Writing the Rules for a New World

Money is meaningless, an abritrary abstract construct. EVEN if its 'backed up' with gold (gold is just an element, after all). I think people forget this a lot. A dollar is only worth what it can buy, and that depends entirely on the resources that the nation produces. The US may not be a manufacturing giant it once was, which isnt necessarilly a bad thing of course- it still is a global leader in innovation (technological, artistic, and any other way where innovation is possible).... I dont see this changing anytime soon. So what happens with bubbles and their bursting is rather irrelevant, so long as we continue to serve such a vital role. I wouldnt be investing much in oil right now, But i have no long term fear for the strength of the US economy.

Shiva12 at 01/14/09 11:06:25 PM is VERY close to being right on with regards to money. Money should be used as a medium of exchange, not as a commodity. the US government gave up their right of money in 1913, IN DIRECT CONTRADICTION TO THE CONSTITUTION. Thomas Jefferson warned of this. I paraphrase here, as I don't recall the exact wording "When a nation gives up it's right to control money, and gives that right to the bankers, then the children of those that founded, fought, created, built, and died for their nation and for a better life for their children, will find that their children will live in a country owned and ruled by the bankers. They will be economic slaves, forced to work for others instead of themselves."
The comments by Newsweek that the US Government has so much power, including the ability to print more money, is absolutely absured. It is either simple ignorance, or perhaps, typical media diversion from the true facts. What do you think?
On the other hand, SHIVA12 is a little UTOPIAN in his/her desires for a worldwide coordination of schedules, work hours, etc. To some extent, the world is operating that way right now. But I'm not ready for a One World Government. We lose too much of the beauty of the world when becomes one giant melting pot. We NEED diversity, we need competition. In short, there will always be those that do better than others, either by their own effort or simply by more opportunity. We don't want to create a communist ideology whereby we force equality. It kills the human spirit.
Let's return the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof back to we the people, back to the US Government. Then, if we get some intelligent people with balls who can make good decisions, we will pull ourselves away from the everdeepening spiral of debt that we have allowed to be bestowed upon ourselves and our children.

To the blog author Sayitboldly. I just want to make reference to the last comment that you made.
So, I guess that FDR is the anti-Christ and JFK is the anti-Christ and Clinton is the anti-Christ and LBJ is the anti-Christ and Abraham Lincoln is the anti-Christ, add along to the list, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, the freedom riders, Nelson Mandella, and let's not forget Mother Teresa and we have a whole axis of evil. HUMAN BEINGS that were trying to make the world a better place, going against every obstacle in thier path. Why is it that when we encounter someone that truly touches our heart and listens to miscontents and stands up for truth, righteousness and civil rights. Some people point the finger and scream anti-Christ. So, just so that I understand. The United States has a race of people that have endured slavery for a few hundred years, the right to vote for only a little over four decades, have been beaten, killed, turned away, and mistreated. Who have not had the simple freedoms that all others have enjoyed and have taken for granted. A race of people in the mists of hell have lived by the church, raised in the church, died the church and have only thier faith to help them through day to day tribulations. This blog is not about race it is about a race of people who had nothing but thier faith to rely on. So you' re telling me, that this race of people, who know the bible inside and out, who go to church every waking moment and hold thier religion close to thier soul. Just voted for the anti-Christ and didn't even know it? There are five African Americans to every one White American, it is only by the grace of God and their beliefs in peace that refers back to the ideals of Martin Luther KIng that have kept their much deserved anger and rage at bay. Does that sound like the anti-Christ to you? It sounds to me, like faith. African Americans have waitied along time for change, a chance for an indivdual to come forward and give them the equality that they deserve. An individual that can possibly bring an end to racial tensions and bring us closer together as a nation and a people. If you free one race you free them all. An idea that was started by our founding fathers, in order to shun tyranny, and live truly free. But I guess they were the anti-Christ as well. This is thier time to shine and all the complaining in this blog and all negative comments are just another example of ignorance. Obama will not be able to solve all the problems, but he has given me faith in the United States and a renewed spirit to stand up in the face of all our troubles and be proud to call myself an American once again. Just in case you think these words are coming from an African American, once again you have misjudged. I am caucasian.

Well put. Loaning money at interest (vs a service fee), where people make a profit off of money, automatically turns money into a commodity instead of a medium of exchange for which it was originally intended. Usury automatically creates a pyramid shaped economy where only the most aggressive, ruthless behavior gets and keeps one at the top. We have computers worldwide now where we, as a global body of people, could coordinate our goods and services/ needs and abilities locally and globally. A smart, sophisticated approach would be to set up shift scheduals around the world where people coordinate their talents, needs and abilities with businesses in the area where they want to serve. We serve on 5 hour shift scheduals, 5 days /week, for one month.....and the next month rest, recreate, travel, study, visit, heal etc. for absolutely free...We rotate through the two cycles, changing every month.... GIVING then RECEIVING... all humainity serving on ONE HIGH STANDARD. We could start off enforcing Art.1, Section8, Paragraph 5 of the US Constitution that ensures our citizens that "Congress shall coin and print the money and regulate the value thereof" Congress being representatives of the people's well being. We will place HEALING at the top of our priority list in terms of how we design our new structure of human exchange. The judiciary-penal system will be replaced with one that analyzes the history of the disfunction within the person so that "criminals" could be contained away from society yet involved in growing organic gardens, raising animals and having creativity,social relations, and therapy and meditative practices to help overcome their inner problems. Let's face it....everyone's in need of more money and more time to enjoy LIFE. The work drudgery paradigm is coming to a close. All military personel will be sent to deliver pure water, organic (non polluted) seeds, food, shelter, care, utilities, transportation and infrastructure needs to our local people as well as coordinating with the military "service" men and women of other countries. Because needs are truly being met and people feel cared for, the "terrorism" problem would gradually diminish. All this ofcourse would take time, but coming together in service is a HEART OPENING and the perfect way to go beyond the past and usher in a newNEW WORLD.

