Bye Bye Birdie...


I still don't see America, my America, Our America, dying off and being splintered into inconsequence. I just see the smallness of my people's and their elected leaders' goals leading us away from any chance at Greatness.

Here's an excerpt from a NYTimes article which I think captures the global political essence of the coming decades quite presciently.


Waving Goodbye to Hegemony
Published: January 27, 2008

Robert Kagan famously said that America hails from Mars and Europe from Venus, but in reality, Europe is more like Mercury — carrying a big wallet. The E.U.’s market is the world’s largest, European technologies more and more set the global standard and European countries give the most development assistance. And if America and China fight, the world’s money will be safely invested in European banks. Many Americans scoffed at the introduction of the euro, claiming it was an overreach that would bring the collapse of the European project. Yet today, Persian Gulf oil exporters are diversifying their currency holdings into euros, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has proposed that OPEC no longer price its oil in “worthless” dollars. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela went on to suggest euros. It doesn’t help that Congress revealed its true protectionist colors by essentially blocking the Dubai ports deal in 2006. With London taking over (again) as the world’s financial capital for stock listing, it’s no surprise that China’s new state investment fund intends to locate its main Western offices there instead of New York. Meanwhile, America’s share of global exchange reserves has dropped to 65 percent. Gisele Bündchen demands to be paid in euros, while Jay-Z drowns in 500 euro notes in a recent video. American soft power seems on the wane even at home.

If we don't step down just a little, we are going to drop much further.

Comments

  1. The Euro an overreach? Hardly. If so Bossy could afford to go to Europe.

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  2. If only I had a Euro for every dollar... I'd go to Japan for a month!

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  3. Sadly, our decline has been on a steady slide since the 70s, but more so these past 10 or so (but not more than these past 7!) and with that, people need to start thinking of how to live more simply and economically, if that's possible at all.

    Hey, Thanks for stopping by. Alway nice to C U ! ; )

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  4. More fool me for not hanging out at your spot more often, Coffee. Just call me "overwhelmed" with all Life, she be sending my way. Catchyalater amigo!

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