What is old, while still old, is also new or noticeably current

All modern and non modern countries and their economic systems operate on some kind of monetary and economic system. There are a lot of varieties, some tied their currencies to another currency, usually the dollar. Some periodically adjust it within a “band’ as they think useful. Some let their currencies vie for it’s own place in the real market place which consists of a lot of real commerce, where some need or want to buy something in another currency and some needing to sell another currency in order to make a trade of goods domiciled in another currency. Some economies build a lot or things, some just buy a lot and some just build and sell only a few things, OPEC coming to mind by mostly selling oil. Some deal within international law some constantly skirt international law.

A common misunderstood Truth, is that all economies, however big small or however demominated by those who demomimate, are always capitalistic. Capitalism and air are ubiquitous. The only really important question is who controls the capital in any economy, what rules do they impose, who do they jail and at the end of the day do they lend more money than they borrow, and oh yeah, do they default on loans, after all of their transactions are done.

Another Truth disguised as one of the top lies, is that no countries, or at least few, want their currency to increase if value, despite occassion contrary policy statement lies.

That is why the US dollar whose demise is constantly heralded by friends and enemies alike, does not seem to be able to stay down. The world keeps it up for us, even when we try so hard to damage it.

The current worldwide economic mess, despite so much you read to the contrary, can probably only be “fixed’, whatever that means, by the US consumer. China is still by it’s own admission, too small to bring itself out of this problem and will need the US consumer to increase it’s buying. That is why China with it’s relatively recent large amount of international reserves will continue for some time to buy our low yielding treasury bonds, because it remains the safest investment for money they have no other productive purpose for. Even the nominal Communist Chinese, simple dictators really, know that giving money to their people means it will  be put back into their broken banks who will make bad loans to bankrupt state owned companies with no ability to repay, or will these non consumers will put it unproductively it in a mattress, ala Michael Moore, but that is a true digression with implied misinformation. But then, what would you expect but harmless, easy to swallow funny oversimplified misinformation. That is MOJO.

China needs more buyers of it’s goods from the US and around the world and so must finance the purchase of them in some cases, by lending to the US Government which is borrowing to figure out how to reset it’s own consumption nation which was so destabilized that the commerce that made the economic world go round is dragging in the muck of it’s the US own disastrous imbalance. What does that say for the balance of most of the rest of the struggling world? Balance is not thy name either.

Years will pass before we all think balance is back again, but then some of us will never agree on what back or balance means.

Snark Twain documented Obamas great challenge to keep Joe Biden fitted for a sock so as to minimize some of his unproductive discourse. I think Tim Geithner, Poster Boy for Tax Requirement Mistakes augmented by his “misunderestimating” of the relationship between China and the US, needs a sock for some time too. Geithner, unilaterally stepped on it by himself, literally on the day of his confirmation or the day before of his tainted confirmation as Treasury Secretary. I am talking about one Timothy Geithner, the exact one one who already conspired successfully with Bush and his Treasury Secretary Paulson earlier in an even scarier time last fall, a pivotal time of begging for miracles on TV by politicians, which is already forgotten by too many ignorant citizens, press or other pundits. Those who know only enough to repeat politically charged emotions complain about the failure (because my life is not perfect yet) of the first Tarp Funds, shaped by Geithner and Paulson, which merely helped stabilize the banking system so Barack and his commissions and Geithner, has some time to study and something to improve because it did not all collapse into bankruptcy last fall. None the less, Geitner around his inauguration day aggressively accused the Chinese of manipulating their currency, meaning keeping it low so their exports look cheaper to the buyer relative to their own currency.

If china were to stop manipulating their currency, which of course they aren’t nor have they ever, their currency would increase in value and the holding they have in US Dollars would be devalued. Who wants anything they own to be devalued?

Despite the you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back method which greases most of world commerce and politics, even though I learned differently in Jr High Social Studies and similar courses and ache for them to be true, one rule should be remembered. Do not poke your banker in the eye as Geithner unilaterally did. Because recently bankers have become known for doing things that are not in their best interest (one exception being continued payment of bonuses and perks).

This is sadly the late in life epiphany and revolution Alan Greenspan so tellingly admitted to, too late. It was a tenant that was once sort of reliable, that a banker would not do something to his detriment. Recent unbridled passing on of risk papered over by Standard And Poors AAA ratings, one time functioning of the over the counter CDS market (CDS is non insurance language for insurance) and other now non functioning mechanisms that kept the illusion alive that bad loans could become paid off loans and thus a new loan with new fees, if real estate continued to rise in value.

As an American, I would like us to find a way off the roller coaster of the world depending on the US too much for too many things and thus disliking us so much when we do thinkg we think are in our best interest, right or wrong. Despite contrary opinions, the world is still too addicted to the US. I wondered how best to demonstrate this if not painfully obvious from so many other sources.

Try this fantasy: If we were to overnight discover a replacement for oil, our congress would be soon marking up the International Oil Patch Dissaster and Recovery Act providing low rate loans or grants to oil producing states in need of our help due to our reducing our carbon footprint. No doubt part of it would be a direct cash stimuus to keep their citizen liquid and spending providing additional customers so china could continue to fund our out of control borrowing, and ust think about the windfall cash we would have if we did not import oil, that could buy so many votes. Also part would be tax credits perhaps to everyone in the world to continue finding uses for oil to keep the oil dependent OPECs and OPEC supporters from sliding into a US caused economic disaster.

If you can’t blame America first, at least get it into the top three. That’s easy.