When the very symbols of America and everything American – Chrysler, Ford and GM – need a USD 25 billion dollar federal rescue plan in order to survive… That’s when you know The Great Depression 2™ simply has to be just around the corner. I think we’d be well advised not to look at recent developments in the American economy as an American problem, as Wall Street (and the American economy as such) has a huge impact on just about any economy in the world. There’s a contradiction in there, if you think about it, as no country’s economy can be seen as a separate entity. We’re dealing with a vast organism, headed by the United States of America, whether we like it or not.
When America’s president George W. Bush pleads for congressional support for his USD 700 billion bailout, there’s every cause for the rest of us to pay attention. Actually, for the first time – as I recall – I feel a little sorry for the man. Did you ever see him so humble?
The main thing that I’m trying to put across here, however, is this: There’s no reason for the rest of us to feel high and mighty as the United States faces its worst economic crisis in a long, long time.
Remember the saying: When America coughs, the world gets a cold. And I fear this one’s going to be very hard to shake.
ok jarl! now we are going to see really interesting times. US politicians refused the bail out plan and results will be seen. My guess is that we will see depression which will lead to the shrinking US power all over the world. There will be strong US in the future but no longer the sole super power, just one of the powers in league with China, Russia and some others. It is funny that every few decades or so the so called free market system needs goverment intervention of some sorts for the simple reason: free markets don’t work. Totally free markets do not benefit us all, just the greediest players, and that is why there must be regulatory system of the markets. What is also funny now is that in the US the people do not understand that unlike 1930′s there will be no credit for no one. US goverment is on debt for thousands of billions so the goverment is almost bankcrupt. It can not lend any money to anybpdy anymore, it must borrow money from somewhere if it can. Most of the households are on debt. There is just no money left, just credit, and if the trust for american ability to clear the debts dissappears, there will be no more credit for none. There will be no investing, no private loans, no credit cards nor nothing, if things go really bad. There will be no more money in the system anymore. And that is going to hurt the everyday people more than the rich. The only ones who will benefit from this are those who have cold hard cash but there is very few of them in the US as most have their savings in the stocks which are plummeting right now, so even they are losing money. So it will be interesting to see how this one will play out.
I totally agree, Finne igen. These are immensely interesting, if not nerve-wrecking times. It was interesting to see, too, that president Bush had to turn to “socialist measures” in order to stabilise the financial unrest. With which, we now know, he did not succeed, due to Nancy Pelosi’s speech, perhaps? I don’t know, but they need to take drastic measures, one way or the other — probably some time during this week, or all hell is likely to brake loose.
And yes; it’ll be most interesting to follow the crisis’ impact on the US role as leading, not to say sole super power. Those days are probably numbered.