Currency pegs twini, you've mentioned a number of things, so to keep it simple enough for me to follow, by what mechanism is the Chinese dropping their policy of pegging the value of their currency to the USD supposed to benefit the U.S.? I've never been able to see it. By pegging their currency to the dollar, they link their fortunes with ours, for better or worse. If the dollar goes up in value against most currencies, so does the Yuan, and vice versa. As a result, the value of the $900,000,000,000.00 they currently have on loan to the U.S. rises and falls with the value of the dollar. Also, as a result, Chinese goods become more costly to everyone but us, if the value of the dollar rises, as it has, recently. Trade with China's other partners becomes more complicated, but trade between our countries is regularized and stabilized because the two trading partners don't have to consider currency fluctuations when calculating the value of any deal made between them. If the Yuan becomes more valuable (as it might, if the peg was dropped), the vast amounts of raw materials and oil that China must purchase abroad would become cheaper for them to purchase (as most are priced in USD), making production of the many products they manufacture less costly, and perhaps more profitable. Among its trading partners, Germany sells the most manufactured goods to China. It is a country with among the highest wages and benefits paid its workers, and sells goods that, while costly, are reputed to be among the best in the world, and the Chinese are in the market for the best. The Chinese will not rush in to buy U.S. goods just because they become cheaper. They're mainly in the market for raw materials (we don't have a lot to offer), and high tech, big dollar items, like the high speed train system/technology they bought from Siemens (we don't have a lot to offer). Pegging their currency to ours has been their decision: other countries have chosen to do this, from time to time, with some going even further, and making the USD an official currency in their country. With Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua and even Mexico ready to rush in with cheap manufactured goods, should China's become more costly to buy in the U.S., I just can't see any reason why the Yuan becoming more valuable will benefit the U.S. Can somebody spell it out in sufficient detail that I could understand how this is supposed to work? ____________________
I agree with twinimini: "Obama speaks loudly and carries a little stick". I'd say Obama has far too much style and not enough substance. Obama and Democrats are in a quandary & dilemma of their own making. Despite the left's anti-war protests, call for immediate withdrawal, and Desire to close GITMO; Obama realizes that he cannot abandon GITMO, Afghanistan, & Iraq because this will lead to chaos and a resurgence of the Taliban & Al Qaeda. His style is that of appeasement and an apologist while at the same time he must recognize the brutal reality of the violent Arab World. This brand of foreign policy is inconsistent, two-faced, and confusing. Therefore it will be a failure.
the real answer is actually very simple and it applies to all politicians and to life in general people voted for him because they like what they sense. they get a sensation of obama and they vote on that sensation - they dont vote practically, they dont research, and they dont think same thing with any other president or election or any other issue my new favorite gripe/issue (does not really apply directly to obama - but you will get the same stupid people/ gullible government hungery fools out on this one) the other day they announced where the dallas police department was going to have to cut their staff and not have enough officers to patrol some shifts now this is where it gets f'n amazing the reality of the situation is they have more than enough police officers to cover every issue in the city that is truly an "issue" the problem is not having enough police officers (geez these idiots are so gullible - see obama) THE PROBLEM IS THE GOVERNMENT MAKING TOO MANY F"N LAWS FOR THE POLICE TO HAVE TO ENFORCE get rid of about half the damn laws that make no sense then you got a police force focused on real problems not the trivial every day bs they have to deal with because the dumb ass law makers want to make a law for everything on the planet back to obama - people are f'n gullible - just as people are when they panic over not having enough police officers idiots!!!! rob
ed i think what i am trying to say to answer the question is people are just ignorant hope that helps rob
Rob, You hit the nail on the head. It goes back to what I said at the outset. People voted for Obama because he's intelligent (debatable at best) and that he's not Bush. In other words they were too stupid and/or lazy to check out this guy's credentials to see that he didn't have any. Hopefully this next election will find a change in Congress and Nancy Pelosi can go back to the Botox factory and Harry Reid can also return the the obscurity he so richly deserves. Ed
ed, there is an old saying that there are two subjects you cant really talk about politics and religon i hate talking about both of them regardless (public or private) so i will keep it short and sweet religon would be fine if religous people would just live by the common great theme found in basically all religons "love god and love your fellow man" i mean really - all the rest is just meaningless commentary where it all gets f'd up is when people start institutionalizing their little buddahs, mohammeds, and jesuses and telling them how they are going to act and how everyone else has to act accordingly politics on the other hand would be just fine and perfectly manageable for all - if everyone just followed natural law but since there are some people who either do not want to or cant because they suck - then the rest of us (an overwelming majority) have to deal with all their shit and the politics that surround it/them and the civil laws we have to create for the f'n morons that cant just follow natural law i wish everyone were as smart as i am and could just figure this mess out the way i do i just dont get it ed i am blessed saint president rob
The Chinese will not buy US products because they are now mostly made in China and they do not trust their own cheap labor and material standards. There is really not much made in the USA today for anyone to buy. Most items are made in China and sold in every country of the world. They control the economy more then anyone else. They can stop production on just about any product and nobody is in position to take over that production. That makes them being the controllers of the marketplace and the US is just lagging behind. And Obama is doing nothing to put an end to this.
Not many choices... It seems to me that media scrutiny, particularly in personal matters, scares most capable people away from politics. There was a time when no-one would photograph FDR in his wheelchair. "Not in the machine, boys", he used to say to the press. His wishes were respected. That doesn't compare fairly to marital indiscretions, for instance. But really, they have about the same impact on a person's ability to be a good politician and leader. As long as people eat up the garage the media feeds them, they are going to be stuck with what is left over, for leaders.
If no one tries to explain why China's choice to peg their currency to the USD harms the U.S., I'll not be surprised, because I can't either. Yet, criticism of this policy choice has gained traction with voters who- listening to the volumes of air from their politicians- say, "Yeah, it's the godless Chinese currency manipulators that are causing our problems." Scapegoating has always been popular when the real answers lie within; for example, in doing what the Germans do- building high quality goods the rest of the world envies, and wants to purchase. Boeing is an example of a U.S. company that has done that, through the years. Others could follow, but not without a workforce better trained than the one we've chosen to produce. In spite of all the lamentations and hand wringing going on, the U.S. remains in first place in the world in the total dollar value of its exports; but, if we trained our workforce better, and graduated more engineers and computer scientists, we could be doing better, and "Made in the U.S.A." could appear more often on things not everyone can make. If Obama, like all previous administrations before his, chooses not to pursue the issue of China's choice to tie their fortunes to ours, through the currency peg, it will be because he understands that to do so risks shooting ourselves in the foot.
