No going back Options

[Lancaster Online]

[Artie See]

The problem there is twofold; first, as Krugman notes, export growth has stalled because of the rise of the dollar.

It is inevitable that the dollar will fall significantly over time; its current rise is driven by worldwide economic uncertainty. With massive international trade deficits, Federal budget deficits, and a $12+ trillion national debt, there is no other direction that the dollar can take. Of course, this will inevitably lead to a reduced standard of living for all of us, but it will also help transform the U.S. away from being a nation of debtors.

My feeling is that, with an APPROPRIATE amount of regulation (neither too much nor too little), the U.S. economy eight years from now will be far more sustainable than it has been for the last eight years. But for this to happen, our greed-driven borrow-and-spend country (individuals, businesses, and governments at all levels) MUST behave much more responsibly. My guess is that we will all have no other choice.

[gsmart]

My feeling is that, with an APPROPRIATE amount of regulation (neither too much nor too little), the U.S. economy eight years from now will be far more sustainable than it has been for the last eight years. But for this to happen, our greed-driven borrow-and-spend country (individuals, businesses, and governments at all levels) MUST behave much more responsibly. My guess is that we will all have no other choice.

But we won't behave more responsibly - irresponsible behavior is simply an inevitable aspect of the system we have.

If you haven't seen it, check out Arianna Huffington's bit yesterday, "Laissez-faire capitalism should be as dead as communism" - but even moreso than that, Henry Blodget's bit in the Atlantic, "Why Wall Street always blows it" (and will again).