I guess the I wrote that misleading, so I will try to clear up what I really meant:
The most recent trend in media is to point increasingly to others' economies weaknesses. All of a sudden the situation in Japan is close to collapse and Europe is unproductive as ever and, in any case the recession elsewhere is always deeper and longer than in the US.
I think it's actually NOT the case that things in Japan and Europe are so dangerous as they are in the US right now.
And even here on Si where a lot of people are as critical as you, most do not realize that this is no balanced view.
The eye can't see itself. Thus many Americans may not realize that their views e.g. on the Central European economy and its perceived weakness are overemphasized in the eyes of the Europeans. My point was, that the Wall Street controlled (if so) media seems to have a new trick that may rest undiscovered in the US. They emphasize more and more the "serious problems" that European Economy is facing - maybe to put the US domestic economy in a better light?
E. g. in Europe people do not earn so much more in boom times and don't earn so much less in low/no-growth times. Everything is far less extreme than in the US. Thus it is by no means true, that Europe is slipping into trouble much faster than the US now.
This is an example. Another is, that during the boom there was no big rise in real estate prices, saving behaviour didn't change much (it was actually MORE saved, I believe), retirement are not in peril, etc.
Thus, the adverse effects of a slow down are generally lesser than in the US. And in times, when stability counts, such facts can influence investment decisions, especially in the currency markets.
What I suggest is, Wall Street tries to save the dollar by pointing to the stings in the eyes of other economic regions and the lie is believed...
Long live the strong-dollar-policy...
The US may really depend on a success here right now, to avoid the worst...
Regards
PMG |
