The China Syndrome
Looks like President Obama bowed to the wrong Asian:
Federal Reserve officials sometimes sound as if their only worry is the domestic U.S. economy, but their gusher of dollars is starting to have serious consequences for the rest of the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in Asia, where President Obama is getting an earful from leaders this week about what all those greenbacks are doing to their economies.
…
At a conference in Singapore, Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang—a former finance minister—said Friday he’s “scared” about loose U.S. monetary policy. “Where is the money going—it’s where the problem’s going to be: Asia,” Mr. Tsang said. “You can see asset prices going up, not only in Korea, in Taiwan, in Singapore and in Hong Kong, going up to levels that are incompatible or inconsistent with the economic fundamentals.”
On Saturday, China’s top banking regulator, Liu Mingkang, chimed in that the Fed’s binge is the main cause of “massive speculation.”
…
The larger mistake is to believe that any nation can devalue its way to prosperity. As other currencies rise in value and force productivity gains, the U.S. economy will become relatively less efficient. American living standards will decline, as those in Asia rise. This is the real lesson of the Connally-Nixon devaluations of the 1970s and the inflation that followed.
We’ll all be bowing soon enough.
Carol said,
November 17, 2009 @ 8:37 pm
When I walk past the taxi stand at one of the big hotels downtown every morning, if one of the drivers is on the sidewalk praying (oddly facing north-ish), I always sing something. Islam doesn’t allow music, and I can only assume that a woman’s voice must be extra-corrupting, so I sing. I think with Christmas coming, I will have to use the line from The Messiah: “And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, The Everlasting Power, The Prince of Peace.”
Bloodthirsty Liberal said,
November 17, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
Carol,
Somehow I just see you doing this! I’m home with a miserable cold and you just knocked me off the couch with a spastic coughing fit.
Perhaps when you’re walking by singing sometime, you could take a little hand held video so we can see the faces of the penitents on the street? It would make a lovely Christmas present to our readers…
- Aggie
Bloodthirsty Liberal said,
November 18, 2009 @ 6:18 am
Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
I hasten to add that these lyrics do not come to me naturally; I had to look them up. Even more, I once worked in an office where I had to whistle tunes (mostly classical) to keep from going berserk and
postalMuslim army psychologist on my office mates. One particular ditty from a Virgil Thomson composition was stuck in my head, something from one of his Americana pieces. A co-worker turned to me in disbelief and asked why I was whistling “Yes, Jesus Loves Me.”How would I know?
BTL