The Sydney Morning Herald
US politicians fail to impress
By Simon Mann
AMERICANS are fed up with their dysfunctional government, with just 11 per cent approving of the job being done by Congress, which is once more in the grip of deadlock, this time over the extension of a tax cut that saves middle-class families about $US1000 a year.
The rating is the lowest bestowed on the Capitol since 1974, when pollster Gallup began asking voters the question. The latest score means an average approval rating for 2011 of 17 per cent - also a record low.
At the same time, Congress' disapproval rating hit a high - 86 per cent. Ten years ago, that score was a mirror image when 84 per cent of the American public gave Congress a tick in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC.
The rising contempt of the people comes in a year during which Congress clawed its way to an 11th hour deal to raise America's debt ceiling - but still lost its AAA credit rating - and fought over nearly every significant piece of legislation.
The discord was heightened again recently when a specially appointed bipartisan super-committee failed to identify about $US1 trillion of budget savings as part of the debt deal, triggering new acrimony between Democrats and Republicans.
The 2 percentage point cut to payroll tax, which will benefit 160 million workers, will expire on January 1.
A bill extending the cut by 12 months - along with 99 weeks' benefits for long-term jobless and higher reimbursement for doctors treating government-funded Medicare patients - was passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
But Democrats objected to other aspects that were appended to the legislation, namely the easing of regulations on some industrial emissions.
After heated debate, a bipartisan compromise was stitched together in the Senate, which allowed for a temporary two-month extension that would be revisited in the new year.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-politicians-fail-to-impress-20111220-1p3ti.html
No comments:
Post a Comment