Ancona
19th May 2009, 17:40
We are not the center of the universe
It occurred to me today that the United States was not at the center of the universe anymore and that we will soon orbit the likes of China and Brazil, as they waken from their third world slumbers and embark upon their industrial and agricultural revolutions.
The world as we know it is about to undergo radical changes, including the reorganization of world leadership and reassignment of hegemony. It is unlikely that we retain the mantle of Sole World Superpower for much longer, even though we have a nuclear arsenal capable of erasing all forms of life on the planet. We just cannot afford it any longer. We will be subsumed within the larger energies of previously third world nations, and the dreams that they have of emulating our excess. Our debts with them will only grow, as our administration flounders through their epic Keynesian plan to reinflate a popped bubble. As our power and influence diminish across the globe, a new power must rise to fill the vacuum. It is my estimation that China, Brazil, India and Russia will be equal to the task.
China has the workforce capable of producing extremely inexpensive goods, an ancillary benefit of paying people 200$ a month and maintaining a complete disdain for the environment. Brazil has discovered massive oil fields in the region of the Atlantic shelf called the Tupi and Carioca. These monster fields are collectively estimated to hold over 42 billion barrels of oil. This makes Brazil even more relevant to the world as the super giant Cantarrell field in Mexico and Ghawar in Saudi Arabia are now in steep and irreversible decline. Russia has come to the fore in recent years as the owner of the largest natural gas fields on the planet and has begun to construct not one, but two huge liquification plants for the export of their natural riches. Add to these nations the people of India, one of the best educated people on the planet, and they have willingness and desire to work [very cheaply]; now you have a powerful bloc of nations able to test the world with their collective power. No one of these nations could challenge our position in global politics or military might, but as a cohesive unit the game would change considerably.
Already we are witnessing a shift in the global climate, with Western Europe in an economic malaise and the United States in a freefall. Even the once mighty England is suffering the worst economic conditions since WWII, and there is no end in sight. There are many here in the States who are awake and aware of the economy, and vocal about the need to effect change. Unfortunately, our President has focused on the Keynesian welfare route to try and solve our problems, instead of the austerity that we so desperately need. Rather than shrink the government, he is building it up. The U.S. government is already the largest employer on the planet, and Obama is set on making it bigger, even in the face of crashing tax revenues and cratering markets.
I listened for as long as I could to the commencement speech delivered by the First Lady the other day, and could not help but think that I would have told these kids something entirely different. Rather than sugar-coat the future that these impressionable young people face, I would have let them in on the harsh secret. These kids just finished four years of life in an idyllic world, paid for by their parents and enormous student loans [which are not dischargeable in a bankruptcy by the way], and are to be thrown to the wolves. Four years of being told that government is the answer and welfare is good. Four years of being led to believe that there will be an abundance of work available in whatever field of endeavor they choose to embark upon. Four years of beer busts, wet t-shirt contests and frat parties will not have prepared them for the realities they will soon face. Four years of brainwashing by the children of the sixties, who grew up to be the professors and lecturers charged with preparing this generation for the future will have erased any possibility that they will have been prepared for anything other than a government job.
I am a cynic, having been raised in a very conservative household where one was expected to carry his own weight and live up to the “measure of a man”. As a young man, my pop used to say “there are no free rides in life, so if you want something you’ll have to go out in the world, work for it and get it yourself”. These are powerful words, not taught any longer in our schools and universities. Personal responsibility has been replaced by “We’re all winners here!” and political correctness. “Making the grade” has been replaced by quotas that must be filled, irrespective of the candidate’s qualifications.
I look at China and see a young America, full of hopes, dreams and pride. I see the children of India working at night to pay for the opportunity to go to grade school and get an education. Then, I look at our own school system, which has become a neutered babysitting agency, without even the power to discipline a child. I see our teachers unions, with tenured teachers who have no business being around the children they have grown to hate. I have watched as the standard of education has been lowered to account for the tidal wave of Mexican immigrants, who in some states, have sued successfully to be taught in their native Spanish language.
Am I bitter? Yes I am. My country is letting me down, and there is precious little I can do about it. The third world has caught up and may soon make us answer to them. We have willingly given up our wealth to them in exchange for trinkets and baubles, and they are calling our debt due. China has the power to destroy us economically without any outside help. By simply bombarding the market with a few hundred billion dollars worth of treasuries, China could single handedly wipe us out. With no one willing to purchase our debt, we would be forced to live within our means.
Austerity is coming, and that as a result of our own profligacy. We had better get ready.
