UF, <I'd go a step further and say that they have lost faith in the country as well.>
As you know, I'm quite happy to point out the grotesque warts all over the USA. For example, whenever I see a photo of George Bush expressing himself, I am strongly reminded of a chimpanzee. For all his warts, Bill Clinton seemed to do extremely well.
I can see how people would lose confidence with GeorgeW as Alpha Male. He really is no comparison with Bill. Bill did some pretty vital things, such as getting Mexico financially on track with a $50bn loan. He went along with Uncle Al on the deficit reductions. He could jolly them along in China, Russia etc. Bill seemed to be right on top of everything [including the interns, who were volunteers we should keep in mind]. He had that X-factor.
Like any country I can think of, the USA is covered in warts.
BUT. The place is like a monstrous juggernaut. USS Enterprise is huge. It is not something to have faith in or not. It simply is. It is like the moon circling the earth. There might be the odd eclipse or even slight gravitational influences. But it has got huge momentum.
However, as with all things human, the momentum is an illusion. Share prices don't have momentum. Countries and share prices are functions of human minds. It takes half a second for humans to go from blase confidence to quivering fear and fast running. But something has to happen for that to happen. For the USA to go off course, it would have to be something pretty big deal.
The USA has too many stabilizers, too much infrastructure, capital, population, military, judicial and political strength to be knocked off orbit. It is to some extent like a mindless beast, which perversely gives it strength.
I'm betting on the USA [more accurately, Q!, backed by the USA]. But, I hover near the exit and live somewhere else. Oddly, the greatest weakness of the USA is that Americans think they have the greatest country on earth - which, in many respects is true. But, like the Pharoahs, Romans, British and the Japanese, they will be humbled as hubris works its inevitable course.
Mqurice |
