Welcome to Capital Account. Last night the two main contenders for US President debated issues including tax policy, jobs, energy, and the national debt. During the debate President Barack Obama proposed “the way we’re going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code but also to double our exports.” But to whom, exactly, can we export? The Eurozone, the US’s largest trading partner, is contracting, and major emerging markets are slowing down. On the other hand, Mitt Romney stated that, “On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator.” China is the largest foreign customer for US debt; do we really want to start a trade war with China? And where was the discussion of lobbying, of special interests and of the favorable treatment for connected, too-big-to-fail firms? What about a serious conversation that delves into how we may finally begin slicing into the sacred cow of military spending and the major firms that benefit from it? Perhaps when it comes to these issues, the candidates are not very different; our guest, Joel Bowman, Managing Editor for The Daily Reckoning, describes the candidates as “Obamney” and “Robama.” We talk to Joel Bowman about why he feels the two candidates are not so different after all.
Plus, we often hear about likely voters, but what about the non-voter class in the US? Non-voters include those who are disillusioned by the lack of choice of candidates. We hear from Joel Bowman of the Daily Reckoning about what non-voters can do and why he thinks more Anarcho-capitalists are coming out of the woodwork. He also takes issue with the popular expression of the anarchist as a “molotov wielding hooligan.”
And the economy ranks as the most important issue among likely US voters, while government ethics and corruption ranks third. Why was there no talk of the Federal Reserve at last night’s debate? After all, the FBI has been busy investigating terror plots against the Fed itself, so one would think that the vitriol alone would warrant a broaching of the subject in the popular press. Also, where was the discussion of the too big to fail banks? What about common sense regulation that isn’t burdensome to business or tailored for oligopolies? Lauren and Demetri examine the major economic issues that have been missing from the debates in today’s “Loose Change.”