Prominent magazine Canadian Business announced its endorsement of Barack Obama on October 29. The editors of the magazine felt that even though they were not US citizens, Canada as a whole will feel the residual effect from the presidential race south of the border. One of main points the editors make about why Canadians should care about who is president in the US is that 70% of Canadian exports go to the United States. Any political or economic turmoil will greatly affect Canadian business and society.
The editors based their endorsement on not what is best for Canada, but which candidate they believe is best for the US. Their thinking is that any one that helps create a stronger America will have a positive effect on Canada.
Canadian Business is not out of step with the citizens of Canada and their choice. According to a Forum Research poll that was done on the behest of Canadian Business, Obama comes out in front on a lot of issues. For example, 65% of surveyed Canadians believe Obama is better for economic growth as compared to Mitt Romeny. Another interesting insight is that many Canadians believe that Obama would be better for energy exports from Canada even though he stopped the Keystone XL pipeline.
The editors also argued that Romney has lost out because of his false argument of Obama policies not making any progress. They claim that, “Governments cannot turn economies on and off like a light switch. The president can help or hinder the recovery, but this is not China, where the country’s leaders have direct control over large corporations. In a free market, government can only enact wise policy and hope for the best.”
The endorsement also points out that it can take many years for economic and fiscal policy to show their true effects and the results of “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, won’t be seen for years.” The editors also point out that “the U.S. is mainly the result of eight years of disastrous mismanagement by George W. Bush.”
Romney says that “he can cut income taxes for all Americans by 20% without adding to the deficit, and do this by eliminating unidentified “loopholes” in the tax system, makes no sense.” The editors believe that Obama’s plans are already showing some signs of recovery while Romney’s plan has no potential.
In the end the editors state that “The main reason Obama should be given a second term is that he is less populist than Romney. He pushed ahead with his controversial health-care plan even when it looked like it was losing him votes. Romney, on the other hand, has pledged to repeal Obama’s plan, despite having helped to craft an eerily similar state health-care program when he was governor of Massachusetts.”
Congratulations to President Obama on his well deserved re-election.
Source: Canadian Business
Photo: Biography.com