The slow and cheap response of Dubya & Co to the Tsunami disaster could be a sign of something even more serious.
Has the US become a "Nickel Millionaire Super Power?"
It is the destiny of all Super-Powers to eventually bankrupt themselves by "Imperial Overreach."
If indeed this is what's happening to the US, it would not be the first time the world has witnessed this phenomenon.
The Romans did it. And the French, remember IndoChina and North Africa? And the Brits in India, Palestine, Egypt and East Africa. But at least the Brits got to swipe plenty of "antiquities" for their museums while in the process of "going broke."
And even the US has had a brush with IMPERIAL BANKRUPTCY in the post-Johnson Era. Sometimes called the Nixon Years.......1971 was the end of Bretton Woods, and the rest is history as they say. A history of 20% prime rates for nearly a decade to "apologize" for the weak VietNam Era Dollar!
Now we do it again. 1971 REDUX! That is what I would call the coming Era of Dollar Re-habilitiation. Hmmmm.....the DOLLAR IN REHAB? Now there's something Dubya could relate to.....on a personal level.
My hunch is that 2005 will be an annis horribilis for Washington.
Primarily because Washington is run by a bunch of "anus horribili!" And Wall Street too!
Yet, it is likely that the Miracle of Higher Rates will not save the dollar this time. Or, put another way, THIS ISN'T 1971.
Things are a little more....."advanced" this time around.
FIRST, THE US IS NO LONGER THE WORLD'S FACTORY FLOOR, AS IT WAS IN 1971.
CHINA HOLDS THAT HONOR NOW.
AND ASIA IN GENERAL IS THE WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD TODAY.
Will the US be able to accept a "genteel poverty" like Britain has? I don't think so. The US and Britain are miles apart culturally. And, even Brits are moving out of England now!
BUT, CAN CHINA REALLY "TAKE OVER" THE AMERICAN ROLE AS THE GLOBAL
ECONOMIC LEADER?
IN A WORD: NO!
China is a "mono-culture" just like almost everyplace else on the globe.
The American EXCEPTIONALISM comes from the fact that ANYONE can become
a REAL AMERICAN.
THE US HAS THE WORLD'S ONLY "GLOBAL CULTURE."
SO TO THAT EXTEND, THE US HAS LEAD THE WORLD "BY DEFAULT" BY VIRTUE OF IT'S UNIQUE CULTURAL POSITION IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY.
Example, were the Germans disturbed, or a little relieved, when they were defeated in World War II by an AMERICAN OF GERMAN DECENT? Get the picture?
SOMEHOW NONE OF US CAN REALLY BECOME "CHINESE!" EVER!
Or even "French." Although few Americans would apply for that honor!
Still, the laid back life style of the French Welfare State has it's attractions, at least to me. Less money, but more time to travel, read, write and pontificate shamelessly like a French Public Intellectual! And there are no public intellectuals like French public intellectuals! Eat your heart out David Brooks!
The AMERICAN CULTURAL ADVANTAGE is the LAST BEST HOPE for pulling off
yet another DOLLAR MIRACLE RECOVERY circa 1982.
And thus preserving the US Dollar as the world's main reserve currency.
WELL, MAYBE.... BUT MAYBE NOT.
NOW, WE HAVE SERIOUS COMPETITION FROM THE EURO.
AND THE "YEN BLOC" IN ASIA. AND THE CHINESE FUNNY MONEY.
My hunch is that future historians will note that the Cold War ended with the bankruptcy of BOTH the USSR and the US!
Yes, I know "we won" the Cold War. But you have to think in HISTORIC TIME, not NEWS CYCLE TIME.
VERY LIKELY 2005 WILL BE SEEN AS A PIVOTAL YEAR IN WORLD HISTORY.
SOMETHING VERY NEW AND DIFFERENT IS COMING......
BUT WHAT?
Stay tuned.....................
THIS IS THE ONE WEB PAGE TO BOOKMARK FOR THE FAST BREAKING KEY
DEVELOPMENTS DURING 2005!