how can we expect goverments worldwide to cooperate if we as neighbours in our own communities continuelly feel we must be richer or better than each other, fueling the insaitable greed that we are experiencing in the world today

unless we find a way to curb man's appetite to have more or better than his neighbour, here or abroad, nothing will ever change.

Many big companies are losing market share to small rivals. So, there are many losers and some winners. However, many people in the business world are concerned about doom and gloom, ground realities, insolvency and bankruptcy in volatile markets. Even lawyers, accountants, market analysts and auditors are already fired or facing long-term unemployment. There are no short-cuts for sustainable success and prosperity. Businesses need bespoke survival strategies to reduce losses, improve efficiency, increase revenue, gain sustainable competitive advantage and outperform market competition. The strategies would help create new business opportunities and job. Many investors target niche or captive markets where consumer demand still continues to grow by over ten percent annually to 2030. http://www.FixyaExperts.com

Good luck.

print money ---
preposterous
that led to WW2

We the people... have been forsaken. Rapacious powers have all for the taking.

If the governemnt wants to bailout the economy, they should split that $350 billion between all the american people who made $100 thousand or less in 2008. That would stimulate the economy, All those people being able to pay the banks, mortgage companies , and credit card companies. There might just people who could afford to buy automobiles, and regular joe business owners might just be able to stay in business. Putting the money at the top of the food chain, believing that the big wigs aren't going to take their fat bonuses and the money is somehow going to trickle down to the american people is just crazy. Let's start at the bottom and work our way up for once.

If the government wants to bail out the economy, they should split up the last $350billion they have for th ebailout amongst the american people who made less than $100 thousand in 2008. That would bail out the banks, credit card companyies, auto makers and business owners. Let it have a trickle up effect instead of hoping that the CEO's won't take their bonuses and that the money will somehow trickle down (not likely).

Not just America, but the world has finacially prospered because Americans were willing to pile up more and more debt. We have carried the financial markets on our backs for years. As long as Americans kept spending and the banks kept increasing our credit limits, things went along fine. Now I picture a huge mountain of debt, piled high like a mountain of snow, and there is a trickle of an avalance starting. But don't worry, we have Obama to stand there like a lone ski patrol worker and he will stop the slide. The reason McCain said the priciples were sound, is because our belief in that soundness was all that was holding it up. The news media focused on the problems in order to force America to believe that there was a crisis, (because we tend to elect Democrats during a financial crisis). But look! Now we have a self-fullfilling proficy. Now they are realizing that they may have started a slide that no one can stop. The American economy takes years to react to bold moves. That way you get Clinton riding on the wave caused by Reganomics and GWB suffering thru the results of 8 years of Clinton policy. Now we have brought on Clinton's third term, (It's the same staff, just a different figure-head). Bush practiced a hands-off approach, so we now have the results of Clinton's policies, followed by 8 years of just watching what happened, and we'll fix it by going back to what caused the problem to start with. But we can't seem to be able to see what that will result in. Good Luck With That.

If we followed the Constitution(no manufactured wars) and balanced our budget, we might stand a chance. The problem is we aren't allowed to debate issues. Elite talking points get shoved down the people's throats from unelected "experts" from outside think tanks that have allegiances to other countries, ideologies or institutions. Obama,McCain or Mickey Mouse, none of matters until you realize that the people of this country are supposed to run it, all of the people, not just some.

The United Nations might be effective if the United States did not VETO most resolutions. Many resolutions and solutions that seek to bring rogue nations in line with International Law.
Until the US government starts playing by the rules of equality, fairnes and justice for all peoples: War and George Bush incompetence will rule the world.

fareed i care two hoots for what people say
obama is truthful he will end all wars in iraq or afganistan
and i hope he is planning to do just that
as they were both created by usa and the arms industry to sell their bonds

i like obama
east or west
obama is the best

Outstanding article, my heart felt compliments. Unfortunately we live in a country and world where the value of things rule. All my life I've seen the greater possibilties of global cooperation, only to stopped by something wanting to rule or control it for themselves.(Bush-Cheney most recently) Could we learn from history? when was the longest time of peace and prosperity in human history? How was it accomplished? We will need a real world leader, and his return is at hand.