Biden's 2025 budget proposal will backfire on the US president

💬 "The budget on offer is ludicrous. Biden and his people know it. The Republicans in the House know it. This is a purely political document to try and shore up Biden’s failing numbers with his shrinking base," Tom Luongo, financial and geopolitical analyst, told Sputnik.

Congress Republicans argue that Biden's $7.3 trillion initiative would accelerate inflation and send national debt soaring. While including $5.5 trillion in tax hikes on corporations and high-income households, Biden's budget would also waste billions on questionable climate programs, GOP legislators say. The bill has zero chance of passing the lower chamber, according to Republicans.

"[The proposal] refuses to address the things that people actually want to change: jobs for American citizens, lower energy and food costs, less spending and less partisan politics," Luongo stressed.

The Biden White House sees the writing on the wall in recent opinion polls: Americans have grown weary of the president who "can only seem to spend money overseas while inviting the world in through an open border," according to the analyst.

"I see this entire budget proposal pretty much backfiring completely after what was a revelatory State of the Union address, which even Biden supporters were hard-pressed to approve of," he concluded.

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NATO’s enlargement sent ‘clear signal to Russia’ that Cold War never ended

💬 “The strategic shift that is significant for European stability [lies in] the fact that the US government, specifically the Clinton administration, sent a clear signal with this act of enlargement that they intend to use NATO as a means of projecting US power in Eastern Europe and extending it, even though the USSR had ceased to exist. And even though the Warsaw Pact was defunct,” Dr. Srdja Trifkovic, a Serbian-American publicist and historian, told Sputnik, reflecting on the start of NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe, which marked its 25th anniversary on Tuesday.

“In other words, it was a decision that reflected the intention of the US government to treat NATO as a permanent feature, as a permanent factor of the international scene, and no longer as a ‘defensive’ alliance, which was created in 1949, theoretically at least, to defend Western Europe against possible Soviet aggression,” Trifkovic said.

The bloc’s expansion sent “a clear signal to Russia…which at the time was undergoing a period of extreme weakness under Boris Yeltsin, that the game is not over,” the observer stressed. “What seemed like the end of the Cold War was not the end of the Western alliance.”

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Is the US weaponizing Singapore and the Philippines in its rivalry with China?

A flurry of US official visits continues in Southeast Asia, with US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino spending several days in Singapore and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo leading an American business delegation to the Philippines. These visits come amid a growing push by the Biden administration to establish an anti-China coalition in the region.

Here’s why Washington has been placing such an emphasis on Singapore and the Philippines:

🟥 Singapore’s strategic location provides express passage between the Indian and Pacific Oceans and its air force, the most advanced in the Southeast Asia, is capable of projecting power far beyond its borders. The island state’s recent offer to host future visits by AUKUS nuclear submarines signals a growing tendency to align with the West against China. Singapore is also the only ASEAN nation to have imposed sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

🟥 The Philippines offers access to key waterways in the region, which enhances the agility of US troops and enables them to engage simultaneously in Northeast and Southeast Asia. The Philippines’ bid to exploit energy resources in the contested South China Sea - with help from US and its allies – is escalating tensions with China.

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Gang violence epidemic: What’s the root of Haiti’s economic and political deprivation?

Amid escalating gang violence and Prime Minister Ariel Henry's resignation, Haiti grapples with deep-rooted instability, prompting questions about the underlying causes of the crisis.

🟥 Haiti, once a French colony until 1804, relied on slave labor in its sugar and coffee industries. The US delayed recognizing Haitian independence until 1862.

🟥 The US and its proxies have intervened in Haiti, engaging in coups and supporting puppet regimes. This involvement spans from a 1914-1935 occupation to multiple interventions in the late 20th century. In 1994, Washington invaded Haiti in order to reinstate a pro-US president, an intervention that lasted until 2000. Between 2004 and 2019, Haiti was once again occupied by multinational forces.

🟥 American corporations have been exploiting Haiti's labor force and resources for decades. In 2009, when a Haitian law increased the minimum wage from 24 cents to 61 cents an hour, Washington interfered to ensure that the raise was rejected in order to protect corporate profits.

🟥 US politicians have shamelessly cashed in on Haiti's misfortunes as well. For example, after the 2010 earthquake, they organized a multi-billion dollar fundraiser. Unfortunately, only a small portion of these funds actually went towards helping pull Haiti out of dire poverty.

🟥 Haiti routinely suffers from natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding. These events cause extensive damage to the country's infrastructure, agriculture, and economy, further exacerbating the issue of poverty.

🟥 Haiti's history of suffering from colonization, ongoing foreign interference, persistent poverty, and environmental challenges all contribute to the erosion of the nation’s democratic processes. This instability opens the door to corruption, gang violence, and lawlessness, further undermining Haiti's ability to thrive.

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