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May 23, 2008 at 10:11:49
War Abroad and Poverty at Home by Paul Craig Roberts Page 1 of 2 page(s) |
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The US Senate has voted $165 billion to fund Bush’s wars of aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq through next spring. As the US is broke and deep in debt, every one of the $165 billion dollars will have to be borrowed. American consumers are also broke and deep in debt. Their zero saving rate means every one of the $165 billion dollars will have to be borrowed from foreigners. The “world’s only superpower” is so broke it can’t even finance its own wars. Each additional dollar that the irresponsible Bush Regime has to solicit from foreigners puts more downward pressure on the dollar’s value. During the eight wasted and extravagant years of the Bush Regime, the once mighty US dollar has lost about 60% of its value against the euro. 
The dollar has lost even more of its value against gold and oil.
Before Bush began his wars of aggression, oil was $25 a barrel. Today it is $130 a barrel. Some of this rise may result from run-away speculation in the futures market. However, the main cause is the eroding value of the dollar. Oil is real, and unlike paper dollars is limited in supply. With US massive trade and budget deficits, the outpouring of dollar obligations mounts, thus driving down the value of the dollar.
Each time the dollar price of oil rises, the US trade deficit rises, requiring more foreign financing of US energy use. Bush has managed to drive the US oil import bill up from $106 billion in 2006 to approximately $500 billion 18 months later--every dollar of which has to be financed by foreigners.
Without foreign money, the US “superpower” cannot finance its imports or its government’s operation.
When the oil price rises, Americans, who are increasingly poor, cannot pay their winter heating bills. Thus, the Senate’s military spending bill contains more heating subsidies for America’s growing legion of poor people.
The rising price of energy drives up the price of producing and transporting all goods, but American incomes are not rising except for the extremely rich.
The disappearing value of the US dollar, which pushes up oil prices and raises the trade deficit, then pushes up heating subsidies and raises the budget deficit.
If oil was the reason Bush invaded Iraq, the plan obviously backfired. Oil not merely doubled or tripled in price but quintupled.
America’s political leaders either have no awareness that Bush’s wars are destroying our country’s economic position and permanently lowering the living standards of Americans or they do not care. McCain says he can win the war in Iraq in five more years and in the meantime “challenge” Russia and China. Hillary says she will “obliterate” Iran. Obama can’t make up his mind if he is for war or against it.
The Bush Regime’s inability to pay the bills it is piling up for Americans means that future US governments will cut promised benefits and further impoverish the people. Over a year ago The Nation reported that the Bush Regime is shedding veteran costs by attributing consequences of serious war wounds to “personality disorders” in order to deny soldiers promised benefits.
Previous presidents reduced promised Social Security benefits by taxing the benefits (a tax on a tax) and by rigging the cost of living adjustment to understate inflation. Future presidents will have to seize private pensions in order to make minimal Social Security payments.
Currently the desperate Bush Regime is trying to cut Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled.
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| 10 comments |
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So why are our leaders selling us out?
Apparently, they could care less what happens to the Average American. I think Congress and the Senate should have their wages rolled back to that of the average american worker - permanently. Wages stagnate or fall - we're all in it together. Wages rise - they get a raise. And in order to serve, you must have the average or less in personal wealth and savings. Take all the rich manipulators out of the people's government. But no, the ownership class is running the country, and fattening their pockets. Just ask the Clintons or the Bushes how much they have profited by their years in public service. It's sick. by August Adams (11 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 585 comments [11 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 1:02:17 PM  (0+)
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Re: War Abroad and Poverty at Home
Well put Dr. Roberts. $165 billion more for this illegal and horrific Iraq war, while the people and it's country go broke. That's American? Or is it a rogue element. How much further must we sink into this contrived morass before the American people get up off of their arse's and take back this country? Or pehaps they just don't care? Just one other note, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is not only in dire need of repair, it is also up for sale. There's a deal in the works for it to be leased by a Spanish company. All part of this North American Union (NAU) being forced upon us. by Munich (1 articles, 86 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 1125 comments [86 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 1:31:45 PM (0+)
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Paul
The U.S. is financing both sides of this war by purchasing $750 Billion in foreign oil each year. You say that the Senate approved the spending and then called it the Bush Regime, I thought we had a democratic controlled Congress, not a Bush Regime. I disagree with your inference that Bush created the hike in oil. Every president since Nixon has promised a reduction in foreign oil, every president has increased the import of foreign oil. To the point in fact that we now import 75% of our oil. World demand has outstripped supply and oil will continue to rise regardless of who is president. Our military uses more oil than all but 35 countries in the world. We represent 4.8% of population and use 25% of all oil produced on earth. This is what is causing rising oil prices, it's not our oil! I totally and completely agree that we are broke beyond recovery and poverty will certainly increase at record rates as oil rises and employment falls. by Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 5:17:21 PM (0+)
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The Triumph Of Capitalism Gone Cancerous
