U.S. economy poised to tank
In the wake of the subprime loan debacle, with the value of the U.S. dollar plummeting as against the euro, OPEC members are talking about converting their cash reserves to the euro and away from the U.S. dollar.
Comments about the U.S. currency came during a weekend summit where the heads of state of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sought to find ways to mitigate the adverse effects of a weak dollar on revenues.
Oil is priced in U.S. dollars and the currency's depreciation has contributed to rising crude prices and eroded the value of national dollar reserves. Cartel officials have resisted pressure to increase oil production to ease prices.
The fallout from the "financial wizardry" of our lending institutions is now seen throughout the economy with layoffs in the construction industry, loss of revenue from lack of sales of construction materials, a devalued dollar, soaring inflation--if you put the "volitiles" like energy and food back into the equation, and a perfect opportunity for the rest of the world to pile on and crash our economy. OPEC can convert dollars to euros; the Chinese can also with the huge trade imbalance we have with them, further devalueing the dollar as countries compete to unload dollars for a finite number of euros--again basic economics.
There is no reason to pretend that the Europeans don't want to see the U.S. falter--the Germans "invented" the European Economic Community as a way to topple our position in the world economy, or that the Chinese and OPEC nations have our best interests in mind.
The bankers were making a quick buck, Congress argued over Iraq while the subprime lending continued out of control, and now the ordinary citizen can watch as not only houses are foreclosed, but our entire economy is foreclosed by the rest of the world.
My last comment is for the ordinary citizen: you voted the bozos into office--both Republican and Democrats--you spent more time thinking about which SUV to buy than which candidate to vote for, and apparently are more interested in O.J. Simpson and Brittney Spears meltdowns than how your Congress is working. Enjoy the recession...you've earned it!