form a coalition government.
These European countries are facing more-dire versions of the economic crises facing the U.S. government: Years of wasteful government spending, budget deficits, record debt and high taxes have severely damaged economies. In response, governments are cutting social services while raising taxes.
Understandably, voters are upset and want to return to the good old days of a few years ago. So they’re voting out the austerity candidates and voting in candidates who promise to once again let the good times roll, and stick the rich with the bill.
In France, Hollande won on promises of curbing austerity by nearly doubling the top income tax rate to 75 percent from the current 40 percent.
The rhetoric in France is similar to that in the United States, where Obama has campaigned for a “Buffett Rule” that would raise tax rates on the wealthy. It’s named after investor Warren Buffett, the billionaire Democrat and Obama supporter.
Obama should be worried that the global anti-incumbent mania could wash ashore here. After all, in 2006, voters ousted Republicans from control of Congress. Obama’s 2008 victory occurred partly because of voter wrath at departing Republican President George W. Bush’s poor performance during the economic meltdown that autumn.
And after Obama and the Democratic Congress failed to make matters much better, in 2010 Republicans were given back the House and made significant strides in the Senate.
The global economic crisis continues to boot failing governments from power. And it looks like we’re a long way from the crisis ending.