Dr. Roberts is someone who I have been reading for quite some time and have a great amount of respect for (the new release of the book is outstanding) but what we have here is just the final stage of Capitalism taken to it's ultimate conclusion where it begins to feed on itself. It reminds me of that old Stephen King story called "Survivor Type" about the dude marooned on the deserted island with a ton of drugs and money but no food, he has to begin to cut off pieces of his own body to eat in order to survive and that is where we are at right now. In all due respect to Dr. Roberts and his service to the country this impending economic catastrophe would never have been possible without Ronald Reagan's undeclared war on the middle class. Lord Bush just picked up the ball and ran towards the goal line with the further destruction of all regulatory standards that greenlighted the Wall Street hogs on their way to the trough. We can agree to disagree on the mythical 'free market' (because it can only exist when human nature and greed are ignored) and what got us to this very precarious perch on the edge of the abyss but the truth is that we have major problems and until the war machine is reigned in and the fever dreams of empire ended once and for all we will never be able to address the very serious problems that have been wrought by a capitalist system that was allowed to mutate. Let it one day soon take it's place on the scrapheap of history along with Communism and other failed systems and the sooner the better. Just my two cents EE by Ed Encho (12 articles, 20 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 438 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 5:45:42 PM (0+)
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Reply: 28 years of Neocons
And this is what happens...infastructure crumbling, standard of living declining, mortgaged to foreign investors. Half the population wondering wha' happen' with the deer in the headlights look in their eyes and the other half just trying to make it through the day. America the Beautiful where have you gone... by macdon1 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 113 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, May 26, 2008 at 7:35:41 PM (0+)
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Reply: deers in the headlights
And you know something is happening but you don't know what it is . . . by Gregg Gordon (26 articles, 47 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 199 comments) on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 4:36:57 PM (0+)
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There are those... neo Royalty
wannabes, I call em. Who want to see the middle class destroyed in America. Who want, in the end, to be the Feudal rulers with the rest of us as serfs. The U.S. would then be a great source of soldiers and weapons to subdue the remainder of the world. Oil is merely a weapon in that arsenal. They have known for some time that oil was Peaking. Then, throw in the greed, the avarice of the oil companies and the multinational corporations and throw in a growing, extremely large dollop of dollar devaluation and voila! Gettin' closer to the time I gotta buy a mule.... And a buckboard to carry all those dollars I'll need to buy some milk and eggs..... by richard (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 1359 comments [400 recommended, 8 rejected]) on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 8:12:37 PM (0+)
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National Leaders
The thing is, our National leaders have become Globalists. They march to the tune of the global corporations who desire free trade to expand their web throughout the world. Due to interlocking directorships, the world has become a global corporation, where Finance, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Agri-Business, MIC, etc are essentially merged. And with many government officials then going on the work for these same corporations, or vice versa, government has merged with the Global Coroporations to form a defacto Global Fascist Government. Their interests are not limited to America. America has 5% of the worlds population. It is in their interest to distribute the wealth of the 5%, to the other 95%. They lower you living standards, to raise other select countries living standards, so we can in the end be comfortably merged. Oil Shocks, Terror Shocks, Financial Shocks,. Food Shortage Shocks, Wars, etc are all part of what Naomi Klein calls the Shock Doctrine. They set the stage to get people to accept what they otherwise would not, such as loss of soverignty, loss of liberties, lower standards of living, etc. Normal people do not understand this. But our leaders are not normal people, and they are controlled by psychopaths. There is Free Market, but it is not competitive, but is a monopoly market, or at least a cartel. The CEO of NYMEX, James Newsome, who also sits on the Dubai Exchange, is a former chairman of the CFTC, and is involved in driving up oil prices with no fear from the CFTC ." The US Treasury, sometimes called Goldman Sachs South, has as it's secretary Henry Paulson, former CEO of GS. Goldman Sachs was one of the few companies making a bundle when the Sub-Prime bubble was popped by Paulson and Helicopter Bens interest rate increases. Monsanto has had it's people on the inside at FDA. It goes on and on. Vulture Capitalism requires markets which are free, and unrestrained by regulation and competition. The solution to war time spending is simply for the government to print it's own money debt free instead of borrowing it. Read Ellen Browns Web of Debt. But ideas like that got Lincoln and JFK shot. So it probably won't happen. If other countries did the same thing, we would have no weapons with which to inhibit their development to what we consider sustainable. The current Economic world order fits the globalists just fine, since they control pretty much everything in it now, including national governments. Sounds like a conspiracy theory. It is. by pft (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 601 comments [7 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 10:11:46 PM (0+)
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Roberts channelling Arendt
Paul Craig Roberts excellent and accurate article, with its title, "War Abroad and Poverty at Home" reminds me of Hannah Arendt's prescient warning that, "Empire Abroad (always) entails Tyranny (and poverty) at Home". Yes, Paul, war and poverty (and tyranny) are the combined symptoms --- but their SINGULAR cause is the 'corporatist Empire' that totally controls our country through this two-party facade of 'Vichy' government (and 'Vichy' press). by Alan MacDonald (11 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 131 comments [43 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 12:35:17 PM (0+)
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I think self censorship is sometimes the problem
click here think self-censorship is one of the biggest problems we progressives face. We allow ourselves to be shouted out by warmongers and money wasters too often. by ALONE (196 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 557 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 12:25:19 PM (0+)
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