Sorry about the disjointed rant.
It occurred to me today that the United States was not at the center of the universe anymore and that we will soon orbit the likes of China and Brazil, as they waken from their third world slumbers and embark upon their industrial and agricultural revolutions.
The world as we know it is about to undergo radical changes, including the reorganization of world leadership and reassignment of hegemony. It is unlikely that we retain the mantle of Sole World Superpower for much longer, even though we have a nuclear arsenal capable of erasing all forms of life on the planet. We just cannot afford it any longer. We will be subsumed within the larger energies of previously third world nations, and the dreams that they have of emulating our excess. Our debts with them will only grow, as our administration flounders through their epic Keynesian plan to reinflate a popped bubble. As our power and influence diminish across the globe, a new power must rise to fill the vacuum. It is my estimation that China, Brazil, India and Russia will be equal to the task.
China has the workforce capable of producing extremely inexpensive goods, an ancillary benefit of paying people 200$ a month and maintaining a complete disdain for the environment. Brazil has discovered massive oil fields in the region of the Atlantic shelf called the Tupi and Carioca. These monster fields are collectively estimated to hold over 42 billion barrels of oil. This makes Brazil even more relevant to the world as the super giant Cantarrell field in Mexico and Ghawar in Saudi Arabia are now in steep and irreversible decline. Russia has come to the fore in recent years as the owner of the largest natural gas fields on the planet and has begun to construct not one, but two huge liquification plants for the export of their natural riches. Add to these nations the people of India, one of the best educated people on the planet, and they have willingness and desire to work [very cheaply]; now you have a powerful bloc of nations able to test the world with their collective power. No one of these nations could challenge our position in global politics or military might, but as a cohesive unit the game would change considerably.
Already we are witnessing a shift in the global climate, with Western Europe in an economic malaise and the United States in a freefall. Even the once mighty England is suffering the worst economic conditions since WWII, and there is no end in sight. There are many here in the States who are awake and aware of the economy, and vocal about the need to effect change. Unfortunately, our President has focused on the Keynesian welfare route to try and solve our problems, instead of the austerity that we so desperately need. Rather than shrink the government, he is building it up. The U.S. government is already the largest employer on the planet, and Obama is set on making it bigger, even in the face of crashing tax revenues and cratering markets.
I listened for as long as I could to the commencement speech delivered by the First Lady the other day, and could not help but think that I would have told these kids something entirely different. Rather than sugar-coat the future that these impressionable young people face, I would have let them in on the harsh secret. These kids just finished four years of life in an idyllic world, paid for by their parents and enormous student loans [which are not dischargeable in a bankruptcy by the way], and are to be thrown to the wolves. Four years of being told that government is the answer and welfare is good. Four years of being led to believe that there will be an abundance of work available in whatever field of endeavor they choose to embark upon. Four years of beer busts, wet t-shirt contests and frat parties will not have prepared them for the realities they will soon face. Four years of brainwashing by the children of the sixties, who grew up to be the professors and lecturers charged with preparing this generation for the future will have erased any possibility that they will have been prepared for anything other than a government job.
I am a cynic, having been raised in a very conservative household where one was expected to carry his own weight and live up to the “measure of a man”. As a young man, my pop used to say “there are no free rides in life, so if you want something you’ll have to go out in the world, work for it and get it yourself”. These are powerful words, not taught any longer in our schools and universities. Personal responsibility has been replaced by “We’re all winners here!” and political correctness. “Making the grade” has been replaced by quotas that must be filled, irrespective of the candidate’s qualifications.
I look at China and see a young America, full of hopes, dreams and pride. I see the children of India working at night to pay for the opportunity to go to grade school and get an education. Then, I look at our own school system, which has become a neutered babysitting agency, without even the power to discipline a child. I see our teachers unions, with tenured teachers who have no business being around the children they have grown to hate. I have watched as the standard of education has been lowered to account for the tidal wave of Mexican immigrants, who in some states, have sued successfully to be taught in their native Spanish language.
Am I bitter? Yes I am. My country is letting me down, and there is precious little I can do about it. The third world has caught up and may soon make us answer to them. We have willingly given up our wealth to them in exchange for trinkets and baubles, and they are calling our debt due. China has the power to destroy us economically without any outside help. By simply bombarding the market with a few hundred billion dollars worth of treasuries, China could single handedly wipe us out. With no one willing to purchase our debt, we would be forced to live within our means.
Austerity is coming, and that as a result of our own profligacy. We had better get ready.
Sorry about the disjointed rant.