Fundamental drivers of our current economic problems

[patientrenter]

Rt 66, would you say that it’s best to only buy things that the people closest to you make? Should that be people in your township only? Or just your family? Or maybe just you?

Why is it best not to buy things from people in other countries if you like them and they are offering them to you at a good price?

[Anonymous]

We don’t eat potatoes in our house. All the potatoes come from Idaho! Buy Californian!

[Anonymous]

We don’t eat potatoes in our house. All the potatoes come from Idaho! Buy Californian!

[Anonymous]

We don’t eat potatoes in our house. All the potatoes come from Idaho! Buy Californian!

[Anonymous]

We don’t eat potatoes in our house. All the potatoes come from Idaho! Buy Californian!

[Anonymous]

We don’t eat potatoes in our house. All the potatoes come from Idaho! Buy Californian!

[Arraya]

China just bought a bunch of gold from the IMF too. Something is going on? IMF proposed the world currency reserve recently that China endorsed. Methinks some back room deals are going on…

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.”

– Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2f842dec-38d8-11de-8cfe-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?

Emerging economies such as China and Russia are calling for alternatives to the dollar as a reserve currency. The trigger is the Federal Reserve’s liberal policy of expanding the money supply to prop up America’s banking system and its over-indebted households. Because the magnitude of the bad assets within the banking system and the excess leverage of its households are potentially huge, the Fed may be forced into printing dollars massively, which would eventually trigger high inflation or even hyper-inflation and cause great damage to countries that hold dollar assets in their foreign exchange reserves.

The chatter over alternatives to the dollar mainly reflects the unhappiness with US monetary policy among the emerging economies that have amassed nearly $10,000bn (€7,552bn, £6,721bn) in foreign exchange reserves, mostly in dollar assets. Any other country with America’s problems would need the Paris Club of creditor nations to negotiate with its lenders on its monetary and fiscal policies to protect their interests. But the US situation is unique: it borrows in its own currency, and the dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency. The US can disregard its creditors’ concerns for the time being without worrying about a dollar collapse.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4estRSYeFBIII9kezxnP4jgoGZQ

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already “canceled America’s credit card” by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world’s largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country. But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February. Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing, said China had “very legitimate” concerns about its investments.”It would appear, quietly and with deference and politeness, that China has canceled America’s credit card,” Kirk told the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group. “I’m not sure too many people on Capitol Hill realize that this is now happening,” he said. The Republican lawmaker said that China was justified in concerns about returns from finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were bailed out by the US government due to the financial crisis.

[Arraya]

China just bought a bunch of gold from the IMF too. Something is going on? IMF proposed the world currency reserve recently that China endorsed. Methinks some back room deals are going on…

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.”

– Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2f842dec-38d8-11de-8cfe-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?

Emerging economies such as China and Russia are calling for alternatives to the dollar as a reserve currency. The trigger is the Federal Reserve’s liberal policy of expanding the money supply to prop up America’s banking system and its over-indebted households. Because the magnitude of the bad assets within the banking system and the excess leverage of its households are potentially huge, the Fed may be forced into printing dollars massively, which would eventually trigger high inflation or even hyper-inflation and cause great damage to countries that hold dollar assets in their foreign exchange reserves.

The chatter over alternatives to the dollar mainly reflects the unhappiness with US monetary policy among the emerging economies that have amassed nearly $10,000bn (€7,552bn, £6,721bn) in foreign exchange reserves, mostly in dollar assets. Any other country with America’s problems would need the Paris Club of creditor nations to negotiate with its lenders on its monetary and fiscal policies to protect their interests. But the US situation is unique: it borrows in its own currency, and the dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency. The US can disregard its creditors’ concerns for the time being without worrying about a dollar collapse.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4estRSYeFBIII9kezxnP4jgoGZQ

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already “canceled America’s credit card” by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world’s largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country. But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February. Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing, said China had “very legitimate” concerns about its investments.”It would appear, quietly and with deference and politeness, that China has canceled America’s credit card,” Kirk told the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group. “I’m not sure too many people on Capitol Hill realize that this is now happening,” he said. The Republican lawmaker said that China was justified in concerns about returns from finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were bailed out by the US government due to the financial crisis.

[Arraya]

China just bought a bunch of gold from the IMF too. Something is going on? IMF proposed the world currency reserve recently that China endorsed. Methinks some back room deals are going on…

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.”

– Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2f842dec-38d8-11de-8cfe-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?

Emerging economies such as China and Russia are calling for alternatives to the dollar as a reserve currency. The trigger is the Federal Reserve’s liberal policy of expanding the money supply to prop up America’s banking system and its over-indebted households. Because the magnitude of the bad assets within the banking system and the excess leverage of its households are potentially huge, the Fed may be forced into printing dollars massively, which would eventually trigger high inflation or even hyper-inflation and cause great damage to countries that hold dollar assets in their foreign exchange reserves.

