Some months ago I began commenting on what looked like a pretty negative trend for the U.S. dollar, and U.S. economy. Nothing has happened since then to change my mind about what's happening. Gold has nearly reached the $1,300 per ounce mark, a record high and an unimaginable figure, just five years ago, but a reflection of continued nervousness on the part of many about the future. Whether you're particularly nervous, or not, finding an appropriate response to the conditions that we all face would seem prudent, if you're still personally afloat.
I really don't expect anything to change unless we all are willing to make changes. I just don't see that happening in the foreseeable future. The one big positive that I see is that I'm finding more and more people who are just plain fed up with the status quo. This isn't a Republican or Democrat thing, but an incumbent thing. People want someone who will try something different than just pandering to special interests.
It was reported, yesterday, that Germany's unemployment is now less than it was before the financial crisis of 2008 hit, and GDP is expected to grow at the rate of 3%/annum, there, while our economy continues to languish. (It should be obvious to all that it's less about what kind of system you have, than about how you manage it: look at China, where the economy continues to expand at the rate of 10%/annum, doubling in size every seven years, in spite of the fact that one of its major trading partners, the U.S., is no longer generating the demand for Chinese made goods that it did before the financial collapse.) Unfortunately, 2/3 of the money spent on "stimulus" in the U.S. simply went into propping up banks, and financials, instead of programs for direct job creation. Those who engineered the crisis in the U.S., saw it coming- and profited from it- remain at their desks, while lots of those who were uninvolved have lost their jobs, their homes, and/or their retirement nest eggs. Unlike the U.S., Chinese leaders decided to deal with the financial crisis with direct job creation, putting an extra 100,000 people to work, and pumping 108 billion into their economy, by ordering the construction of a high speed rail network of 42 lines, based on a German design, the first of which is now operational, speeding 1,200 passengers from Guangzhou to Wuhan, a distance of just over 1,000 km in just three hours, passing over 600 bridges and through 200 tunnels, in route- all of which had to be built as part of the project. Talk of tax cuts is again in the air, as if there's magic in those words. Few have pointed out that we have this crisis on our hands, and too few jobs, with the tax cuts in place; or that, if you have no job, a tax cut means nothing to you.... Unless we just refuse to learn from others' experience, we could take a look at direct job creation at this point, instead of tinkering with tax rates. It would be easy to compile a list of worthy projects, infrastructure in the U.S. having been neglected for decades, the country having largely forgotten the concept of the common good. ______________________
I would agree. Just say that the tax cuts are going to expire and leave it at that. Like us in Canada, America has to roll up its sleeves and start paying its debt. Stability is the best way to ensure that economies get back on track.
rdubnpk The tax cut debate is just another way for the Republicans to make the Democrats look like the bad guy (although they don't seem to need much help). The Demos want to cut out the tax cuts for the richest, what, 5% and the Repubs want to keep them for all. How can we afford any tax cuts with our economy in the dumps is something neither party bothers to explain. The Repubs propaganda machine, though, is working over time and effectively. The Dems seem unable to answer back, as has been the case for years.
The trick is to say something simple enough that people who are unsophisticated, or in a hurry, can respond with, "Yeah, that's right." Only a small percentage of Americans have traveled enough to other countries to have seen that the U.S. is "behind" in lots of categories, making them an easy target for politicians who spout the usual, obligatory line, "America, the greatest country on the earth!" Got to wonder, if it really was, whether it would be necessary to say so quite so often.
Your comment reminds me of a T shirt a friend of mine bought. It said, "Your Parents Lied to You. You're not Special, You're Just Stupid." I wish I could remember who said "The problem with democracy is that you get the government you deserve." Seems to sum it up pretty well, doesn't it.
twini, it won´t be long before only the most crass of politicians will not have laid aside the bickering and jocking for position: the continuing economic slide in the U.S. will have forced it upon them; however, there is no reason to think this "great awakening" will arrive in time to save the U.S., and the world's economies, from further instability and decline. A great experiment is taking place, right now, in which those countries that have managed their economies well are trying to see if they can survive without the U.S. being the economic player it once was. I wish them well, but it's hard to imagine that they can insulate themselves sufficiently from what's happening in the U.S. to continue to thrive. ____________________
The rest of the world may surprise me, after all: industrial orders in the 16-nation euro area jumped 5.3 percent from July, and German unemployment is now lower than it was before the financial crisis of 2008 hit. In the east, China recently raised the reserve requirements imposed on its banks, to cool an overheated real estate market, while home sales in the U.S. this summer hit the lowest levels since they began keeping records. Meanwhile, the USD this AM hit record lows on foreign exchange markets. Australia, who trades with China and Saudi Arabia, for two, is enjoying a booming economy, and the AUD nearly reached parity with the USD this AM, at 99.5 US cents. The U.S. is burdened with having absorbed the full brunt of the collateralized, mortgage back securities debacle, and huge debt, both public and private. At this moment in its history, the demographic is shifting in the U.S., with a new underclass of white, middle aged, unemployable citizens increasing at a rapid rate: they will constitute a group that will require financial support from the rest of the population for the rest of their lives- while a majority, holding good jobs and continuing to live much as before, wonder what all the fuss is about, and continue to vote for those who promise to lower their taxes, even as local governments close schools and curtail other services for lack of tax revenue.
