The Dollar is about to get SPANKED

[Randini]

Will this be the last straw for the US Dollar,

"The Arab states of the Gulf region have agreed to launch a single currency modelled on the euro, hoping to blaze a trail towards a pan-Arab monetary union swelling to the ancient borders of the Ummayad Caliphate."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...ency-in-latest-threat-to-dollar-hegemony.html

“The Gulf monetary union pact has come into effect,” said Kuwait’s finance minister, Mustafa al-Shamali, speaking at a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait.

The move will give the hyper-rich club of oil exporters a petro-currency of their own, greatly increasing their influence in the global exchange and capital markets and potentially displacing the US dollar as the pricing currency for oil contracts. Between them they amount to regional superpower with a GDP of $1.2 trillion (£739bn), some 40pc of the world’s proven oil reserves, and financial clout equal to that of China."

Also in the news,

" Rising mortgage defaults and credit card delinquencies put many banks on the brink of bankruptcy in 2008, sending the global economy into a tailspin. But sovereign debt defaults are potentially even more catastrophic as they can lead to geopolitical instability, societal unrest and even war. And there will also be economic ramifications for investors worldwide, putting America’s (and the globe’s) fragile recovery at great risk.

To varying degrees, Greece, Spain, Ukraine, Austria, Latvia, Mexico are just a handful of the nations viewed at risk of defaulting. Meanwhile, Dubai only just avoided a similar fate thanks to a $10 billion bailout from their oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi."

<broken link removed>


Looks like the bad times may only be starting !!!

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[PDXGS]

Feh, it will be just like Dubai World in a few months.. sinking and eventually underwater. Never underestimate the fallibility of oil-induced greed. The Arab nations are only now beginning to fess up about their financial problems. There are a whole lot of other skeletons in their closets (do tents have closets?). Just wait and see what happens when Iraq destabilizes again and the Iranians decide to park their asses in Iraqi oil field.

 

[Trlsmn]

I honestly don't think the Arab country's have what it takes to hold a world currency together in spite of all their wealth.

 

[TonsOfOregonBrass]

I dont think the Arab states can hold it together either.

but i still think with the amount of debt this country has, we cant either.

You cant buy your way out of debt.

 

[ZachS]

Our public debt (as a &#37; of GDP) is still well within safe historical levels. Ignore the chicken littles. The US is, by far, the wealthiest, most productive, and most economically powerful country in the world. We live in complicated and interesting times, but the US dollar is still seen as a safe refuge - it will take a very mighty blow to slow this machine down.

 

[Randini]

Our public debt (as a % of GDP) is still well within safe historical levels. Ignore the chicken littles. The US is, by far, the wealthiest, most productive, and most economically powerful country in the world. We live in complicated and interesting times, but the US dollar is still seen as a safe refuge - it will take a very mighty blow to slow this machine down.

You're kidding right ?

 

[ZachS]

You're kidding right ?

No, because I'm not a fringe doom-and-gloomer who gets his news from a network sponsored by a bunch of greedy gold shills.

 

[TonsOfOregonBrass]

I am not an economist, but i just don't think this country is going to be able to continue as it is. It is one thing to buy your way out of debt buy buying inventory and marking it up, selling it. (buy low sell high). but when you are just giving the money away in an effort to spend your way out of debt just seems very flawed to me. I know there is no way i can do that with out serious consequences to my credit and buying power.

Do i think we are on the verge? No, but we are heading there if we do not start to sing a different tune.

and i do agree we are the wealthiest and most powerful right now. but that can change. I personally don't want that to change, and that is why i worry about that path we are taking.

Just noticed this is post .357

 

[whphel]

Our public debt (as a % of GDP) is still well within safe historical levels. Ignore the chicken littles. The US is, by far, the wealthiest, most productive, and most economically powerful country in the world. We live in complicated and interesting times, but the US dollar is still seen as a safe refuge - it will take a very mighty blow to slow this machine down.

The mighty blow you speak of is happening right in front of you. Open your eye's. Thats all I have to say!

 

[therifleman]

Is there truth in the rumor that the us has put out national parks up as collateral for loans given us by china?

 

[kerbyj]

Zach,

I don't know if that's wishful thinking or if you're living on another planet.

This country is NOT the wealthiest country in the world per capita. According the CIA's World Factbook, as of 2008, that distinction actually belonged to Lichenstein and the U.S. was #10. In 2004, the U.S. was #4, so as you can see, our economy is going into decline and this doesn't even include the effects of 2009.

To make matters worse, our cost of living is significantly higher than most countries. As just a single example, almost every American spends a pile of their income on their vehicle alone (fuel, insurance, maintenence, registration fees, tolls, payments, etc.) simply because you really are at a handicap if you don't have a vehicle in this country. That's not the case in other countries where public transport is highly developed and the countries are smaller.

