We may have kept the AAA rating on our bonds, but not our AAA rating of how the world views us, and this asset is perishable like soft fruit, let it rot and you don't get it back. Here is what others say of the recent debt ceiling brawl and the ugliness of it:
From Hindustan Times, "If routine has become Armageddon, the US cannot be counted on when the tough decisions are being made." Indian Express op-ed takes aim at the most august of American institutions: "The United States is the home of what Americans like to say is the world's greatest constitution, but is in fact the world's most outdated." Sharma argues it was "written for an age before railroads".
Our banker, the Chinese, State wire service Xinhuaexpressed its dismay at the potential of a default in the run-up to the final debt decisions, calling the political brinkmanship in Washington "dangerously irresponsible" in an editorial last week and noting that the "ugliest part of the saga is that the well-being of many other countries is also in the impact zone when the donkey and the elephant fight."
The much trampled Greeks got their chance to take a swing, Greek broadsheet Ekathimerini writes that the United States today "displays all the signs of decadence that condemned all previous superpowers: Stability and prosperity allowed small groups to gather disproportionate power, and they then forced the state to serve their interests at the expense of those of society as a whole."
Russia, here we get labeled Parisites, for gobbling up the worlds resources then sucking up all the worlds credit to pay for it, leaving other nations at risk.
England's Guardian economic editor Larry Elliott compares the United States to a "tinpot Latin American dictatorship circa 1980" and calls it a "country where a plutocracy is firmly in control,"
The Germans are just scratching their heads wondering, how the fuck did we lose to these guys.
Not that it will mean much to you, but I'm about to add your site to my blogroll (should have been done long ago, I apologize for the delay) AND I'm going to send a herd of miscreants and fellow disgruntled progressives over here to feast on this bounty of info you keep putting up on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI really think you have the best political blog I've found, and you deserve a lot more attention than you're getting.
You've been warned... here come the libs!
I have no arguments with any of the assessments above. And in particular, the plutocracy observation.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I am one of the miscreants who Squatlo sent over here. Although, I reserve that label for our present congress...a gaggle of miscreants and forked-tongue scallywags. I fall more into the depraved category.
Great, well thought out blog. I'll be back.
Fringe:
ReplyDelete"Stability and prosperity allowed small groups to gather disproportionate power, and they then forced the state to serve their interests at the expense of those of society as a whole."
That's it, exactly!
Squatlo:
ReplyDeleteThank you, I appreciate the compliment, but to quote Garth, "I'm not worthy", and have little doubt I will prove it soon enough. Actually now I feel bashful and want to run and hide behind my mother.
Jadedj:
ReplyDeleteMiscreants are welcome, I have been stalking you for a while at your blog and enjoy it. I hope that won't chase off your friends.
Whit:
ReplyDeleteThis tea bag bunch has alarmed the rest of the world with this obstructionism. Respect and political influence is a hard thing to define exactly how it gets credited to a nations account, but this shook the world a bit, no doubt our balance sheet took a little hit. Those who want to strut of our power and influence, exceptionalism, have squandered a bit of it these past days.
That is flattering, but my blog is a flounder compared to this one.
ReplyDeleteAs to running off friends...it's not likely, as most of them keep coming back because they can't believe their eyes..."the man just won't hang it up...and he's been doing it for six years". I realize they are humoring me, and have a pool with vast amounts of cash for the winner who stumbles on the exact date of my final post...my wife being one of them.
Seriously, this is a damned significant blog that needs a wide audience. Your insights are out of the ordinary and I am glad Squatlo lead me here.
Good job as usual Fringe. The future of America looks bleaker every day for me, maybe I'm just becoming a cynic. Perhaps I need to talk to Kevin for lessons on how to not be cynical in times like these.
ReplyDelete