The chatter over alternatives to the dollar mainly reflects the unhappiness with US monetary policy among the emerging economies that have amassed nearly $10,000bn (€7,552bn, £6,721bn) in foreign exchange reserves, mostly in dollar assets. Any other country with America’s problems would need the Paris Club of creditor nations to negotiate with its lenders on its monetary and fiscal policies to protect their interests. But the US situation is unique: it borrows in its own currency, and the dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency. The US can disregard its creditors’ concerns for the time being without worrying about a dollar collapse.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4estRSYeFBIII9kezxnP4jgoGZQ

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already “canceled America’s credit card” by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world’s largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country. But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February. Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing, said China had “very legitimate” concerns about its investments.”It would appear, quietly and with deference and politeness, that China has canceled America’s credit card,” Kirk told the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group. “I’m not sure too many people on Capitol Hill realize that this is now happening,” he said. The Republican lawmaker said that China was justified in concerns about returns from finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were bailed out by the US government due to the financial crisis.

[Arraya]

China just bought a bunch of gold from the IMF too. Something is going on? IMF proposed the world currency reserve recently that China endorsed. Methinks some back room deals are going on…

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.”

– Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2f842dec-38d8-11de-8cfe-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?

Emerging economies such as China and Russia are calling for alternatives to the dollar as a reserve currency. The trigger is the Federal Reserve’s liberal policy of expanding the money supply to prop up America’s banking system and its over-indebted households. Because the magnitude of the bad assets within the banking system and the excess leverage of its households are potentially huge, the Fed may be forced into printing dollars massively, which would eventually trigger high inflation or even hyper-inflation and cause great damage to countries that hold dollar assets in their foreign exchange reserves.

The chatter over alternatives to the dollar mainly reflects the unhappiness with US monetary policy among the emerging economies that have amassed nearly $10,000bn (€7,552bn, £6,721bn) in foreign exchange reserves, mostly in dollar assets. Any other country with America’s problems would need the Paris Club of creditor nations to negotiate with its lenders on its monetary and fiscal policies to protect their interests. But the US situation is unique: it borrows in its own currency, and the dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency. The US can disregard its creditors’ concerns for the time being without worrying about a dollar collapse.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4estRSYeFBIII9kezxnP4jgoGZQ

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already “canceled America’s credit card” by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world’s largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country. But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February. Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing, said China had “very legitimate” concerns about its investments.”It would appear, quietly and with deference and politeness, that China has canceled America’s credit card,” Kirk told the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group. “I’m not sure too many people on Capitol Hill realize that this is now happening,” he said. The Republican lawmaker said that China was justified in concerns about returns from finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were bailed out by the US government due to the financial crisis.

[Arraya]

China just bought a bunch of gold from the IMF too. Something is going on? IMF proposed the world currency reserve recently that China endorsed. Methinks some back room deals are going on…

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.”

– Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2f842dec-38d8-11de-8cfe-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?

Emerging economies such as China and Russia are calling for alternatives to the dollar as a reserve currency. The trigger is the Federal Reserve’s liberal policy of expanding the money supply to prop up America’s banking system and its over-indebted households. Because the magnitude of the bad assets within the banking system and the excess leverage of its households are potentially huge, the Fed may be forced into printing dollars massively, which would eventually trigger high inflation or even hyper-inflation and cause great damage to countries that hold dollar assets in their foreign exchange reserves.

The chatter over alternatives to the dollar mainly reflects the unhappiness with US monetary policy among the emerging economies that have amassed nearly $10,000bn (€7,552bn, £6,721bn) in foreign exchange reserves, mostly in dollar assets. Any other country with America’s problems would need the Paris Club of creditor nations to negotiate with its lenders on its monetary and fiscal policies to protect their interests. But the US situation is unique: it borrows in its own currency, and the dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency. The US can disregard its creditors’ concerns for the time being without worrying about a dollar collapse.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4estRSYeFBIII9kezxnP4jgoGZQ

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already “canceled America’s credit card” by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world’s largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country. But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February. Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing, said China had “very legitimate” concerns about its investments.”It would appear, quietly and with deference and politeness, that China has canceled America’s credit card,” Kirk told the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group. “I’m not sure too many people on Capitol Hill realize that this is now happening,” he said. The Republican lawmaker said that China was justified in concerns about returns from finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were bailed out by the US government due to the financial crisis.

[CA renter]

[quote=patientrenter]Rt 66, would you say that it’s best to only buy things that the people closest to you make? Should that be people in your township only? Or just your family? Or maybe just you?

Why is it best not to buy things from people in other countries if you like them and they are offering them to you at a good price?[/quote]

If my local manufacturer provided a higher quality product, and was a net benefit to my community because of the jobs it provided to our local residents, I would definitely be willing to pay more in order to support what I believe is right — treating employees fairly; paying a livable, middle-class wage; abiding by regulations that ensured our environment wasn’t being polluted, etc.

