COUNTRYWIDE FACES "unprecedented disruptions"

[Eleua]

[Matthew]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Eleua]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

Eleua, the thing you have left out of both equations is that you are assuming I am actually getting paid for the work I do. If I work at a retirement home for penniless retirees, who don't pay me, that's volunteer work. If the penniless retirees give me IOUs, which will pay out $1,000,000 when they die, I am still working for free.

So actually, in that case I am better off if they leave. At least I get my time if not the fake income. Conversely, if we had a balanced trade then our economy faltering would be a big deal to the rest of the world.

I admit to not being anything but an armchair economist, but work is prefaced on being reimbursed and volunteer work is not. A lot of work exported to the great U.S of A might turn out to be the later and not the earlier.

Let's not fool ourselves. It isn't our demand that keeps the lights on in China. They use a lot of that electricity to produce crap for us to consume. And it's not like China doesn't have a population in excess of 1.3 billion people who could use some of the stuff they are producing. They don't ship to us because it's the best thing for them, they do it because it's the quickest way to make a buck (which isn't worth what it used to be). It used to be that we were shipping legitimate wealth accumulated over many years. But if that's what we're spending, why is everyone taking out HELOCs and charging to credit cards? We are spending money we don't have. And I am becoming increasingly certain it's money that may not be worth the slips its written on.

[Eleua]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[perplexd]

The thing is, so long as the world reserve currency is maintained, it works to China's advantage.

I mean, the Fed can rain money all over the U.S. consumer any time they want, and this is why we can consume like this, yes?

Well, the Chinese can't print USD, but they do have an economy that's even more centrally managed than ours. And plus, why would they have to print??? They have a freaking trillion dollar surplus of our paper!!

Sure, I know what you are thinking. Unocal? Ports? No WE won't let them buy anything useful with that money, but so long as it is world reserve currency and petro currency the REST of the world will sell for it. And that's where the resources are. Our mines and oil wells done bin pumped dry. But South America? Africa? Venezuela? Russia? China is out there with the checkbook.

So, um, why do they need us again? They have the real demand for goods, they have the real labor, and they have the real access to materials. Their managed economy can distribute goods to simulate the cash that peasants don't have. That part is quite simple for a communist regime. Mix all those up I'd say and you have a nice little economy.

As far as I can tell, the nuclear subs in the yellow sea (and et cetera) are all that stands between that description and reality.

[perplexd]

[Eleua]

[Matthew]

[SunTzu]

[Eleua]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Eleua]