Mongolia Brief February 6, 2015 Part IV

25
days until ITB Berlin 2015

By A. Ganbold

February 6
(gogo.mn) Mongolia will be the official partner country of "ITB Berlin
2015", international tourism expo, taking place from 4 to 8 March 2015 at
Berlin, Germany.

However,
revenue of Mongolian tourism industry had decreased in recent years, they had
achieving with the aim to attract one million tourists in next two or three
years by promoting Mongolia to the world and tourists. 

"ITB
Berlin 2015" is considered as the biggest expo by its scope and
participation. 80% of the preparation work for the event has already done
and the Mongolia will organize 41 works including official opening of the
exhibition, conference for 3600 international VIP
guests, gala concert, show with Mongolian culture and tradition,
three-time press conference, tourism professional conferences, round table
discussions, nine-time report, "Who know Mongolia well?" radio quiz,
number of other entertainment, meetings and cultural events. 

Moreover, several
documentary films about Mongolia is being made by AMARA Film production,
Germany while published brochures and publications about Mongolia in three
languages. 

Link to article

Boxer
U.Munkh-Erdene won silver medal

February 6
(gogo.mn) London 2012 Olympics bronze medalist, World Boxing Championship
bronze medalist, state honored athlete U.Munkh-Erdene won bronze medal at
Shopokov Memorial Tournament. Tournament has finished in the city of
Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan where 177 boxers from nine countries fought for the
medals in the ten male weight classes.

He was injured
in the opening round against the Uzbek teenager, Makhmud Gaipov in 69kg
class and finished the tournament. 

Mongolia
was represented by four athletes under the guidance of L.Enkhbaatar, boxing
coach. However they were not awarded except of state honored athlete
U.Munkh-Erdene. 

Link to article

What
Obama's Recent Speech Reveals About the Next US Presidential Election

February 6
(Mongolian Economy) /Political commentator and social critic, Boldsaikhan holds
a dual undergraduate degree in History and International Relations from
Lindenwood University. He is a regular contributor to Mongolian Economy/

Two months
after the latest United States mid-term elections brought a historic defeat for
his party, President Obama addressed the newly assembled joint session of
Congress, which, for the first time in his presidency, is fully dominated by
the opposition. In his last State of the Union Address before the 2016
presidential election, Obama proclaimed, "I have no more campaigns to
run," after which he quipped, "I know because I won both of
them." While the statement is factually true, he will most likely be
campaigning for the rest of his term, albeit in a non-traditional way, to drum
up popular support for his policy initiatives. His 2015 State of the Union
speech marks the beginning of this campaign.

Given that the
Republicans, who have vigorously opposed Obama's agendas for the previous 6
years, have finally won both houses of Congress with a pledge to dismantle and
destroy his signature accomplishments, the legacy of his presidency itself is
at risk. Only threats of veto by the lame duck president stand to salvage his
key legislative accomplishments, including the controversial health care
reform, the Affordable Care Act. Keenly aware of the issues at stake, the White
House went on the offensive with the speech, during which the President
unveiled a set of populist policy proposals, collectively termed "middle
class economics," which calls for, among other things, a complete overhaul
of the current tax system, renewed infrastructure projects, and new government
spending to provide free community college, child care, and paid sick leave for
millions of low and middle class Americans.    

Tax Reform

At the center
of middle class economics is the reform of America's tax system, which is
infamous for its complexity. Though both political parties agree it should be
simplified, they nonetheless strongly disagree when it comes to the specifics
of how to simplify it. The administration wants a comprehensive tax reform bill
that would close various corporate tax loopholes, increase tax levels on the
rich, and cut household taxes for lower and middle class families. The
Republicans are generally opposed to any new taxes whether in tax revenue
collected, or in the tax level itself. Rather they want to cut taxes for
businesses and shrink government spending. They have repeatedly rebuffed
Obama's tax reform initiatives on the grounds that raising taxes will hinder
economic recovery and job growth. 

With rising
economic indicators, including a modest GDP growth of 3.9 percent in the last
quarter of 2014, and a stronger than expected increase of 252,000 new jobs
created in December, the White House seems confident it has enough of the broad
support it needs to force the opposition to return to the table. Bringing
Republicans to the table over taxes is easier than actually having any real
legislation passed, however. Especially when the presidential election is
looming right around the corner. Why then would the President, who surely knows
this improbability, raise the issue in the first place?      
 

Income
Inequality and the 2016 election

Obama, as a
shrewd politician, is aware of many Americans' growing insecurity and despair
about wage stagnation and rising income inequality. Despite a total of 9.2
million private sector jobs being created over 52 straight months under his
administration, many Americans are either underemployed or dropped out of the
workforce entirely. The official unemployment rate is the lowest it has been
since the Great Recession ended, and currently stands at 5.6 percent. However,
this number does not reflect those who are making ends meet by holding several
part time jobs or the people who have given up looking for work. In a nutshell,
the economic recovery the President boasted about during his speech has been
painfully slow. Inequality continues to soar while wages remain stagnated.
Which is why the central theme of the next election will certainly be
inequality. Which is why the President is raising the issue of middle class
economics now.

Inequality in
America will surely be the central theme of the 2016 Presidential Election

Framing the tax
reform issue in terms of "fairness" and "asking the richest
Americans to pay their fair share," Obama is preemptively setting the tone
for the inevitable debate over how to mitigate the rising tide of income
disparity. At a time when most Americans are insecure about economic progress,
the rise in income inequality is fast becoming the central issue among many
voters across political parties and demographics. The president, through his
widely popular proposals to tax the rich and increase government spending to
provide for the middle class, is pushing the Republicans on the defensive.
Promising to repeal everything Obama enacted has served the Republicans well in
the last congressional election when the president's popularity was at an all
time low. However, if they want to actually govern by winning the general
election, they will need to counter Obama's populist tax reforms with an agenda
of their own.      

Conclusion

The 2015 State
of the Union address was unabashedly a campaign style speech, both in substance
and rhetoric, offering neither concessions for the error in leadership Obama's
critics accuse him of making, nor any hint of compromise with Republicans
regarding policy making. The speech, delivered on the eve of rising modest but
steady economic indicators, was indeed a sweeping attempt to set the tone for
not only the hard battles that lay ahead for the remainder of Obama's
presidency, but also for the 2016 election and beyond.

Link to
article

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