I must say I was rather pessimistic about the result of this election on November 2nd. Although I am happy that some balance was restored to Congress in the sense that we're less likely to see all Democratic ideals passed.

At the same time however, I was not happy by the impact that was created and the Republicans response to victory.

The Republicans in an opportunistic move chose to credit the tea party for their rise back to the top and essentially take credit for their movement's impact. This only gives me the indication that the Tea Party which has very little to offer in terms of fixing the problem will likely dictate terms in Washington.

There are still multiple issues to deal with, including how Barack Obama will have to manage now that his majority in the House has been completely reversed and his Senate is not anywhere near the Super-majority it once held. But in my opinion these next two years will be his greatest opportunity to redeem himself with the American public.

Fiscal involvement: Republican legislation will likely press for tax cuts on all levels and a spending cut. President Obama has stated his intention to return to fiscal responsibility but his record indicates otherwise with a large stimulus and a large healthcare reform bill. President Obama is not in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy but this might be where he'll have to compromise. His best solution?: He would have to either accept Republicans behavior on their tax cut notion and he'll have to cut spending by an even bigger margin.

Healthcare Repeal: President Obama will have to and likely will stand his ground on reform but he said he was willing to make some minor tweaks to the bill. Republicans, particularly Tea Party candidates will want to scrap the bill altogether but this has to be the issue where President Obama keeps his ground. Anyway, a repeal of the bill has little passing success in a still Democratically controlled Senate.

Education Reform: This is one of the President's next goals in mind and he should ask for bipartisan support on the upcoming legislation

Job Creation: The Tea Party has already got the wrong idea and is now criticizing Obama for his 2010 Asia trip starting in India. The president seems to understand 21st century economics in which countries can no longer rely on themselves to recreate jobs. Foreign deals with rising powers have to be made if the US wants to end its unemployment slump. The Tea Party should either recognize this or promote a different solution rather than producing incessant criticism.

War on Terror: This already has bipartisan support and will likely continue although this is a big component in reducing spending. The conflict has to be taken up by regular citizens who realize extremism is crippling their progress. The US has to shift focus towards the people to stand up against Al Qaeda. Kill the philosophy, not the people who believe in it. This is where the focus should turn.

Today the French Senate Les Senateurs voted in favor pass retirement reform raising the legal retirement age from 60 to 62.

From a French viewpoint: This is an absolute outrage, an example of how the elite at the top are hurting the poor, hard-working French worker. Clearly the government must be pandering to businesses. They are corrupt officials and this is disgraceful, therefore we shall strike at dawn (not that we don't do that anyway)

From a French Politician's viewpoint: This is necessary to deal with a rising budget deficit, rising union power, and an aging population. 2 years will be relatively mild and we will save a lot of money.

From my viewpoint: This will reduce the burden, but only in the short term.

What I am trying to say is that in the context of this bill, French workers will have to pay taxes for an additional two years raising revenue for the government to actually pay for all of the benefits it offers. But then what happens?

Voters will probably realize this and will demand more benefits from its politicians, leading to new bills in which the already entitled French population will receive even more cheques du gouvernement and then the problem will keep compounding on itself.

If French politicians want to reduce the burden they face, they should try a combination of several acts in which the population strike a deal with their "out of touch" senators. I understand that they consider it a great personal achievement if they have a universal healthcare and subsidized education. Leave that in place but French laborers are going to have to reform. The French government can promote domestic spending if they can pass a tax cut but at the same time strike a bargain with the workers to cut back on their luxurious paid vacations. The average French worker has 39 days of vacation under his belt. That's a whole summer that even I couldn't enjoy and I'm only 17, not 60. That too, I think that it is time that French politicians jump on the side of businesses who are right now feeling that France isn't a great country to keep their operations going anymore. The CAC 40 index is a good reflector of how corporations are feeling at the moment and the index has remained stagnant. Maybe allow entrepreneurs more collective bargaining power and then we're talking about motivated workers who might just think twice before they head to picket lines.

Just when you think you know who will gain power in Congress, the polls indicate otherwise. In about March, the Republican Party was looking poised to take control but now their confidence has been shaken by a few results in state primaries.

On the other side, the Democrats who feared that a fizzling economic recovery may damage their chances...still feel that way.

One thing both parties are doing is trying to market themselves as the party that can offer change and the right solutions for America. Each party has questions about the other's integrity and voters are beginning to doubt their own representatives turning to the more extreme Tea Party. Well I have questions to both parties, the Tea Party, and even the voters who are in this dilemma where they feel as though no one can help them.

My question to Republicans: "In 8 years, Republicans allowed a housing bubble to build up without the least bit of foresight. What convinces me that you won't let the same thing occur?"

My question to Democrats: "In just 2 years the Democrats have exploited their super-majority to pass liberal legislation and have mismanaged their priorities to a humongous extent. Are you going to fix the economy and support industries this time around instead of trying to restrict and kill them off?"

My question to Tea Party Candidates: "Name two things you will do that will actually work and elaborate on how they will work." My second question: "Do you have a fundamental understanding of how our government works and how the economy works." My third question: "How do we know you will represent the voice of America when you have members who are known to racially abuse minorities?"

If my points sound somewhat angry and sharp-tongued, I don't intend them to be but these are questions the voters should be asking and instead of getting poised for a concerning revolution backwards, we should be concerning ourselves more with who really will act in the best interests of the people.

Now here's my ultimate question to voters: "Do you keep track of what your representatives and senators are doing?" Because you should and maybe they will actually listen when you threaten to vote them out if they don't accomplish your needs.

When we speak of the rise of the developing world, the discussion is China, China, China, and only recently India. Both nations are taking over the global spotlight as they have the strongest growth of any large economy in this recession. Yet with all this talk, people ignore the rise of South America's two largest countries: Argentina and Brazil.
Argentina, although not nearly as populated as Brazil, is a growing economy that has recovered well from its worst financial collapse only 8 years ago. The economy has expanded during this time, and although inflation is up, Argentines are not in a state of panic because they are still a semi-developed nation in terms of per-capita income. They currently have one of the largest per capita incomes in South America if not the largest. They have strong agricultural capabilities and have a larger consumption of meat per capita than even the US does. It also wouldn't be inaccurate to say that Argentina still has a working age population that isn't aging very drastically and it is a G-20 member. It is also incredibly resource rich and that can serve to help them very soon as Western Nations will need to turn to other sources (or as China finds them first)

Brazil has been growing at least 5% per annum since President Lula's first term. They have a large stock of raw materials that is drawing interest from industrial nations all across the world. They also have a relatively young working population with the ability to work for a long time to come. It also helps that they have nearly 200 million people to work in the labor force.

So perhaps we should focus our attention to include Latin America? I mean, China is going to be the next super power and India will follow shortly after. But Brazil is also a BRIC nation and Argentina is successfully rebuilding its financial sector.

Hindi-Chini-Bhai-Bhai is the phrase used to describe India and China as brothers. That was in the 1950s. By 1962, however, India and China went to war over land in Arunachal Pradesh. China wanted the mineral reserves in "Chinese South Tibet" and India vehemently claimed that the land was theirs as drawn by the McMahon Line. The line itself was terribly drawn and claimed a 10 km margin of error. Since then, India and China have had a rather turbulent relationship since.
Yet, there have been signs that perhaps the Asian rivalry could end and become an Asian cooperation. Pundits, so cleverly described this symbiosis as "Chindia." Both nations are part of the BRIC economic alliance in which India, China, Brazil, and Russia would come to dominate the global economy in the upcoming decades. Both nations have signed a 60 billion dollar trade agreement which serves as mutually beneficial. This is notable because in 1990, trade between the two countries was $270 million. Recently China also supported India's bid to join the UN Security Council as the 6th permanent member. So optimists point to this as a sign that relations between the Asian giants will be constructive.
Although there is this mutual agreement between the Chinese government and the Indian government, there is still the element of mistrust that haunts both of them. Because of recent events, Indian think tanks are convinced that China is using Pakistan and other Indian neighbors to stir up discord and essentially tie up India in South Asian affairs while China throws its weight into global matters. China would vehemently deny this but at the same time, we could see the motivation behind it.
India and China are both the fastest growing large economies in the world but for largely different reasons. China is viewed as the new industrial hub of the world and its large manufacturing sector is booming. Now that China has fixed its infrastructure, for the most part, efficiency has become key. Meanwhile, India has become more of the technology center and the place to do business. Some people could argue that India has simply "skipped" over the industrial phase leaving it about the same as in the 1990s. Although both economies are taking different approaches to development, they are still being compared.
Everyone believes that China is a more advanced society because it has a higher growth rate, greater amounts of trade with Western nations, a trade surplus, a brutal but effective government, and a superior education system. Most people believe that India will come up as second best to China in every aspect because infrastructure is not nearly as developed, education is limited, the government is discordant, and India has a trade deficit. Indians themselves debate whether or not they can catch or exceed China and many westerners believe that India has fallen too far behind, a view that the Chinese also take; however, India is starting to bridge the gap. India has a much younger and much larger labor force to pool from and the government has agreed to plan two massive "industrial corridors". One between Delhi (the capital) and Mumbai (the financial capital) and the other between Chennai (a manufacturing hub) and Bangalore( the rapidly developing IT hub). These corridors are meant to provide 3 million jobs to traditionally rural communities and establish necessary infrastructure between major cities; something, so far, China has been able to boast about. India also has a stable markets while economists are concerned that China may have developed its own housing bubble. India also seems to be a bit more active on investments into green technology. Already a pioneer in wind power, India is working towards developing better grid systems that would solve the power crisis that prevails in Indian cities.
While these are all good steps that are being taken, China still holds an excessive advantage in mostly every area. China has started to build up its military and it seems to have solved mostly all of its border disputes albeit the one with India. China also seems to be making friends with nations that are traditionally hostile to India and India seems to be taking notice. India has made agreements with developed economies like Japan and the United States for military training and manufacturing investments. There have also been proposed linkages between India and Vietnam. It seems as though the two Asian giants are going to be circling each other and appear to be making what was supposed to be a walkover for China into something of a contest between the tiger of South Asia and the dragon of the Far East.
I personally hope to see that these two nations cooperate because it will form the most powerful economic alliance of all time. however, time will have to tell.