America's Superpower Status Coming to an End

Newsmax.com ^ | 3/1/05 | Paul Craig Roberts

[beyond the sea]

The U.S. economy is headed toward crisis, and the political leadership of the country – if it can be called leadership – is preoccupied with nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

The U.S. economy is failing. The afflictions are serious. They could be fatal even if diagnosed and treated. America is losing the purchasing power of its currency and its ability to create middle-class jobs. Story Continues Below

The dollar's sharp decline and projections of continuing trade and budgetary red ink are undermining the dollar's role as reserve currency. A number of central banks have announced that they will be diversifying their currency holdings and will not be buying dollars at the same rate as in the past. This will put more pressure on the dollar. At some point, the flight will begin. Instead of buying fewer dollars, central banks will sell dollars, hoping to get out before the dollar hits bottom.

Suddenly, the advantage of being the reserve currency becomes a nightmare, as the world's accumulations of dollars are brought to market. An enormous supply and weak demand mean a very low exchange rate for the once almighty U.S. dollar.

Overnight, those cheap goods in Wal-Mart, which are the no-think economist's facile justification for Wal-Mart's decimation of communities, small businesses and employment, shoot up in price.

[beyond the sea]

Sounds like the spew from her heinous a few weeks ago.

Satan's Daughter? Chappaqua Rose? The Stalinist Cookie Baker? The Queen of Darkness?

That woman will never go away. I wish Life Magazine had never done that first puff piece on her at Wellesley back in '69.

[chemainus]

Then do some reading on China, their goals, their conquests and their presence and domination of the African Continent including the Islamists and their oilfields...( add Venezuela and Indonesia)...your lack of knowledge is not my concern


you confident back-patters always drag out an absurd nuclear card...well hell, China has nukes too ...and now from Clinton the Traitor the means to deliver them from land or sea

[walden]

"Is it possible that a person can hate Mr. Bush and still be right about his numbers? Is it possible that a person can believe that there were no WMDs in Iraq and still be knowledgeable and intuitive about economics?"

Yes, it is possible, but I read supposedly informative articles in order to get informed on an issue, which means that I am not already an expert. Because I am not an expert, I need to be able to trust in the integrity of the writer and if I can't, that writer is worthless to me.

On the other hand, if I'm reading on a subject where I AM an expert (my professional field, for instance) just to see what others think rather than to extend my expert knowledge, then the character of the writer is less important to me. In that situation, I can completely and accurately assess the writer's data and logic (and know what information and arguments he has omitted as well). His integrity is irrelevant-- although I think it's always worth supporting the honest scholar against the liar, simply because a world with fewer liars is a better world. ;)

[Lurking2Long]

Don't confuse Howlin with facts...it's not fair!

[chemainus]

What a lazy daydream...the cost of freedom is eternal vigilence....


I'll bet you sported a "secret gubbimint progrum" to keep the socialists from taking over the education racket....No?

Go back to sleep....

[beyond the sea]

re:

a world with fewer liars is a better world. ;)

Sounds like a great tagline.

[iopscusa]

"If Paul Craig Roberts knew what he was talking about",he may and he may not. IMO he's political bias overwhelms any credibility I have for PCR's writings. Having read several and knowing a bit about his b/g, I generally just ignore him.

[G.Mason]

" The old doom&gloomers,most of whom have been banned ... "

LOL!!! ... I kind of miss reading the occasional opus or two, and then hearing the door slam. ;)

[finnigan2]

Story by Paul Roberts, AKA Chicken Little.

[beyond the sea]

I'll bet you sported a "secret gubbimint progrum" to keep the socialists from taking over the education racket..

The socialists already control the "education raket, imo."

here's a good source -- Charlotte Iserbyt's "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America".

;-)

[beyond the sea]

Eleanor of Aquitaine: "I even made poor Louis take me on Crusade. How's that for blasphemy. I dressed my maids as Amazons and rode bare-breasted halfway to Damascus. Louis had a seizure and I damn near died of windburn... but the troops were dazzled."

Saw your tagline. That was a great movie, and Kate was never better.

:-)

[Poohbah]

Has Paul Craig Roberts professed Shahada yet?

[G.Mason]

" His integrity is irrelevant--"

You are evidently comfortable in your delusions .

Spreading them to others is obnoxious.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

New labeling requirements should be instituted for all American-sold products. The originating country's flag should be graphically and colorfully visible next to product name. Gives consumer's a more informed choice. Walk in Wal-mart and you would embarassingly see a sea of red, representing a government and a philosophy we have been guarded against for decades. But hey, its cheap.

[William Terrell]

I understand your point. It has always seemed to me that it is not wise to judge a persons expertise in one area by his opinions in another, unrelated, area. It is wise to check his track record in the area at issue.

Did you read the bio here?

[SlowBoat407]

There's something "off" about the way this is written. It's a laundry list of ills designed to drive the reader to despair, but it is a poorly constructed essay, almost as if it were missing a thesis or conclusion.

I'm not familiar with the writer, so I don't know how it stacks up with his other work, but the piece just seems to float in place, a black cloud with no silver lining. What shall we do about these problems? Do we just give up? The writer does not lead us anywhere.

I give it a 5. Interesting message, but you can't dance to it.

[garylmoore]

I just posted it because Paul Craig Roberts is a smart guy

So is Ted Kennedy.

[finnigan2]

"The dollar lost about 27 percent last year..."

- The dollar drop has been a boon to exports and thus US production and employment. Every penny it drops against the Euro, hurts France and Germany's exports to the US. Notice that todays papers report that Germany's unemployment has jumped again another .2%
Now all this grief that it is causing Chirac and Schroeder could merely be coincidental, but then again it might be a subtle way for Bush to give them a few headaches on the home front.
Personally, I think the US could step in at any time to prop up the dollar, but Bush is content to give the Euroweenies a little grief while improving employment and the balance of trade issue at home.

[Paul_Denton]

I agree.

[chilepepper]

Paul Craig Roberts has turned into a Norm Chomsky style anti-American ranter... the US economy, while not in its best shape ever, is in pretty good shape, specially compared to the rest of the world... the doom and gloom just ain't there.