Parties nowhere near economic agreement

WASHINGTON ( AP) — Millions of Americans are desperate for work, runaway government spending clouds the future and Democratic and Republican candidates are busy making one thing clear: They're light years apart on what to do about it.

They do agree that in this election, the economy is everything. President Barack Obama calls it " the defining issue of our time." But for voters wishing Washington would come together in a time of crisis, Obama, his Republican rival Mitt Romney and their congressional allies don't offer much hope

Instead, they've taken to describing the gulf on economic policy in galactic terms. Romney must be " on a different planet," an Obama adviser declares. The president is " living in an alternative universe," the Republican Party chief says.

On planet Republican: The economy is backsliding, and the president is to blame. His stimulus spending did more harm than good, and his big- government rules are strangling businesses. The answer is repealing health care, energy and financial regulations and cutting taxes. That should spark investment and create jobs. Tackling the deficit requires huge spending cuts, just not at the Pentagon. The unsustainable guarantee of Medicare and Medicaid must change.

In the Democratic universe: The economy's slowly improving, thanks to government spending that helped fend off a depression. Another dose of targeted spending will help. Republican policies in the Bush administration — cutting taxes and eliminating rules — brought on the financial crisis and budget deficits. The rich should help dig us out by paying higher taxes. The Pentagon's budget must be cut, but entitlement spending can be controlled without drastically altering the social safety net.

" These two positions are almost diametrically opposed to each other," said Sung Won Sohn, a California State University economics professor. " And there's no common ground it seems."