US Elections Analysis: The "Fiscal Cliff" and the Races for the New Congress

A Democratic ad criticises Minnesota Republican Chip Cravaack for his opposition to President Obama's health care plan

See also US Elections Video: Obama or Romney? And Does It Make Any Difference? --- "Seminar" at the University of Birmingham

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The first two debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney have been political theatre at its most dramatic –-- whether a comedy or a tragedy depends on the audience you ask --- but their dominance of the headline has obscured an answer to the most important question of this election year.

Will the next p#President, whoever he is, be able to work with the newly-elected Congress and find a legislative solution to the problems he will face immediately upon taking office?

The “fiscal cliff”, and America's headlong rush over it, approaches; however, amidst the daily controversies over funding for Big Bird and Mitt Romney's “binders full of women”, neither candidate has addressed how he will work with a partisan Congress to avoid the scheduled tax rises and spending cuts that will not only plunge the American economy into another recession but exacerbate the economic slowdown around the globe.

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US Economy Special Analysis: America's Credit Rating is Downgraded --- And It May Happen Again

S&P have made it clear in their  press release that this downgrade could be just the first step, with a further reduction to AA if certain policy changes are not made in Washington. Thisis no surprise: S&P had warned since April that if no long-term plan to halt America's soaring debt was put in place, then a downgrade would be the response. Politicians in Washington ignored that caution, and it will be interesting to see how those same politicians will react to the conditions S&P are setting out to avoid a further downgrade.

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