It has become abundantly clear in the recent past that the US administration has reached a stalemate, and neither the Republicans or the Democrats have been able to get anything done to help the economic situation in the United States. Both have presented their proposals, and their opposition quickly shoots them down and presents their own alternative plan. It is politics at it’s finest.

But, speaking on 60 Minutes, President Obama stated that he is going to keep on doing what he is doing and stand up to Congress when it comes to his tax plan, even though he has been unsuccessful with everyone of his last attempts.

While he says this is his leadership style and he plans to stick with it until the end, this may be one of the reasons why he has been so ineffective while he has been in office. If he had control of the House and the Senate, it may be another story, but considering that the power is split between both the Republicans and the Democrats, and that compromises usually have to be reached to get anything actually signed into law, taking a single minded approach is probably a bad idea. Great leaders know when it is time to make a compromise for the common good, and unfortunately for the American people, their president doesn’t seem to grasp this point.

Whatever the case, the election coming in November will be very important, and the campaigns preceding them will be very interesting to watch. There is no doubt the Republicans are going to have an easy time attacking Obama for his lack of action and his inability to get anything done, so it will be interesting to see what Obama can counter these claims with. One thing is for sure, though – the more time that passes, the more likely it seems as though Obama will not get a second term in office.

 

ECB Buying More Italian Debt

On Monday, the ECB restarted its purchasing of Italian bonds. It has stopped its buying before the EU summit that took place last weekend, but now has decided it is the right time to continue their initiative.

Right now, the ECB is just taking very small steps and is still indecisive on what bigger move they should take, if any. They don’t want to cross France, Germany, or any of the other major countries that have differing opinions on what they are doing, but they can’t afford to sit on the sidelines much longer either.