Around the world, economies remain on shaky ground. Even the BRICs are breaking. Brazil, Russia, India, and China are all reporting slower growth or swallowing diluted forecasts from analysts.
Of course, nowhere has the situation been more dire, tenuous, or fraught than in Europe, where the insolvency of banks and governments inside the eurozone is more than enough to make you skip ordering that soufflé. Finance ministers from across the continent have basically been in a six-month long meeting working to address it, and it feels like they may just be up to the task after all. Then again, who knows.
Nonetheless, in most articles I read that reference the economy in the context of the presidential election, President Obama is handicapped for the state of the European economy, because its turmoil affects us.
A weak American economy is never going to aid an incumbent, no matter what causes it. But shouldn’t the fiscal crisis in Europe actually be something that makes Obama look more favorable? Read the rest of this entry »