It's true, the overall GDP of the U.S. is almost that of the EU, but the national debt in this country is more than our GDP and the key point here is that 1.) we are in debt and
2.) despite a very high GDP, the average American's quality of life is going into free-fall. To make matters worse, opposed to paying the national debt, we are getting much deeper in debt.

That's not being a fringe doom and gloomer; it's called being a realist.

Maybe you don't want to really think about this and have the attitude that if you just ignore it, it's going to go away. But let me tell you, sticking your head in the sand, isn't going to make it go away.

 

[ajf1]

It sure looks like 2010 will be the year of make or break. I will remain hopeful while preparing for the worst. They way our goverment is working now I believe the worst will happen.

 

[korntera]

All I can say is I have been saving if the shirt really does become true.


If you are at the gun show I will be wearing that shirt on saturday, i don't look as good as her though.

 

[swoop]

All I can say is I have been saving if the shirt really does become true.


If you are at the gun show I will be wearing that shirt on saturday, i don't look as good as her though.

Hey Korntera, where'd you get that shirt? Want one...Swoop'

 

[therifleman]

All right kirbyj, finally someone who isnt afraid of telling it like it is. The sorry condition of our country today can be traced directly to those who will not or can not see what living in debt can do to a person. Debt makes a slave of men who claim to be free and when those who live in debt start to run the country they think nothing of turning all of us into slaves.

 

[ZachS]

Zach,

I don't know if that's wishful thinking or if you're living on another planet.

This country is NOT the wealthiest country in the world per capita. According the CIA's World Factbook, as of 2008, that distinction actually belonged to Lichenstein and the U.S. was #10. In 2004, the U.S. was #4, so as you can see, our economy is going into decline and this doesn't even include the effects of 2009.

To make matters worse, our cost of living is significantly higher than most countries. As just a single example, almost every American spends a pile of their income on their vehicle alone (fuel, insurance, maintenence, registration fees, tolls, payments, etc.) simply because you really are at a handicap if you don't have a vehicle in this country. That's not the case in other countries where public transport is highly developed and the countries are smaller.

It's true, the overall GDP of the U.S. is almost that of the EU, but the national debt in this country is more than our GDP and the key point here is that 1.) we are in debt and
2.) despite a very high GDP, the average American's quality of life is going into free-fall. To make matters worse, opposed to paying the national debt, we are getting much deeper in debt.

That's not being a fringe doom and gloomer; it's called being a realist.

Maybe you don't want to really think about this and have the attitude that if you just ignore it, it's going to go away. But let me tell you, sticking your head in the sand, isn't going to make it go away.

The issue is debt as a percentage of GDP. Basic macroeconomic theory makes it clear that it's foolish to pay down national debt during a recession - in fact, that's one of the best ways to turn a recession into a depression.


Also, I just want you to remember that Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes did not pay one penny of our debt - they also ran up historic deficits. The United States has been running on deficit spending for five decades now and not only has it remained stable, it has grown into the most powerful economic and military force the world has ever seen.

As for individual quality of life going into free-fall, I find it comical that any conservative who's not a Wall Street mogul refuses to consider, even for a moment, that decades of tax cuts for the rich combined with a reduction in social services might be to blame.

You pissed in this bed, but we'll all have to sleep in it.

 

[dr*pop]

Before escaping from So Cal, I realized that standard of living and wealth are two completely different things. To say we are the wealthiest country in the world per capita is all smoke and mirrors. Seeing a guy in a huge house driving a $100,000 car to learn that he is carrying over $1 Million in debt was the norm. All he has done is spent the next 50 years of his productivity yesterday.

If Americans all lived within their means, the country would look a lot different. I like being debt free and driving a paid for car. To say that we have to spend our way out of a recession is ridiculous on any scale.

Raising your credit card limit to spend more or just increasing your credit card balance and having more stuff or what is perceived as a higher standard of living does not make you wealthy. Wealth is measured in time and not money. How long can you live at your current standard of living if you did not work to earn another dollar? Our country has over 10 straight years of GDP in unfunded liabilities to pay for what we have ALREADY consumed or promised. Wow! Wake the **** up!

 

[therifleman]

Well at least there are a few folks out there who see it the same way I do. Ill bet you a quarter none of them voted for the Obama administration.

 

[slingshot1943]

Anyone who thinks we are not headed for financial trouble is probably very poor at math.

 

[trainsktg]

The issue is debt as a percentage of GDP. Basic macroeconomic theory makes it clear that it's foolish to pay down national debt during a recession - in fact, that's one of the best ways to turn a recession into a depression.

Your arguments do not advance your point.

Assuming Keynsian economic theory is accurate in this point (highly unlikely though it may be), you are forgeting one thing...not only are we NOT paying the national debt down, we are ADDING to it to the tune of trillions of dollars per year.

In simpler terms, accelerating your mortgage payments while unemployed is probably unwise, but buying a Porche in the meantime and expecting to become prosperous because of it is downright idiotic. What applies in the household applies to the state, just on a bigger scale.

Keith