Main focus of Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Obama skimps on the moon

US President Barack Obama has presented the 2011 budget, which boasts the highest deficit since World War II. He is introducing rigid cutbacks to rescue the national coffers, and the highly symbolic moon mission programme is among the victims. European media consider this a mistake.

The Times - United Kingdom

As one of his self-imposed budgetary constraints, US President Barack Obama plans to halt NASA's moon programme. The daily Times finds this short-sighted: "In cutting back Nasa's Moon programme, Mr Obama wants to turn over space transport to commercial companies, which are not only ferrying crew members to space stations but also increasingly catering to rich tourists. His plans will grate in Congress with politicians who see Nasa's manned space programme as key to national pride. It is vital, too, for America's future. President Obama needs to show the world that America knows where it wants to be several decades hence, and has the vision and will to get there." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » U.S.

Les Echos - France

US President Barack Obama's savings measures are coming too fast and furious, suggests the business paper, Les Echos: "In order to show his determination, President Obama is using a powerful symbol: He announces plans to freeze funding for the second moon mission, and thereby leaves the door open for the Chinese rival and creditor. ... Obama's talk about deficits and debts sounds familiar. Such efforts are essential, necessary, even crucial, ... but you really have to wait a while. There is currently a general consensus among industrial countries on this matter: Let's not kill the economic upturn by removing the public crutches too fast. Understood. And then, at some point one has to also make good on the promises of deficit reduction." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » U.S.

Expansión - Spain

The economic measures US President Barack Obama has charted out for his country won't set in for a while to come, writes the business paper Expansión: "After a year of presidency in which Obama relied on stimulus programmes to propel the US's recovery, the time has come to change the strategy. ... His economic team warns that the deficit poses a threat to the country's finances. Despite the urgency in Obama's message the expenditure will continue to rise for now - by three percent this year - until the deficit reaches a record high of 1.56 billion dollars, or 10.6 percent of the gross domestic product. ... Obama understands that creating jobs still has priority, particularly given the poor survey and election results, such as those in Massachusetts. The country must put an end to the destructive dynamics of the past two years in which more than seven million jobs were lost." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Elections, » Labour, » U.S.

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