"wouldnt you think WE deserve more their sweetheart oil deals...."
JDN, this is pure political spin-doctoring. Our *overt* reason for going into Iraq was to protect ourselves and everyone else from this Weirdo in Bagdhad by clearing out his regime & his wmd's. Our "covert" reason for going into Iraq (IMHO) was to get the oil flowing for more than just food in return. Don't confuse the issues by rationalizing what it is we *deserve* to get for our largesse.
"WORLD WIDE downturn"
There is no such thing as a "world wide downturn" that goes beyond an inventory cycle. Historically,. Capitalism has shown a tendency to undergo corrections and recessions as a result of overproduction of goods and services. Normally, the condition is self-correcting over a relatively short period of time.
For example, there was an Asian currency crisis in 1998 that threatened to blow up into a world-wide recession, but didn't..
Then there is the often-stated cause of the great depression: speculation in the equity markets and a banking crisis (for lack of banking regulation), accompanied by large-scale unemployment which led to a deflationary psychology that lasted until 1945. A less-often noted reason relates to our response to overproduction of durable goods like steel and an accusation of dumping from foreign competitors.
This response from congress led to passage of Smoot-Hawley, a protectionist law that kept the price for raw steel (and other basic materials) high through tariffs and other barriers to foreign products and services. In fact, pressure was building between a number of competitors for world markets the United States would like to have controlled. Among the competitors, who were also building large naval and air force components, were Japan and Germany.
In the 1930's there was no "worldwide downturn". There were rivalries between nations vying for market supremecy whose countries were chafing at the inablilty of their domestic economies to produce and sustain prosperity for their citizens. Supremecy in foreign markets was the key to prosperity, and it required the use of force to protect and extend.
Eventually, we saw WWII. The war was about more than just economics, to be sure. However, it is a mistake to think that economics played no role whatsoever.
The problems we see today go way beyond overproduction. One problem I have with economists is their reverence for econometrics in explaining complex economic problems. This is a technical analysis that never takes into account the force of politics, government, and history on the world's economies.
BTW: I agree with you wholeheartedly about our work ethic (lower case). We are easily the most productive economy in the world (with apoligies to Japan).
I used to work with a Russian immigrent a number of years ago. Nice guy. I once asked him about the Soviet economy and he just shook his head, smirking. Then I asked him (tongue-in-cheek) about the value of the Collective Farms in boosting economic prosperity through class-equality. He burst out laughing, unable to contain himself anymore. Then he introduced me to the now-famous Russian saying: "In Russia", he said "We pretended to work and they pretended to pay us." |
