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The World Bails Us Out
All this means that the political and economic clout of the West—and centrally of the United States—is waning. You can see this reality in the discussions at Davos, where Indian businessmen, Russian officials, Saudi investment advisers and Chinese academics are moving to center stage. Or consider George W. Bush's trip to the Middle East last week. After making several pleas that Saudi Arabia act to ease oil prices, the president had to accept a hard new truth. He was the supplicant; power lay with the king. (In fact, it was the oil minister who brushed off the president's entreaties.) What a contrast to the 1990s, when the price of oil hovered under $20 a barrel and the Saudi economy was teetering.
On the American campaign trail, the candidates talk about a world utterly unrelated to the one that is actually being created on the ground. The Republicans promise to wage war against Islamic extremists and modernize the Middle East. The Democrats deplore the ills of globalization and free trade, and urge tougher measures against China. Meanwhile Middle Eastern fund managers and Asian consumers are quietly keeping the U.S. economy afloat.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: SunnyOutLook?? @ 01/30/2008 11:29:03 PM
Comment: We need to clear up our mess at home before we move to others backyards and judge their activities. The world has changed alot since 1990s. America used to be loved and respected by many nations and they cannot deny that America has done more good for the world and to to the world than any other nation we have seen. But this was in the past. Now emerging nations are growing richer and they no longer need America for their daily needs. So why dont we recognize this fact? Why cant we tend (more) to our own matters? The world is always there for us. Once we get our house in order, we can come back. Dont be spooked by politicians or even foreign statesmen (from Japan to Singapore) who say they need us and want to continue to 'engage' in Asia or Middle-east. On one hand they are saying these words to shore up our pride, on the other hand they are demonizing us as being a rouge nation. We have to recognize at best these nations only wany us to be the world's security guard to fend off their ugly neigbours and provide a big market for them to dump their goods so they can continue to pile up their reserves and buy up our banks. Why dont we just take a back seat and let them sort out their own problems? 20 years back, i would have agreed that we must be active and to play a big global leadership role. Today i no longer hold this view: the world doesnt want us (need us or not is another issue) to be the global leader. So why cant we recognize this and focus our attention on other things : tend to our domestic situation; rebuild our education standard and maintaining strong delevelopment in science and technology? Once we are strong enough (and once we are being missed sufficiently by the world), you will notice the world will come knocking at the door.
Posted By: rmabbott09 @ 01/30/2008 10:15:26 PM
Comment: The oceans of surplus cash circulating the world is the most important argument against the Republican delusion known as "supply side" economics. We need to give the super rich lots of tax breaks so that they will invest in productive enterprise, so the story goes. Or, put another way, we have deficient growth because the rich have suffered under tax rates, at about 35% at the upper end, and they haven't beeen able to invest in business. Moreover, Republicans don't risk the likelihood that "supply side" won't work, because Reagan and the two Bushes have added approximately $9 trillion to our national debt, $3 trillion of which has been loaned to us by other nations, $2 trillion of which has been borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund. They've been "priming the pump," that old Keynesian saw that they hate so much, to beat the band.
Robert Abbott, Gilbert, AZ
Posted By: barry@shamrockthread.com @ 01/30/2008 9:54:18 PM
Comment: Barry O'Flanagan - St. Paul, Minnesoa
I tend to agree with this article. The US is still a major player in the world economy, but the balance of power is beginning to shift for the reasons stated. In addition to this, the current administration and congress are further weakening our economy and world position by spending money we do not have on a war most people believe we should not be in. If we attend to our economy and our citizens needs first, we will be in a better postion to deal with the changing world order and implement an appropriate (intelligent?) foriegn policy.