US Economy and the US Dollar - Page 9

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

What does Ireland stand to lose/gain by our demise

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

WORLD
World/European Union news stories of the week: February 2005 wk 5
By Finfacts Team
Feb 6, 2005, 23:18
“Most citizens of the European Union consider that the current economic and social situation in their country is bad. In particular,three out of four citizens say that the employment situation in their country is "bad" compared with only 22% who take the opposite view. “
“Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.9% in December 2004, compared to 8.8% in November, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reports today. It was also 8.9% in December 2003. The EU254 unemployment rate was 8.9% in December 2004, unchanged compared to November. It was 9.1% in December 2003. Ireland's rate of 4.3%, was the lowest in the European Union. “
Bravo lim, Irelands unemployment rate is very low….I’m curious however, knowing that you love economic news why you never post any of your “gloom and doom” msgs concerning your “euro” neighbors???

How about some "fair and balanced" reporting?

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

I think it is due, in large part, as you article states to the selling of U.S. firms to the "highest bidder" & the selling of our production jobs to the "lowest bidder". Beginning w/ Nixon, the idea was that China would come along politically as their economic situation improved however I don't see much advancement on their part in this area. China's president was named, yet again; whomever might be holding office at the time, to the yearly list of "The World’s 10 Worst Dictators" by Parade Magazine, a supplement to the Washington Post-Feb.13th edition.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

American education is in a shambles. The purpose of the current educational system was to educate a person just enough for him to work in a factory, i.e., read directions, follow instructions. (There's a very good book on this and I wish I could remember its title.) But now with the factory jobs moving off-shore, American education has no purpose. We are educating a generation of people to do nothing, since there is nothing for them to do.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

More Irish whiskey for them to drink. If we can't afford to buy it, someone has to take up the slack.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

U.S. Debt has hit a 125 yr. high of: 6-6 1/4% of GDP. Bush spends money like a liberal high on crack & yet he has given 3 tax breaks No wonder we are in the shape we are in.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

There seems to be a basic difference between the E.U. economy and that of the U.S. and the U.K. The U.S. economy has always been more competitive since an American worker is cheaper to hire than, say, a French worker and American workers seem to demand less red tape e.t.c. E.U. economic growth, therefore, has always been slower than the U.S.
The downside is that I think crime in the U.S. is linked to the inferior welfare system America has compared with Europe since, in France for example, being unemployed doesn't necessarily mean you're broke. But there are a lot of unemployed people in Germany (and in France).
If you think about it, though, the U.S. and U.K. system of low social security and less red tape worked really well for their economies when there was no prospect of jobs being lost to China or former communist countries. I mean, an American who lost his job could simply find another job instead. The problem for the U.S. I think has to do with a changing global economy, the rise of Asia and the fall of the iron curtain.
But I confess I don't see E.U. prospects as quite as rosy as I used to. I fear that the E.U. is trying to make itself into a carbon copy of the U.S. economy with talk of less worker rights and cutbacks in welfare. All of these proposed cutbacks have certainly upset the French as well, who feel the size of the E.U. is getting out of control. I also fear Europe might run into trouble over attempts to swallow up smaller European cultures via mass immigration, not taking into account Europe is so much older than the U.S.A.
To be honest, I think the next world superpower will most definitely be China, not the E.U. We are getting so many Chinese students over here in my area who come to study business and English and these people are already starting to acquire money, just like the Japanese in the eighties. The rate of China's present economic growth is staggering, education is excellent with thousands of uni graduates being churned out per annum. If I was younger I'd definietly commit myself to learning mandarin Chinese, go over and there and find work in a company.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

There is one thing that you may have overlooked & that is China's necessity of importing petroleum & possibly coal. I think that they may face the same problem Japan did in the 2nd world war- dependence on outside sources for their energy needs. Their coal plants are already operating faster than they can replenish them w/ more coal. There is also the issue of considerably less innovation, on their part, relative to the U.S./U.K./E.U. They simply turn out "clones". They don't have an auto or aero to speak of, that is competitive in the int'l market not to mention a computer. Their inordinate rich/poor ratio is nothing to scoff at either. They have economic power is something to reckon w/ but, it is a faulty mechanism seeing as how they don't let their currency fluctuate. That is one of the primary reason's for our indebtedness to them. That & our inability to save rather than spend.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

I almost forgot to mention Bush's/Cheney's/Rummy's $1,500,000,000/week price tag for his Iraq foray.

Re: US Economy and the US Dollar

You already indicated before you don't seem to keen on China due to human rights issues e.t.c. The other points you mention are also reasonable as well.
But having said all of that, my hunch is prospects are looking very rosy for China. For a start, if we compare Chinese classes and schools with our own, you somehow get the impression the Chinese come off really well (so many of the over here studying). Both India and China are churning out thousands of science graduates from universities. Scientists over there just decoded the DNA of a silkworm and they're making incredible progress in robotics and all sorts of sciences.
Don't be surprised if you don't hear about an up-and-coming Chinese lunar landing in the very near future.
But I'm not quite so optimistic about the E.U. as I used to be as I think it's becoming too big, too bureaucratic and cumbersome. It also bothers me that European countries might become so integrated, we could all lose out cultural identities (which would, more than likely, trigger off an outbreak of nationalism and extremism within European countries as smaller ethnic groups feel themselves threatened by expansion). For example, did you know that far right parties are making a significant comeback in Germany as well as communist parties in Eastern Europe?
There has been a tendency on this forum to continually knock the U.S. at the expense of the E.U. and somehow write the U.S. off the map as inevitably doomed due to George Bush. But I have a suspicion Americans may wind up with a better government in the near future and I also think Schwarzennegger would take a different direction if he gets in (which is looking very likely).
Of course, this is just my personal view and I don't set out to claim I'm always right. Maybe I'm wrong in my assessment but we'll have to see.