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America: Headed toward the right/wrong direction?
In the aftermath of Standard & Poor's downgrade on the United States' credit rating, we have seen massive sell-offs in the world's markets. Although these phenomena may not fully be related, it still begs the question of whether or not America would remain economically solvent, especially in light of the rising Asian economies.
What would it mean for the world to have a United States that has fallen economically beyond recognition? Lastly, how do you think our current world economic landscape would affect YOUR life in the forseeable future?
Krisztián Pintér 200+
as i argued a lot of times, if you have a heavily regulated economic sector, and removing some of the regulations causes disaster, you can't blame it on the free market. it is still not a free market. about the causes of the 2008 meltdown, you can read that article summarizing the austrian view
http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Great_Recession
Tim blackburn 30+
Christian Martinez 10+
Tim blackburn 30+
Tim blackburn 30+
Krisztián Pintér 200+
also separate short term versus long term trends. america is still the source of freedom. not its government. not its majority view. but the thought of freedom is stronger in the US than for example in the EU or in india, just to pick too examples. majority of scientific progress also comes from the US. so i'm more optimistic about the long term trend.
Christian Martinez 10+
The economy and government are functions of the United States - the nation. Though the two are not the same, both are intrinsic parts of the same tree. The failure of the US government may well translate into the failure of the US economy. As we're seeing right now, through the disfunction of the American Congress, the failure of the US economy leads to chaos. As such I am very hesitant to make this sharp distinction that you're pointing out.
You mention "It is quite possible that the US government go bankrupt, while the economy is okay." I don't believe this to be true. When the US government goes "bankrupt," make no mistake about it: the economy will falter.
Can you clarify something for me? You say that "America is still the source of freedom." I'm unclear as to what this means. Liberty is such a precarious thing. Gauging it, as one might in the ups and downs of the stockmarket, is to mischaracterize it.
Finally, it has been mentioned that the economy is crippled by, among other things, market interventions and credit expansion. I quite certainly disagree. It is the lack of intervention that caused the recession of 2008 in the US, and conversely, the relative success of the Canadian markets (as an example). Credit expansion was a necessity, and avoiding it would have led to disaster.
Thanks again for your comment, and hope to hear from you again! This is the point of TED Conversations, and I'm delighted to have conversations with people smarter than I, such as you.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
Christian Martinez 10+
Jim Moonan 30+
Obama is not perfect (he never said he was) but he is the right person at the right time to lead us through the start of some pretty difficult changes to our economy and how we govern - in my opinion. He is the classic Change Agent. A catalyst. No one ever said change would be easy - or popular. In fact change often feels the opposite: hard and full of uncertainty. I think that in the short term things in the US economy and government will remain uncertain. What I think is happening is the beginning of what will ultimately be positive change, but at the moment "feels" like disaster looming.
From as artistic standpoint Bob Dylan put his finger on what is happening now in the US (and to a large extent globally) with these lyrics:
Come senators, congressmen
please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it's ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's not tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
Don't stand in the doorway don't block up the hall
Christian Martinez 10+
I agree with what you said about President Obama. We can only hope that the Americans are receptive to his message, and are finally willing to make the necessary sacrifices to place their country on the right path once again.
Thanks again and regards,
C.
Christian Martinez 10+
Ed Schulte 50+
the potential that this topic has relative the another topic with was floated at TED awhile ago and that is "listening"
A working example is the statement China put forward 4 days ago
"International supervision over the issue of U.S. dollars should be introduced and a new, stable and secured global reserve currency may also be an option to avert a catastrophe caused by any single country."
the latter "option" was all that was heard by the western press...the first part completely ignored,
Re your questeion .."waht would it mean?" ..it would mean very much as the Chinese Governmant suggest...we would live and function with a global currency with gobal suervision of Bonding agencies etc. No it is not going to happen any time soon but the S&P 2.0 Trillion $$ ooops!! error is a good example of the need for change