Iran's Nuclear Program

Iran is still enriching its uranium in its facilities, and in some cases without in international organizations making sure it is all for civil purposes. It is very interesting to see how people argue in both ways. Some people may say that Iran having nuclear weapons is not acceptable. It would be a threat to Israel, and to other countries in the region. It would also start an arm race in the region, with countries arguing self-defense for this arm race. Some others could argue that Iran is a sovereign country, and they could take any decision they want within their territory. No one should tell them what to do. Iran did not intervene in US, or Israel’s decision of having a nuclear program, so why should us intervene in theirs. The international community seems to be leaning on not doing anything without UN approval, or international consensus. My opinion in this matter, is very different from the opinion of people up here. I was born in Venezuela, and we tend to have a different approach to foreign issues. What’s your opinion this?


Sources:http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/from-the-atom-bomb-to-attacking-iran-a-leadership-lesson-for-obama-from-our-nuclear-history/2012/03/07/gIQA7Pu2wR_story.html

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/un-weigh-legality-iran-strike-brazil-foreign-minister-170354507.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/mar/07/israel-picking-on-ducks?INTCMP=SRC

Corporate Tax Reform Plan

February 22, 2012
In the upcoming election the current state of the economy is set to be a huge debate issue. It has already been a grueling race for the republican nomination and the presidential election will be much of the same. President Obama will be judged by the productivity of the country since he has gotten into office. This is one reason why the Obama administration’s corporate tax reform plan is highly anticipated. President Obama would certainly like to have this tax reform plan  as evidence that he is steering the United States in the right direction.

“Our tax system should not give companies an incentive to locate production overseas or engage in accounting games to shift profits abroad, eroding the U.S. tax base,” said a senior administration official. This is the aim of the corporate tax reform plan that the Obama administration is unveiling today. The plan will lower the top income tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent. The plan will also give new tax benefits to companies that manufacture in the U.S. while oil and gas companies will see greater tax and lose large deductions and subsidies. The plan allegedly will raise $250 billion over the next 10 years. This will be the first time in 25 years that the overall corporate tax rate will be lowered and its current 35 percent is among the highest in the world.

One of the major issues being addressed in the bill is American companies staying in America and investing in America. The bill aims to “create more incentives for corporations to invest in the United States.” As it stands now many corporations shy away from investing overseas profits into the U.S. because they will face a 35 percent tax rate. Getting companies and their money back to America has been a major concern and will be a hot issue in the upcoming election.

Another aspect of the bill is to provide “fairness and simplicity.” The current system has many loopholes which President Obama addressed in his State of the Union speech saying, “Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world (35%).” By simplifying the system and lowering the tax the bill should be able to ensure taxes are being paid while encouraging American business.

This does come at a crucial time for President Obama as he faces reelection which is why “administration officials insisted the president is behind the plan and the Treasury Department is merely filling in the details.” This does appear to be an effective plan that has bipartisan support as “many members of both parties have said they favor overhauling the nation’s individual and corporate tax systems.” Currently all candidates seeking the republican nomination have called for a reduction in corporate tax. Mitt Romney wanted to see corporate tax as low as 25 percent and Newt Gingrich who said he would chop the rate by 12.5 percent. Rick Santorum went as far as wanting to exempt “domestic manufacturers from the corporate tax and halve the top rate for other businesses.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/21/obama-administration-to-unveil-corporate-tax-reform-plan/

http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/22/obama-to-offer-corporate-tax-reform-plan/?iref=allsearch

Blog Schedule

Week of 2/20
Kevin
Nicolas

Week of 2/27
Brett
Garrett
Edgar

Week of 3/5
Dave

Week of 3/12
Kevin
Nicolas

Week of 3/26
Brett
Ben
Sam

Week of 4/2
Garrett
Chris
Kathleen

Week of 4/9
Dave
Patrick
Dan

Week of 4/16
Ben
Patrick
Edgar

Week of 4/23
Sam
Kathleen
Dan

Week of 4/30
Chris

Welcome to our Spring 2012 Blog!

Welcome to our Presidency class blog! The first step for class members is to set up an account with Blogger.com so I can add you to this blog so you can get started posting! Look for an email from me, if you do not receive one, let me know. I will send a sign up sheet around and publish the posting schedule.


(I took this photo when then Senator Obama spoke to us here at PSU).



A few rules to follow:

1. No profanity or obscenities! This Blog will maintain professional standards of discourse!

2. No jerks.

3. No incivility. You are expected to treat one another with respect and offer constructive comments.

4. follow all rules about fair use of material--copyrights etc.

5. You are expected to post a story on or before Thursday of the week assigned below.

Now--get blogging!

Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Currently the withdrawal date for American personnel is 2014. The Obama administration claims the war is going well with last December's surge of 30,000 troops, the use of predator drones and the further cooperation with Pakistan. Pakistani forces have been coordinating against the Taliban on their eastern front while the U.S., Afghan and NATO forces assault their western front. At the moment though it is difficult to see how successful the war is due to that Taliban forces traditionally do not fight during the winter. It is expected that Taliban resistance will harden during the spring and summer. But even in the winter the U.S. has not been overly successful. President Obama's strategy of "clear, hold, build" has not exited the "clear" stage. U.S. and NATO forces have had some success clearing Taliban areas but have not been able to hold them. Even though there has been an increased U.S. presence in the east and south of Afghanistan there has been a decline in the northern and western regions of the country. Last Thursday Obama remarked that the Afghan strategy is going according to plan and that the scheduled drawdown will begin in July, but troops on the ground believe the war is intensifying and only beginning. After nine years of combat the Taliban show no sign of ending their resistance. Their insurgents still actively fight U.S. and NATO forces along with persistently assassinating and targeting Afghan officials. The Afghan government cannot fill over a third of government positions due to the fear caused by the high mortality rate of their officials.
The Question then arises: Is Afghanistan worth fighting for? The cost of the Afghan War is about $7 billion a month. It costs a million dollars a year for one soldier to be in Afghanistan and Obama just added an additional 30,000 troops. After nine years of combat the debt accrued is more than I want to count. A total of 2,193 NATO soldiers have died during this conflict. 1,361 of those deaths were American and about 9,770 American military personnel have been wounded. When considering those few factors alone I do not believe the war is worth fighting anymore and 60% of Americans also agree with that conclusion. Originally the war was necessary to dismantle al Qaeda but according to senior U.S. intelligence officials there are around a 100 al Qaeda operatives currently in Afghanistan. The Taliban itself says al Qaeda has a very small role in this war. This war has become more about stopping the Taliban from retaking Afghanistan. And though no one wants to see that happen, it is not worth the price we are paying. How can the American people directly benefit from a democratic Afghanistan? It is a third world nation everyone had forgotten about after the Soviets abandoned their war with Afghan insurgents. It is time for the withdrawal of the majority of U.S. and NATO forces.

Senate Approves Bush-era Tax Cuts

In another blow to the Obama administration, the unemployment benefits and tax cut package proposed last week by the President were approved by the Senate. This measure includes many of the Bush-era tax cuts for middle and upper-class brackets, including controversial benefits for the top 2% of earners. The legislation is tied with a 13-month extension for unemployment benefits that would carry the unemployed until after the next holiday season.

This legislation represents a major compromise on the part of Senate democrats and President Obama. Part of his platform of change was founded on ending the previous adminstration's tax breaks to the rich. To fold on this issue demonstrates a willingness to cooperate but also highlights a major disappointment in Obama's domestic policy to date. Guantanamo is still open, we're still mismanaging our financial regulatory system, and tax cuts for the rich are being extended. Many of the central themes Obama spoke so passionately about have disinitegrated in the wake of the loss of the 'super-majority' and dwindling support for the formerly popular politician.

Sen. Harry Reid had this to say: "My Republicans colleagues would rather talk about the deficit than do anything to bring it down." In my opinion this should be viewed as a bipartisan effort and should be used to continue cooperation in the future. We've demonstarted over the past ten years partisan politics in our legislature leads to headaches and bitterness. Our public has less confidence in Congress today than in many points of history. If Congress fails to pass this package, taxes for the middle-class will go up on January 1st. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the answer.

Continuing Wealthy Tax Cuts

11/12/2010
A wave of panic hit liberals after White House Advisor David Axelrod stated the Obama administration was highly considering a temporary extension of all Bush's tax cuts. Mr. Axelrod was quoted saying "we have to deal with the world as we find it", meaning the White House does not plan to fight for the end of the wealthy tax cuts. Unlike the Democrats the Republicans show no sign of lessening their resistance to Obama's agenda. This extension would continue the tax cut for all families including those earning more than $250,000.
Even though the Democrats still maintain control of the House and Senate, the Obama administration is open to compromise with Republicans. This is a huge mistake. It seems President Obama is surrendering without a fight, even he repeatedly promised during his campaign to continue the tax cuts for the middle and lower classes but ed it for the wealthy. Obama in the past has been too willing to compromise with Republicans. During the creation of the health care bill Obama unnecessarily removed reforms in attempt to gain some Republican support which he never received and it appears again that he is already ready to capitulate. It should be apparent that no matter what Obama offers the Republicans will not play ball with the Obama administration or the Democratic party.
The trickle down theory proposed by Republicans has failed time and again and the majority of Americans do not approve of extending tax cuts to the wealthy. The tax cut for the wealthiest Americans would cost the U.S. government $700 billion over the next ten years, which is intolerable, especially at such a troubling economic times. Axelrod also said "I don't want to trade away security for the middle class in order to make that point", signifying once again the Democrats are unable to have the slightest resemblance of a backbone. The lower and middle classes need the tax cuts unlike the wealthy but the top percentage of American should give back to the country that has supported them.