dagblog - Comments for "Economy on a precipice"

Paul Craig Roberts isn't

NCD — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 21:49:33 +0000

Paul Craig Roberts isn't talking about climate change, depletion and trashing of the oceans, over exploitation and destruction of arable lands, forests and watersheds, rising sea level, food production declines, population growth, communicable diseases and resistant microorganisms, pollution of air and ground water, loss of glaciers and arctic ice cover, methane release from permafrost soils, or other real mid to long term concerns which we should be addressing today. The fact is that stuff is not his field anyway.

He is an economist, and he talks about what economists talk about: the dollar, inflation, US bonds held by the Chinese, and some things not talked about enough, like the fiasco of the Iraq War. My point is western history is full of those sort of economic/political conflict/currency problems, mismanagement and disasters. There is not likely a 'precipice' before us in that realm. My other point was that globalresearch.org is a shrill outfit of unusual characters.

US and world history are

A Guy Called LULU — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 17:36:56 +0000

In reply to Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is a

US and world history are replete with decades and even centuries of failure, crimes and catastrophe, jingoism, conflict and fiasco that exceed anything we currently face.

This statement could be true about relatively small groups that existed in the course of human history but never has the planet seen groups of hundreds of millions, as well as possibly the entire world population, facing the wide variety of extremely serious threats as do exist today. I am speaking of threats that would/could change everything about life as those people know it today.
The economy of many nations, in a crowded resource short, poorly managed planet populated by humans whose characteristic way of responding is to fight, being on the precipice makes instances of crimes and catastrophe, jingoism, conflict and fiasco more likely, more widespread, potentially more catastrophic, and far more likely to spread beyond any geographical borders from where they become crippling. All these things make it harder to deal with natural disasters as well and being on the precipice economically means natural disasters can push us over the edge into the other problems even if we were otherwise able to 'keep chugging along'.

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is a

NCD — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:30:44 +0000

In reply to Economy on a precipice

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is a former Reagan administration supply side believer, who awakened sometime after his stint under Reagan to become a banking/dollar/war/Middle East doomsayer. US and world history are replete with decades and even centuries of failure, crimes and catastrophe, jingoism, conflict and fiasco that exceed anything we currently face. Roberts isn't the best guy to judge the ability of the system to keep chugging along.

Globalresearch.org is a somewhat hysterical purveyor of stuff like "Towards World War Three' on their: campaign to head off this impending cataclysmic demise of the human race and planet earth.

For now I say this is a good

EmmaZahn — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:21:16 +0000

In reply to Exclusive: U.S. lets China

For now I say this is a good thing. No doubt other central banks will now want the same ability if for no other reason than that China has it.

The fall of 2008 happened largely because the Fed and Treasury had boxed themselves into the Primary Dealer system which had consolidated into a few really big banks. That left the Fed with too few counterparties to function effectively when they started to fall. One of the first things the Fed did after TARP was to expand its list of counterparties. Why not let Treasury do the same -- just in case the Fed gets compromised again.

Not really happy about the secrecy involved but that is somewhat understandable. Money wars.

The small percentage of

Aunt Sam — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:05:40 +0000

In reply to Economy on a precipice

The small percentage of Americans who are aware and informed are puzzled why the banksters have escaped with their financial crimes without prosecution.

And there it is. If ever We, The People, choose to accept and take responsibility to be aware and informed, we would have a very different 'democracy'. Until then, we will indeed have the form of government actions and inactions we deserve.

Excellent piece Chris, thanks.

China never does anything

cmaukonen — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 13:28:00 +0000

In reply to Exclusive: U.S. lets China

China never does anything that is not in China's best interests. And you can count on the treasury to do what is the most politically expedient as well.

Exclusive: U.S. lets China

Donal — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 13:10:30 +0000

In reply to Economy on a precipice

Exclusive: U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders

Fed approves Chinese bank purchase of U.S. bank