[Vision2020] Murdoch says Obama win could worsen financial crisis: report

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Murdoch says Obama win could worsen financial crisis: report
Nov 1 12:12 AM US/Eastern

Global media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has warned that a win by Democratic
hopeful Barack Obama in next week's US election could worsen the world
financial crisis, a report said Saturday.

In an interview with The Weekend Australian, owned by Murdoch's News
Corporation, the newsman said if the Democrats implemented
protectionist policies it would be "a real setback for globalisation".

Murdoch said he did not know whether an Obama administration would
deliver on all the Democrats' stated policies, saying "presidents
don't often behave exactly as the campaign might have suggested."

But he warned that an increase in protectionism in the US as suggested
by some Democrats in Congress, would risk retaliation from China and
could threaten world trade.

"For the past three or four years, some Democrats have been
threatening to do things like put on extra tariffs (against Chinese
imports) if they don't change their currency," Murdoch said.

"If it happened, it could set off retaliatory action which would
certainly damage the world economy seriously."

The Australian-born mogul, who controls media interests around the
world, also criticised Obama's proposed tax policies which include
granting rebates to most US workers.

"Forty percent (of the US population) don't pay taxes, so how can he
give them a tax cut?" he said.

"But you can give them a welfare cheque which he has promised — a
grant of 500 dollars — which will disappear very fast. It's not going
to turn the economy around at all."

Murdoch, who is in Australia to deliver a series of lectures, rejected
the suggestion that the ousting of a Republican administration in the
US would be a circuit breaker which automatically boosted financial
markets.

"To some extent it is beyond the power of politicians," he said of the
current crisis.

"You are going to find that the politicians are very limited in what
they can do: they can make it worse but they can't stop it."

Murdoch said Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had been
"sure-footed" in handling the crisis, deflecting criticism that the
centre-left Labor leader had been too quick to offer a blanket
guarantee on bank deposits.

But Murdoch said all politicians should be careful not to worsen the
situation by "alarming people more than they should be alarmed".
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081101041202.azy6f08j&show_article=1