[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: [GreenAllianceUSA] the beginning of hyper-inflation

Sun Nov 21 03:52:44 PST 2004

>Last week on Bill Moyer's NOW, an economist 
>stated that the total US debt is some
51 Trillion dollars. The total value of everything in the US is 45 Trillion.

Got a spare 6 Trillion?   Pax, Paul Etx

>
>the beginning of hyper-inflation
>
>so why aren't the conservatives throwing a fit with the regime?  Why
>are not all "Americans" not up in arms over this?
>
>Here are some articles that were competing with mad cows, "scandalous"
>  football commericial with interracial suggestions, the greatest hits
>of Britney Spears and the all important e-bay story of the mother of
>Christ found in a toasted cheese sandwich:
>
>  House votes to raise US debt ceiling
>[19 Nov 2004]
>
>WASHINGTON (AFP)
>
>The US House of Representatives voted to raise the debt ceiling by 800
>billion dollars, helping Washington avoid running short of operating
>funds.
>
>By a party-line vote of 208 to 204, lawmakers agreed to increase the
>level of the US debt to nearly 8.2 trillion dollars, the third massive
>debt limit increase in as many years.
>
>The vote comes one day after the US Senate, also on a party-line vote,
>approved a similar measure.
>
>Democrats in Congress have decried ballooning US debt, which they
>warned could reach 14.5 trillion dollars in ten years unless drastic
>action is taken.
>
>"I think there must be some spiritual immorality for children who are
>yet unborn to come into this world with a debt on their shoulders that
>their parents have no idea as to how it was accumulated," Charlie
>Rangel, top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said this
>week on the eve of the vote.
>
>"I think it's wrong for ... to have foreigners purchase our debt and
>then at the same time we're going to tell them what their
>responsibilities would be as relate to enforcing international law,"
>Rangel continued.
>
>"It is an economic nightmare as to what would happen if all of the
>people who purchase all of our bonds ever got together on anything and
>decided the investment just wasn't worth it.
>
>The 800 billion dollar debt level increase is expected to cover
>federal spending for one year.
>
>http://servihoo.com/channels/kinews/v3news_details.php?id=60146&CategoryID=47
>
>_________
>
>News and Observer
>11/15/04 1:44 PM PT
>
>U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said that while the United States
>supports a strong dollar, exchange rates should be left to currency
>markets, suggesting that Washington would not support any intervention
>by central banks.
>
>
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>
>A top European Union official today urged the United States to curb
>its deficits to help bolster the sagging dollar amid fears a
>strengthening euro would stifle Europe's fledgling economic recovery.
>
>"It's not good for anyone to have this kind of movement," EU Economic
>and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said heading into an
>evening meeting.
>
>Other items on the two-day agenda include the revelation that Greece
>joined the euro zone using faulty budget data -- in fact, it didn't
>qualify at all -- as well as a counterterrorism push for common rules
>on cash movements into the European Union.
>
>The euro hit an all-time high above US$1.30 last week -- a surge
>European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has called
>"brutal" and "not welcome."
>Seeking Stability
>
>Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser echoed his concern but
>signaled no action other than additional jawboning.
>
>"I think we must just watch very closely," he told journalists.
>
>"We are all against sharp movements of the euro as was seen in the
>last weeks," he said, while adding, "Markets are deciding on exchange
>rates and we should respect this."
>
>That stance was echoed by U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow at the
>start of his European tour Monday in Ireland.
>
>Snow said that while the United States supports a strong dollar,
>exchange rates should be left to currency markets, suggesting that
>Washington would not support any intervention by central banks.
>Need for Action
>
>EU officials said ministers could issue a fresh statement on the
>euro's rise against the dollar, which threatens to stifle Europe's
>export-driven growth if the climb continues by pricing European
>products out of global markets.
>
>The rise comes on top of last week's data showing that growth in the
>euro-zone economy slowed sharply in the third quarter -- especially in
>heavyweights Germany and France -- and is expected to remain sluggish
>in the next six months.
