Tonight, if we’re to believe the hype, will mark the deciding moment in one of the closest American presidential races there ever was.

And while no one’s accusing American voters – any voters, really – of being the most informed bunch, taxes once more have become a divisive point in this election.

For years Americans have heard what taxes have been under Barack Obama, and what they will continue to be if he’s allowed four more years. Mitt Romney, by contrast, must be the only antidote.

This post will move to side with neither candidate, but as votes are tallied by our closest neighbours to the south, it’s important to clear up a few things about taxes under President Obama.

A day after Joe Biden guffawed his way through a debate with Paul Ryan, America is one step closer to an election that’s effects will be far-reaching.

The business world, understandably, is on edge, either for what will happen should either candidate be named president or what it fears will happen should either candidate be named president.

Steve Wynn, for one, the casino honcho and owner of Wynn Resorts, has said the pending election has caused his employees to be “all filled with anxieties,” the subtext of which is not hard to see for the outspoken Conservative.

But while Wynn may hint at what an Obama re-election would mean for the employment status of his 20,000-odd workers, one CEO has come right out and threatened his employees if Mitt Romney is not voted in next month.

You know, maybe it’s our nature, maybe it’s our – how do we say? – less-voracious media, but you rarely hear the same stories about Canadian politics as you do U.S.

There is little glitz to Canuck campaigns, not nearly enough smear, and certainly no $40,000-a-plate dinners at George Clooney’s house.

Yet that’s what the actor will host next month to support Barack Obama’s re-election, with all funds reportedly going to the Obama Victory Fund.

$40,000-a-plate? Well, that’s a lot … but is it a $1 million pizza party?

In sports, Ozzie Guillen is as colourful as personalities get, having shown no ability to censor himself in his 30-odd years in baseball.

As a manager with the Chicago White Sox from 2004-2011, Guillen was routinely suspended for offside remarks and ill-timed cursing, though he was always treated with kid gloves. Oh, there goes Ozzie again – what did he say now?

But a move this offseason to become skipper of the Miami Marlins hasn’t begun so well for the outspoken Guillen, who let slip a big no-no in a recent magazine interview, confessing his admiration for longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

The manager has already been suspended five games for his remarks, yet the damage stretches long past the diamond. It's threatening to derail the finances of the entire Marlins operation.

Today, with taxes the way they are, it’s nearly impossible to defend public services in Canada.

Everyone wants their parks, swimming pools and community ice rinks, but we don’t want to pay for them, especially when there’s a nagging perception that anything government-run is a cash-haemorrhaging waste.

But no matter: Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have their majority government now, and they’ve made it clear public department cuts are a priority. Should they go ahead with them, though?

The last two nights have been compelling TV for Canadians, if your definition of compelling TV means watching the nation’s PM squirm with a “How long do I have to let these creeps scream at me for buying fighter jets before I can squash them like bugs?” look on his face. In two different languages, no less.

Indeed, Wednesday’s French language debate marked the end of two nights of bilingual bickering, but are we any better off because of them? Does anyone feel clearer about any of the candidates’ platforms, other than the notion Stephen Harper insists on standing like he’s strangling a wide-bodied Verne Troyer as he speaks?

From a money standpoint, there’s plenty of nitty-gritty facing this election. So, going forward, which candidate do you think is most fit to run Canada’s economy?

If there’s one thing we can definitely say about Muammar al-Gaddafi, it’s that his money, at least from a PR standpoint, is toxic.

After stories surfaced that Nelly Furtado, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Usher had taken dough for private concerts performed for the Libyan dictator’s family, they were forced to give it away. To save face, they donated the cash – up to $2 million in Beyoncé’s case – to charity.

Yet while these pop stars were able to proactively get out from under the Gaddafi Stink, a new report shows that a movie studio funded by the tyrant’s money is getting shunned by Hollywood for a similar affiliation.

It's tough to be a union man in the U.S. these days. As unionized private-sector jobs continue to disappear, the burden of paying for the seemingly lavish benefits of public employees has fallen on a shrinking base of disgruntled taxpayers.

That’s why Wisconsin and several other cash-strapped states are in the midst of turmoil as their Republican governors attempt to rein in spending by checking the growth in public employees' benefits.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s budget bill, for instance, would make civil servants – excluding local police, state troopers and firefighters – pay substantially more for pensions and benefits, and would, since it hopes to subject salary increases for government workers to a state-wide referendum, likely cripple public service unions as a force in both collective bargaining and politics.

Under the bill, state agencies would also no longer deduct union dues from workers’ paycheques, forcing unions to collect them on their own. And the legislation would also require unions to hold recertification votes annually.

Let’s call one thing like it is: for most Canadians, we don’t know what to think about all this mess in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

It’s not that we don’t care. Certainly, we’re Canucks, for crying out loud – we’re the most compassionate people on earth. It’s just that, for the most part, we don’t really know enough about the Mubaraks and the Gadaffis of the world to form a sound opinion.

Of course, since Egypt ousted its ruler earlier this month, that doesn’t mean we can’t bet on who will be next to go.

How does one measure progress?

Stephen Harper, for example, is Canada’s leader. You may not like it, but he is the voice of Canada for the world to hear. Surely, then, it’s important he visit foreign nations and fight for Canada’s agenda, not to mention what our country should be responsible for in the realm of global politics.

Yet how much is too much? A new report from the Vancouver Sun shows that Harper’s 15 trips, business and otherwise, cost about $7 million to taxpayers in the last year.