With just over a week to go before the US midterm elections, campaigning efforts have gone into overdrive.
President Barack Obama returned to Washington after a frantic four-day campaign across five states to try and shore up support for his Democratic party, which is facing tough challenges in many parts of the country.
But some Americans feel that the government's budget cuts are strangling public services, such as public education - which was one of Obama's priorities when he took office.
In the state of Arizona, Lake Havasu City's schools have started to run out of money.
Al Jazeera's Casey Kauffman met voters in the city, where they're now faced with a tough choice this coming election.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Nigel Farage to the EU: No Taxation Without Representation
European Parliament, Strasbourg - 20 October 2010
Nigel Farage MEP, UKIP, Co-President of the EFD group, made the statement during a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on October 20, 2010.Transcript
Well, president Barroso, you’re certainly flexing your muscles, using the powers given to you with the Lisbon treaty which you pushed through using illegitimate means. You now do everything you can on the world stage and within the EU to acquire all the attributes of statehood.
And nowhere could that be more apparent than in your recent proposal for a direct tax to be levied by the European institutions on the peoples of this continent.
Of course in previous times there was a very successful independence movement that campaigned on the slogan of ‘No taxation witout representation’.
And you certainly, sir, are not a representative. We haven’t voted for you and we can’t remove you. So I think with this direct tax you actually made a mistake.
And what an expensive club it’s becoming. Just two years ago, Britain’s net contribtuion was £3 billion a year. This year it’s £6 billion. Next year it will be £8 billion. The year after that, it’s due to be £10 billion. And now we hear that you want to take away the British rebate. You want to get rid of the British rebate, which will mean by 2013 our contribution will be £13 billion. It would have quadrupled in the space of six years.
And simply, the taxpayers of Britain, realising all of this, seeing your direct tax will conclude that we simply can’t afford the European Union.
But I do see a ray of hope. The Doville deal between Merkel and Sarkozy – the thing that you’re all so terrified of today – I hope it happens.
Let’s have a new treaty. You yourself seem to be almost supporting it (to Barroso). Let’s have a new European treaty and let’s put it to a referendum – in lots of countries, particularly in Britain, and the British people will conclude that this is a very bad deal for Britain, they’ll vote for us to leave the European Union and begin the unravelling… [sarcastic applause]… Thank you. We;ll be happy to go, thank you.
Schulz:
Mr Farage, I have a question, maybe you .. you seem concerned about the tax coffers in the UK and you, the same as I, have an opportunity to decide where you get your daily allowances from at the start of the legislature – whether it be from the nation coffers or the European Union coffers. Maybe you could tell the House whether your daily allowances come from the EU budget or from the national system in the UK.
Farage:
I think we ought to do away with this notion of European money. Prior to their being a direct tax
there is as we speak today no such thing as European money. It’s our money. We are a massive net contributor into this European Union for no single economic benefit in return whatsoever.
Barroso:
I usually do not intervene, but there is a point of order that I want to make. It is nit the first time that Mr Farage, addressing to myself, says ‘you have no been elected’.
Certainly I have not been elected by you, but I’ve been elected by this parliament. I have been elected in a secret vote by this parliament. And you belong to this parliament. I can say that always saying that myself and the commission have not been elected is a lack of respect to the Commission and to the European Parliament where you belong.
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