The Dollar's Full System Meltdown

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Mike Whitney (about the author) Page 3 of 3 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

Internationally, the falling dollar means that America's debt will be reduced proportionate to the percentage-loss of the dollar in relation to other currencies. This is a great deal for the U.S. First the Fed prints fiat money to buy valuable resources and manufactured goods and then it nabs a discount by depreciating its currency. It's a "win-win" situation for Washington, although it will undoubtedlycheat unwitting foreign-creditors out of their hard-earned profits. It's doubtful that their interests will weigh very heavily on the money-lenders at the US Treasury or the Federal Reserve.

The dollar faces a second crisis at home which is bound to play out throughout 2007. The $10 trillion dollar housing bubble is quickly losing air causing a precipitous drop in GDP. The housing industry is seeing its steepest decline in 30 years and home equity is beginning to shrivel. Housing has been the one bright spot in an otherwise bleak economic landscape. With the housing market slowing down and prices decreasing, the $600 billion of consumer spending which was extracted in 2005 from home equity will quickly evaporate triggering an overall slowdown in the economy. (Consumer spending is 70% of GDP)

By the Fed's own calculations; "The total amount of residential housing wealth in the US just about doubled between 1999 and 2006 up from $10.4 trillion to $20.4 trillion. ("Times Online") If these figures are accurate than we can assume that much of America's "perceived" growth has been nothing more than the expansion of debt. In fact, that seems to be the case. Wages have been stagnant since the 1970s, 3 million manufacturing jobs have been outsourced, savings have shrunk to below 0%, and personal debt is soaring. We have become an "asset-based" society and when the principle asset begins to loose its value, we are in deep trouble. As housing prices continue to decline through 2007 we can expect a full-blown recession. If energy prices rear their ugly head again, (were they lowered for the elections?) it will just be that much worse.

So, how will recession affect the dollar? Capital has no loyalties. It follows the markets. When America's bustling consumer market stalls, we'll undergo capital flight just like everywhere else. The 3 million lost manufacturing jobs, the 200,000 lost high-paying high-tech jobs, the tax incentives for major corporations doing business outside the country; all signal that corporate America has already loaded the boats and is headed for more promising markets in Asia and Europe. A sluggish consumer market could further weaken the dollar and force Americans to begin saving again but, (and here's the surprising part) the decision-makers at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Dept don't really care if the face-value of the greenback goes down anyway.

What really matters is that the dollar retains its position as the world's reserve currency. That allows the Federal Reserve to continue to print the money, set the interest rates, and control the global economic system. The dollar presently accounts for 66% of foreign currency reserves in central banks across the globe, an increase of nearly 10% in one decade alone. The dollar has become the international currency, a de-facto monopoly. This is thegoal of the globalists and the American ruling elite who dream of one system, the dollar-system;with usrunning it.

So, how will this cadre of plutocrats coerce the other nations to continue to use the dollar while it plummets from its perch?

Oil.

As long as oil is denominated in dollars, the central banks will be forced to stockpile American scrip regardless of its value. It's no different than holding a gun to someone's head. They will use our debt-plagued greenbacks or their cars and trucks will sputter, their tractors and factories will wheeze, and their economies will grind to a halt. It's just that simple.

America cannot maintain its superpower status unless it continues to control the global economic system. That means the linkage between the dollar and oil must be preserved. The Bush troupe sees this as an existential issue upon which the future of America's ruling class depends. By 2020, 60% of the world's oil will come from the Middle East. Bush will do everything in his power to control the resources of the Caspian Basin, thereby expanding US dollar-hegemony and paving the way for a new American century.

1 | 2 | 3

Mike is a freelance writer living in Washington state.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Authors' Articles

Book Recommendations for "2006 Elections Bush"

A Divider, Not a Uniter: George W. Bush and the American People, The 2006 Election and Beyond
by Gary C. Jacobson

$18.40
Lowest New Price $5.24
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Longman

The polls: presidential referendum effects in the 2006 midterm elections.: An article from: Presidential Studies Quarterly
by Jeffrey E. Cohen

$9.95

Number of pages: 23
Publisher: Thomson Gale

The President's news conference.(Week Ending Friday, January 27, 2006)(democracy and Palestinian elections): An article from: Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

$5.95

Number of pages: 30
Publisher: Thomson Gale

The Sixth Year Itch: The Rise and Fall of the George W. Bush Presidency
by Larry J. Sabato

$17.40
Lowest New Price $3.19
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Longman

View All Book Recommendations

Share this page: (what's this?) Tell a Friend:

(More...)