Funny anecdote:

When my mother passed away in 2007, I sold her vacuum cleaner at an estate sale. It was the same vacuum cleaner she had for about forty years, and still outperformed new cleaners. She was a neat-freak, and used it often. The same can be said of old TVs, stereos, etc. Try that with today’s plastic crap from overseas.

We used to make GOOD QUALITY products, and even though you might have paid more for it, it could be fixed in a repair shop, if necessary, and would outlast by 4 or 5 times++ the stuff we buy from Wal-Mart today. Our workers were able to live comfortable, middle-class lifestyles, and had job security and medical benefits — which were somehow much more affordable than they are now.

We used fewer resources and created less environmental destruction because we weren’t disposing of our “obsolete” junk every couple of years.

We’ve been lied to about the benefits of globalization. True, it might benefit developing nations, but it does NOT benefit us.

[CA renter]

[quote=patientrenter]Rt 66, would you say that it’s best to only buy things that the people closest to you make? Should that be people in your township only? Or just your family? Or maybe just you?

Why is it best not to buy things from people in other countries if you like them and they are offering them to you at a good price?[/quote]

If my local manufacturer provided a higher quality product, and was a net benefit to my community because of the jobs it provided to our local residents, I would definitely be willing to pay more in order to support what I believe is right — treating employees fairly; paying a livable, middle-class wage; abiding by regulations that ensured our environment wasn’t being polluted, etc.

Funny anecdote:

When my mother passed away in 2007, I sold her vacuum cleaner at an estate sale. It was the same vacuum cleaner she had for about forty years, and still outperformed new cleaners. She was a neat-freak, and used it often. The same can be said of old TVs, stereos, etc. Try that with today’s plastic crap from overseas.

We used to make GOOD QUALITY products, and even though you might have paid more for it, it could be fixed in a repair shop, if necessary, and would outlast by 4 or 5 times++ the stuff we buy from Wal-Mart today. Our workers were able to live comfortable, middle-class lifestyles, and had job security and medical benefits — which were somehow much more affordable than they are now.

We used fewer resources and created less environmental destruction because we weren’t disposing of our “obsolete” junk every couple of years.

We’ve been lied to about the benefits of globalization. True, it might benefit developing nations, but it does NOT benefit us.

[CA renter]

[quote=patientrenter]Rt 66, would you say that it’s best to only buy things that the people closest to you make? Should that be people in your township only? Or just your family? Or maybe just you?

Why is it best not to buy things from people in other countries if you like them and they are offering them to you at a good price?[/quote]

If my local manufacturer provided a higher quality product, and was a net benefit to my community because of the jobs it provided to our local residents, I would definitely be willing to pay more in order to support what I believe is right — treating employees fairly; paying a livable, middle-class wage; abiding by regulations that ensured our environment wasn’t being polluted, etc.

Funny anecdote:

When my mother passed away in 2007, I sold her vacuum cleaner at an estate sale. It was the same vacuum cleaner she had for about forty years, and still outperformed new cleaners. She was a neat-freak, and used it often. The same can be said of old TVs, stereos, etc. Try that with today’s plastic crap from overseas.

We used to make GOOD QUALITY products, and even though you might have paid more for it, it could be fixed in a repair shop, if necessary, and would outlast by 4 or 5 times++ the stuff we buy from Wal-Mart today. Our workers were able to live comfortable, middle-class lifestyles, and had job security and medical benefits — which were somehow much more affordable than they are now.

We used fewer resources and created less environmental destruction because we weren’t disposing of our “obsolete” junk every couple of years.

We’ve been lied to about the benefits of globalization. True, it might benefit developing nations, but it does NOT benefit us.

[CA renter]

[quote=patientrenter]Rt 66, would you say that it’s best to only buy things that the people closest to you make? Should that be people in your township only? Or just your family? Or maybe just you?

Why is it best not to buy things from people in other countries if you like them and they are offering them to you at a good price?[/quote]

If my local manufacturer provided a higher quality product, and was a net benefit to my community because of the jobs it provided to our local residents, I would definitely be willing to pay more in order to support what I believe is right — treating employees fairly; paying a livable, middle-class wage; abiding by regulations that ensured our environment wasn’t being polluted, etc.

Funny anecdote:

When my mother passed away in 2007, I sold her vacuum cleaner at an estate sale. It was the same vacuum cleaner she had for about forty years, and still outperformed new cleaners. She was a neat-freak, and used it often. The same can be said of old TVs, stereos, etc. Try that with today’s plastic crap from overseas.

We used to make GOOD QUALITY products, and even though you might have paid more for it, it could be fixed in a repair shop, if necessary, and would outlast by 4 or 5 times++ the stuff we buy from Wal-Mart today. Our workers were able to live comfortable, middle-class lifestyles, and had job security and medical benefits — which were somehow much more affordable than they are now.

We used fewer resources and created less environmental destruction because we weren’t disposing of our “obsolete” junk every couple of years.

We’ve been lied to about the benefits of globalization. True, it might benefit developing nations, but it does NOT benefit us.

[Author]

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