达沃斯：奥巴马临阵缺席，卡梅伦趁虚而入

    上周早些时候，达沃斯世界经济论坛（the World Economic Forum）一开幕，就有人开始议论纷纷：全球金融精英齐聚一堂，诸多国家元首及财政部长纷纷亮相，美国代表团成员的级别却明显较低。没有财政部长，没有国务卿。当然也没有国家元首。

    其次是这样的情况：奥巴马总统在上周一发表的第二次就职演说中，着重提到的是大量的国内问题，而对于是否打算在第二个任期内在国际上发挥自己强有力的领导才能方面，却没有什么表示。约翰霍普金斯大学高级国际研究学院（Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies）院长、前奥巴马政府高级官员瓦利•纳斯尔抱怨说：当美国内部辩论占据主导地位时，“有些人就会想当然地认为可以暂停对国际事务的关注或参与。”

    将上述两个情况放在一起考虑，世界经济论坛的与会者不由得提出这样的问题：奥巴马的军事干预政策曾被一位顾问形容为“幕后领导”，现在他是在有意识地放弃美国在世界经济中占据的领导地位吗？如果是这样的话，是否有任何一个能力远远不及美国的国家来填补这个空缺呢？

    上周四早上，伦敦对此做出了回答——英国首相戴维•卡梅伦走上了讲台，尝试扮演这个角色。卡梅伦刚处理完阿尔及利亚的一起导致至少37人死亡的恐怖袭击事件。他在上周四早上的演讲中宣布，我们正在“与凶残的恐怖主义进行一场长期的斗争”。

    不过，卡梅伦特别显示出领导权威的是在经济方面。英国首相卡梅伦上周三宣布，计划与欧盟就英国保留欧盟成员国地位的条件进行谈判，比如尝试减少对企业的监管约束，然后让英国选民通过公投来决定他们是否仍然想继续保留欧盟成员国的地位。许多欧洲领导人及一些英国企业老总对他的这番言论仍然感到震惊。

    不过，上周四卡梅伦还利用一个不同的身份——即作为今年八国集团轮值主席的身份——大胆直言。卡梅伦宣布，他将利用自己这个身份，“联合全欧洲大陆积极促进企业释放活力。”他指出，英国已削减了企业所得税税率，减少了监管约束，并且向发展中经济体派遣了庞大的经贸代表团，向他们传递了“英国重新提倡贸易开放”的信号。

    他说，现在他计划着手解决企业逃税和避税问题，推动经济体系向更加公平，更具竞争力的方向发展。 他说：“如果一家企业不缴纳应该缴纳的税款，其他企业最终就等于是缴纳了更多的税款。一部分奸商对经济体系玩花招时，所有企业都会因他们的名誉受损而遭受不利的影响。”

    美国的表现与此形成了鲜明的对比，美国共和党和民主党议员（以及白宫）只是空口答应了要对企业所得税进行改革——以此承诺会提高美国的国内生产总值，并且把海外资金吸引到美国国内用以本土投资。

    奥巴马喜欢攻击企业的避税行为，这在竞选过程中发挥了很好的作用。卡梅伦则在履行一个使命：点燃推动经济增长的火箭引擎。他大幅降低了英国的企业所得税税率，而现在才开始打击企业钻空子的不法行为。

    The murmuring started as soon as the World Economic Forum opened here earlier this week: In this gathering of the globe's financial elites, featuring heads of state and finance ministers, the U.S. contingent was remarkably low level. No Treasury Secretary. No Secretary of State. And certainly no Head of State.

    Then there was this: President Obama's second inaugural address, given Monday, was heavy on liberal domestic issues, light on signs that he intended to exercise strong leadership abroad in his second term. "There is an assumption that you can push the pause button" on foreign affairs while internal debates dominate, complained Vali Nasr, dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a former top Obama administration official.

    Put those two together, and WEF attendees were asking: Was Obama, whose military intervention policy was once described by an adviser as "leading from behind," consciously ceding the American position as economic world leader? And if so, was any other country remotely equipped to fill the void?

    On Thursday morning, the answer came in from London: British Prime Minister David Cameron stepped up to the podium to audition for that role. In his Thursday morning address, Cameron -- fresh from handling a terrorist attack in Algeria that left at least 37 dead -- declared that we are in a "long struggle against murderous terrorists."

    But it was on the economic front that Cameron especially showed muscle to charge ahead. European leaders, and some UK business chiefs, were still reeling from the Prime Minister's Wednesday announcement that he planned to renegotiate his country's terms of membership in the EU -- seeking to reduce regulation on business, for example -- and then let British voters decide if they still wanted to be part of the union.

    On Thursday, though, Cameron spoke out in a different role -- as president of this year's G-8. In that capacity, Cameron announced an "aggressive, pan-continental drive to unleash enterprise." Already, he noted, the UK has cut the corporate tax rates and reduced regulation, and sent huge trade delegations to growing economies with the message that "Britain is back open for business."

    Now, he said, he plans to tackle corporate tax evasion and avoidance, to make the system fairer and more competitive. "When one company doesn't pay the taxes they owe, then other companies end up paying more. When some cowboys play the system all businesses suffer the fall-out to their reputation," he said.

    Contrast that to Washington, where both Republican and Democratic lawmakers (and the White House) have given only lip service to corporate tax reform -- which holds out the promise of boosting GDP and bringing offshore capital back home for U.S. investment.

    Obama is fond of attacking corporations for tax avoidance; it plays well on the campaign trail. Cameron is on a mission to light the rocket engines under economic growth: He dramatically reduced his country's corporate tax rate -- and only now is going after the loopholes.