Obama vs Labour

Compare and contrast and be reminded, yet again, that the United Kingdom and the United States play by different rules. During his press conference this afternoon – on which more later – Barack Obama took great care to reiterate his opposition to tax increases for “middle-class” Americans (ie, those earning under $200,000 a year). Increasing taxes, he said, would “take money out of the system”.

In Britain, however, the Labour party has spent the last year telling everyone that cutting spending means the government is “taking money out of the system” –  a proposition that invites one to wonder if Labour believes that raising taxes would be “putting money into the economy.”

You can certainly argue that both positions are reasonable, even correct. What’s interesting is the difference in emphasis.