The Hole is So Deep

Lamenting the US trade deficit, the Baltimore Sun Editorial, "Trade Trouble" December 28, 2008, presents two paths for the US to get out of the deep hole we're in:

The U.S. must either get its economic house in order, by reducing debt-financed consumption and rebuilding savings, or learn to live with a decline in American buying power and its influence.

It is certain that we are heading for Option 2. Obama has promised a stimulus package as big, or bigger than, the $700 billion financial industry bailout that's been added to the US debt. Option 1 would spell a depression, so as cathartic and healthy as that might be in the long run, "There are no atheists in fox holes, and no Libertarians in charge of managing an economic crises."

You might look to the Plaza Accord of 1985 as a possible "third way." The Accord, signed by five major nations, agreed to depreciate the US dollar in relation to the Japanese yen and German Deutsche Mark by intervening in currency markets. The intent was to balance US trade deficits with Germany and Japan, but it didn't work. Prepare for less buying power and less influence.

Psssst... Do Something

• Contact the Broadcast Media
  
• Contact the Newspapers
  
• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

A Warning to John McCain

If Barack Obama is assassinated, will John McCain bear some of the responsibility? Frank Schaeffer, a former evangelical preacher, and active McCain supporter in the 2000 campaign, is warning McCain by saying exactly that. Schaeffer has written an open letter to McCain in the Baltimore Sun:

"John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as ‘not one of us,’ I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence."

“John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that [surround] the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are [a bitterly divided country] on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there."

“Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs."

“John McCain, you’re walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they scream out ‘Terrorist’ or ‘Kill him,’ history will hold you responsible for all that follows."

Sources:

DemocracyNow, "Former McCain Supporter Accuses the Senator of “Deliberately Feeding the Most Unhinged Elements of Our Society the Red Meat of Hate” October, 13, 2008.