>
>"Policy makers cannot ignore the weakness of euro-area economies
>anymore," Morgan Stanley economists Eric Chaney and Anna Grimaldi
>wrote today, predicting that ministers would be "more vocal" about the
>euro's slide.
>Blaming Washington
>
>French Finance Minister Nicholas Sarkozy already has urged Washington
>to take action, as has Deputy German Finance Minister Caio Koch-Weser.
>
>Currency traders blame the dollar's chronic slide on expanding budget
>deficits under U.S. President George W. Bush as well as huge trade
>deficits. Despite Washington's official position, analysts say a
>weaker dollar would help correct those imbalances by boosting U.S.
>exports, thus spurring American economic growth.
>
>Almunia welcomed Snow's reiteration of U.S. support for a strong
>dollar, but said he was waiting to see what action is taken in
>Washington to back it up.
>
>"If the imbalances of the U.S. economy are not adjusted in the future,
>the decision in the market will be as in the past weeks," Almunia said.
>Eye on Oil
>
>Also tonight, ministers were looking again at oil prices, which have
>subsided from last month's record levels. Action on proposals for how
>to respond was put off until December, however, EU diplomats said.
>
>Ministers also were to examine the budget situation in 10 countries
>facing excessive red ink, although again no decisions were expected.
>
>Greece was coming in for the most scrutiny after a Eurostat mission
>found its deficit has breached the 3 percent of gross domestic product
>cap since 1997 -- meaning it never should have been invited to join
>the euro club.
>
>But European Commission spokesman Gerassimos Thomas reiterated that
>Greece's acceptance into the euro zone was not in doubt.
>Cash Limits
>
>"There is no possibility of going back on that," he said. "There's no
>legal basis under which that could be questioned."
>
>Tomorrow, finance ministers from all 25 EU countries are to discuss
>subjects ranging from the ongoing revision of budget deficit rules to
>proposals for reforming EU sales taxes.
>
>The most concrete decision due is a preliminary agreement to set a
>common level for declaring cash entering or leaving the EU, which
>currently varies by country. France, for example, sets the threshold
>at euro 7,000 (US$9,100), while in Germany it's euro 15,000 ($19,500).
>
>A Dutch diplomat, whose country is chairing the meeting, said he
>expected the final level to be between euro 10,000 and euro 12,000
>($13,000 and $15,600).
>
>The measure, part of a package aimed at combatting terrorist financing
>and money laundering, would still require approval by the European
>Parliament.
>
>http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/news/38168.html
>
>________
>
>
>Conservatives Should Hit The Ceiling   Commentary by Jill S. Farrell
>November 17, 2004
>
>Congress is about to raise the debt ceiling.  In October the
>Associated Press reported that the government hit the debt ceiling at
>$7.3 trillion.
>
>
>
>The Treasury Department has to be able to sell treasuries to enable
>the Federal Government to meet its financial responsibilities.  This
>is the odd and uncomfortable situation in which conservatives find
>themselves.
>
>
>
>Total debt is derived by adding deficits plus accumulated surpluses.
>Deficits require the Treasury to borrow money to raise cash needed to
>keep the Government operating.  We borrow money by selling Treasury
>securities like T-bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds.
>
>
>
>The debt ceiling was enacted in 1917 when the Federal Government
>encountered the financial difficulties brought on during World War I.
>  Congress enacted the First and Second Liberty Bond Acts, which
>established the first debt limit, leaving details to the Secretary of
>the Treasury.  It can be argued that Congress delegated its
>Constitutional authority to borrow money on the credit of the United
>States to the Treasury Department, though debt ceilings have had
>little influence over the way in which Congress profligately spends money.
