Dearth of young talent in US makes for grim presidential prospects

Dearth of young talent in US makes for grim presidential prospects

As Greg Sheridan points out, many Americans feel disillusioned about the leading presidential candidates (“Trump or Biden? Both come with challenges”, 19/12). They may be willing to try something new: a female Republican presidential nominee. Nikki Haley has useful political experience, as a former state governor and later an ambassador. A good showing by her in the Iowa primary on January 15 may be very important. On the Democrat side, California governor Gavin Newsom has recently moved towards the political centre. He rates very well as a possible presidential candidate, despite saying he wouldn’t run if Joe Biden did.

Bob Cowley, Broadview, SA

Greg Sheridan wrote: “Joe Biden is too old and Donald Trump is too crazy.” Alas, he is right on both counts. President Biden is showing signs of senility and arg­uably is unfit to control the world’s greatest military power and the US economy. A younger candidate is sorely needed. Trump reportedly has visions of being America’s first dictator, at least for one day. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie responded by saying: “He gets worse and worse by the day, and voters better start paying attention … it’s time to send Donald Trump back to Mar-a-Lago, permanently.” I’m so glad to be an Australian.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin, ACT

As Greg Sheridan puts it, Joe Biden is too old and Donald Trump is too crazy, so let’s hope that, against the odds, Nikki Haley emerges from her party’s primaries as the Republican presidential candidate in 2024. She would be a shoo-in.

She is intellectually sharp and personable, with a solid grounding in domestic politics as governor of South Carolina and in foreign policy as the US ambassador to the UN. Haley is uniquely well-qualified for the presidency. Summing up her career on her appointment to the latter position, she remarked that she was “a lucky girl to have been allowed to serve the state that raised me and the country I love”. Those sentiments will definitely play in Peoria – and everywhere else.

And in the present climate, I suspect, the use of the word girl alone will be worth a swag of votes.

Terry Birchley, Bundaberg, Qld

Economic realities

Yet again Judith Sloan brings a welcome dose of reality to the Labor government (“Let’s be honest about the drop in our living standards”, 19/12).

But what is that reality? First, a much boasted surplus, borne off the back of remorseless income tax bracket creep. And, second, fortuitous world demand for resources, which are now threatened by the COP28 commitments.

Levying the beleaguered taxpayer to fund ever-growing government spending against a background of stagnant productivity seems hardly the way to improve public morale. The failure to index tax rates for inflation is not unique to Labor. But at least the last Coalition government, through its three stage tax amendments, made an honest attempt to remedy stealth taxes. And, thank goodness, those stage three cuts were legislated with a Labor commitment to their acceptance.

John Kidd, Surfers Paradise, Qld

We are repeatedly told by the government that Australia is endowed with an abundance of sun and wind, and this is why we should embrace renewable energy, even with its weather dependent nature.

This presupposes the sun and wind are not found in such abundance elsewhere in the world. But let’s look at the United Arab Emirates, which has lots of sun, and lots of wind, and is awash with oil and gas, and has embraced nuclear energy. Could the UAE be right and we have just not caught up with its thinking? Or are we just that much smarter than the UAE, and all the other members of the G20 nations, which have also embraced nuclear power?

Barney McCusker, Mt Gambier, SA

In writing about a drop in our living standards, Judith Sloan is correct to identify Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke’s Closing Loopholes legislation as a threat to the economic health of the resources sector, and to warn Jim Chalmers that our fiscal salad days are over.

But economic debate remains open when Sloan focuses on Western Australia’s fixed share of GST revenue of 70 per cent, but rising to 75 per cent, and describes the GST deal itself as egregious.

The Commonwealth Grants Commission determines the GST share on both the spending needs and the ability to raise revenue of each state. Is not the latter highly contentious when the governments of certain states refuse to develop some of their own resources because they offend the green left? Apart from the fact WA occupies about a third of our nation and has enormous infrastructure needs, shouldn’t we recognise that the economic performance of this state is pivotal in determining our living standards?

Bob Miller, Leederville, WA