Mitt Romney Set To Be Republican Presidential Nominee – Jobs Growth In Focus Again:
Mitt Romney is set to be the Republican presidential nominee now that Rick Santorum has suspended his campaign indefinitely. The Republican party needs to be unified if they want to beat President Barack Obama who will work hard to remain in office for the next four years. The chances of a Republican beating Barack Obama decline considerably if the battle between Romney and Santorum would have gone to the August 2012 republican convention. Republicans have lost that fight four times in recent history.
Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are complete opposites. The differences between these two will be made more clear during the election campaign season but for now, many polls show him handily beating Mitt Romney – as expected for an incumbent at this time in the process.
The Economy and Jobs
The economy will be the most important issue for Americans and jobs growth has been sluggish for 3 years even though new jobs are being added each month. Consumers and potential voters aren’t feeling the jobs gains because they are occurring too slowly.
We estimated earlier in the year that the unemployment rate could fall to 7.8 or below which would take joblessness back to the pre-Obama era. The March 2012 jobs report was lackluster, coming in at 120,000 new jobs, and we estimate growth would need to be about 350,000 to 400,000 each month to fall below 7.8 percent before the November 2012 elections.
If jobs growth doesn’t improve before next month it would make things very difficult for President Obama to claim he is a better economic steward than Mitt Romney could possibly be.
Tax Policy In A Bad Economy
The focus of the race could turn back to 1 percent vs. 99 percent, redistribution and taxes, which would mask the economic onslaught most people, have been facing. The Buffet Rule doesn’t account for the difference between small business people and millionaires – who also are more likely to pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, write off investments in their businesses and are not millionaires.
Americans understand risk taking and the “Occupy politics” could backfire because lots of business owners have a lower tax rate than their employees. If President Obama’s economic policies can help to improve the economy in the next few months, his chances or remaining in office would rise markedly. If jobs growth slows further or continues at the current pace, voters won’t mind Romney’s wealth if they think they will have a job next year.