>
>
>
>President Bush will start his second term facing a roaring $2.3
>trillion minimum in deficits, according to the Congressional Budget
>Office.  At least initially tax cuts, changes to the minimum tax rate
>and the proposed overhaul of Social Security could add a substantial
>burden to our existing debt.  Might these plans eventually open the
>throttle on the American economy?  Yes, however, it is difficult to
>imagine the economy growing fast enough to keep up with or exceed our
>current spending habits.
>
>
>
>It is estimated that nearly 40 percent of Federal debt is in foreign
>hands, which is just about double the percentage from 10 years ago.
>Foreign interests bought up nearly 70 percent of the $373 billion in
>Treasury bonds sold in 2003.
>
>
>
>There is a co-dependent nature to foreign ownership of our debt.
>Foreign countries finance a great deal of our debt and also our trade
>deficit.  Since our ability to buy foreign goods depends upon the
>dollar maintaining some minimum value, foreign Central Banks are
>unlikely to sell off treasuries and demand instant repayment, which
>could fatally damage the ailing US dollar.
>
>
>
>China's ownership of US debt is nearly a third of the Chinese economy.
>  If the existing trend continues, some experts estimate that the total
>value of Chinese holdings of US dollars will exceed the total value of
>China's GDP in a handful of years.
>
>
>
>BusinessWeek magazine reports:
>
>
>
>"
investors in the Mideast and Asia have gone on a euro buying binge,"
>says Tom Rogers, a currency analyst with Informa Global Markets.
>"They're concerned that the policies Bush has promised to enact during
>his second term will worsen an already record federal budget deficit.
>  Left unchecked, investors fear a soaring deficit will lead to higher
>interests rates, lowering the value of U.S. stocks and bonds."
>
>
>
>Which raises the question, if the biggest buyers of US debt are losing
>faith in our economy, to whom will we sell our debt once the ceiling
>is raised?
>
>
>
>According to Bloomberg, we began this year with a huge deficit equal
>to nearly 30% of our total GDP.  We must attract about $1.8 billion a
>day to make ends meet and to maintain the dollar's value.
>
>
>
>European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet has described the
>euro's climbing value against the dollar as "brutal."  Because other
>participants in the world economy are not pleased with the dollar's
>path, and though the dollar continues to slip, Secretary of Treasury
>John W. Snow told reporters in Dublin on Monday, "We support a strong
>dollar -- a strong dollar is in America's interest."
>
>
>
>A sickly dollar does have a couple of important advantages.  A weak
>dollar makes it possible to export more goods, and the favorable
>exchange rate with Canada may draw more Canadian shoppers to
>Minnesota.  However, a declining dollar can lead to inflation by
>making imported goods more expensive.
>
>
>
>The fact remains that record Federal deficits are undermining the
>economy and the value of the dollar is dropping.  The burgeoning US
>deficit is drawing an increasing number of dollars for interest
>payments.  According to the Bureau of Public Debt, we paid $321
>billion in interest payments in Fiscal Year 2004.  Those payments are
>bound to grow as are other economic problems as the debt ceiling is
>raised, or heaven forbid, removed.
>
>
>
>It is imperative that Congress promptly begin to exercise spending
>restraint.  We need to call upon Members of Congress to do the
>responsible, uncomfortable and dangerous job of cutting wasteful and
>redundant spending.  There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth
>from special interest groups and entrenched bureaucrats to a willing,
>and dare we say socialist-leaning, mainstream media.  Congressional
>restraint won't be easy to achieve.  A complete overhaul of the
>appropriations process is preferable but in lieu of that we can hope
>for common sense spending cuts.
>
>
>
>While a drop in Federal deficit spending may temporarily reduce US
>economic growth by discontinuing overstimulation of the US market, the
>Federal Reserve would have the room to keep interest rates lower and
>that would keep demand energized.
>
>
>
>The President and Congress will need our encouragement if they are to
>begin the process needed to turn our country away from the syren song
>of "charge" and spend and steer us toward the safe harbor of economic
>stability.
>
>
>
>Jill S. Farrell is Director of Communications of the Free Congress
>Foundation.
>
>http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_10538.shtml
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand