I seem to recall explaining in 2005 to Pundita readers that the United States was in for a little unpleasantness not far down the line with regard to economic health and complicated financial matters. Not wanting to start a panic I didn't do the ashes and sackcloth routine. In fact I've had very little to say on this blog about international finance, even after Jim Sinclair nearly had an aneurysm when he learned the Obama administration was fiddling with SWIFT in a ploy to force Tehran to the negotiating table.
I add that Sinclair wasn't the only one. The Brazilian government was so alarmed, General Martin Dempsey had to fly in there to assure that while it might look as if Obama was barking mad, he could personally vouch for Obama's sanity.
I add that Sinclair wasn't the only one. The Brazilian government was so alarmed, General Martin Dempsey had to fly in there to assure that while it might look as if Obama was barking mad, he could personally vouch for Obama's sanity.
But the Brazilians didn't think he was mad; the SWIFT stunt told them that he and his advisers couldn't chew and walk when it came to dealing with the crisis in the international monetary system.
To cut a story, there are reasons why headlines on the "EU debt" crisis all but vanished from the front page of Google News in the critical three months running up to the American presidential election.
Yes, yes, I've been told a hundred times that the Google bots are completely nonpartisan. But there are governments in Western Europe and people on Wall Street that prefer to have Obama reelected; this on the theory he'll continue to jawbone Ben Bernanke in their favor, and that Mitt Romney won't.
As to what Bernanke or any Chairman of the Federal Reserve can do to play Hans Brinker, beyond what's already been done -- nothing but make things worse, as long as Obama is jawboning.
So in my view, it's really important for Americans to get their priorities straight when they head for the voting booth tomorrow. With real unemployment in the USA at over 14 percent, with many of the employed working only low-paying part time jobs, and with the thing called contagion hanging over this country, this is not the time to make Romney's views on Russia, China, Iran, Israel and Pakistan one's top priority.
Yes, yes, I've been told a hundred times that the Google bots are completely nonpartisan. But there are governments in Western Europe and people on Wall Street that prefer to have Obama reelected; this on the theory he'll continue to jawbone Ben Bernanke in their favor, and that Mitt Romney won't.
As to what Bernanke or any Chairman of the Federal Reserve can do to play Hans Brinker, beyond what's already been done -- nothing but make things worse, as long as Obama is jawboning.
So in my view, it's really important for Americans to get their priorities straight when they head for the voting booth tomorrow. With real unemployment in the USA at over 14 percent, with many of the employed working only low-paying part time jobs, and with the thing called contagion hanging over this country, this is not the time to make Romney's views on Russia, China, Iran, Israel and Pakistan one's top priority.
Nor is it the time to sit out the election on the theory that Romney in Washington would make no difference to Business as Usual in this city. At this point I don't care if he makes no difference. What I care about is the United States getting through the next two years intact. Obama is not capable of managing this feat. Romney, who has a record of turning around failing enterprises in the public and private sector, and who knows how the international monetary system works, has a fighting chance of managing this.
Moreover, if something should happen to Romney while he was President, Paul Ryan has the acumen to deal intelligently with financial matters. Joe Biden does not. .
Nothing's guaranteed, of course; it's very late in the day. But I judge that at the least, Romney knows how to avert the worst-case scenario for the USA.
With regard to Romney's religion, which I suspect is more a concern to those who aren't religious, in any traditional sense, than to most Christian Evangelicals (at least at this point), here is my view:
You wanted cheap stuff from China and cheap oil from the Gulf Arabs. You got your wishes. So now you're in a position not unlike that of the person who looks at Mt. Everest and says, "I've climbed worse than that in Colorado."
When you're half-way up the mountain and know you can't go higher and can't figure how to get down, what do you say to the Sherpa who appears out of nowhere and asks if he can guide you back to base camp?
If the answer is, "I'm concerned about your religion," then with all due sympathy for your spouse and offspring, anyone that silly is probably best left to freeze to death.
The artwork featured in this post is the illustration for Jiang Shixue's explanation of the EU debt crisis, which is titled, EU debt crisis is a snake with nine heads. Pundita collects explanations of the debt crisis as a hobby.
With regard to Romney's religion, which I suspect is more a concern to those who aren't religious, in any traditional sense, than to most Christian Evangelicals (at least at this point), here is my view:
You wanted cheap stuff from China and cheap oil from the Gulf Arabs. You got your wishes. So now you're in a position not unlike that of the person who looks at Mt. Everest and says, "I've climbed worse than that in Colorado."
When you're half-way up the mountain and know you can't go higher and can't figure how to get down, what do you say to the Sherpa who appears out of nowhere and asks if he can guide you back to base camp?
If the answer is, "I'm concerned about your religion," then with all due sympathy for your spouse and offspring, anyone that silly is probably best left to freeze to death.
The artwork featured in this post is the illustration for Jiang Shixue's explanation of the EU debt crisis, which is titled, EU debt crisis is a snake with nine heads. Pundita collects explanations of the debt crisis as a hobby.
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