Yes, I understand that issue, I used to work in the forex industry. Irrepective of China, the weak dollar helps tremendously.
As someone else posted here, the U.S. increasingly has very little to export
This is not true. Food stuffs (both raw and processed), minerals, computer equipment, etc... Yes, we do not have the manufacturing base like China, but to say we have little to export is fear mongering.
As your currency devalues it makes foreigners stop investing in your economy or currency which causes it to devalue further
Again, not true. Foreigners have been investing in our economy at an incredible rate. I am not talking about Treasury bonds and notes. Expansion, buyouts, and stocks all have seen in increase of foreign activity, and the weak dollar gives them incentive to keep up the pace.
Growing number of Latin American companies are making big investments in US; new 'multi-Latinas' are aggressive, resourceful enterprises that are developing byproduct of market liberalization that swept Latin American economies of 1990s; these Latin American multinationals have even reached places like Wilton, Iowa, tiny prairie town; Brazilian-owned steel company, Gerdau Ameristeel, has become one of two biggest employers in town, importing management style and fresh capital to modernize and expand old mill and temper tough American labor union; last couple of years Mexican company Cemex has emerged as number one supplier of cement and ready-mix concrete in US, with almost 10,000 employees across country; Brazilian oil company Petrobras has become one of biggest players in deep-water exploration of Gulf of Mexico...
If the world decides dollars are worthless
I highly doubt it will get to that level. Remember, currencies do not exist in a vacuum. Major structureal changes, such as switching oil to use the Euro, will send shock waves throughout the world. The minor stock meltdown a few weeks back in China should be a reminder to everybody that the world's economies are not isolated.
most big U.S. companies have globalized
Most of the world has globalized, not just large U.S. companies. I worked for a 50 person small business that generated half of its income from outside the U.S.
fundamentals of the U.S. economy is mostly in really poor shape.
I do not see anything to indicate that. Despite weakness in housing, the U.S. economy is strong, with low unemployment and strengthening exports.
We do have some major issues that are looming: Social Security, Medicare, and the debt. Also, the growth in private health expenditures is a worry.
That plunging dollar has been helping our economy, making our exports attractive to foreign markets. Coporations also use the weak dollar to their advatange when repatriating their profits.
Russia has been helping us with our space needs for awhile; they have a contract in place with NASA.
Incorrect. There are people that are obese that do not have the standard associated diseases (such as high blood pressure and diabetes), eat healthy, and excercise. Obesity is a complex problem. You can eat 'good' food and still become obese.
it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer.
And if they lay everyone who worked on it off and hire a bunch of foreigners, what then? All you're doing is shifting from one set of problems to another.
He is not talking about support at all, he is talking about development. Foreign developers could be in India, China, Canada, or Finland. Where they are located does not matter for a commerical project, nor should it matter for a open source project.
Do you have xenophobia? I ask because I do not see why hiring foreigners is relevent to the matter. I am in the United States and I use software all the time that has been written by foreigners.
Penalties and fees would need to be negotiated through the World Trade Organization, after the WTO found anything improper. A member of the WTO cannot impose trade penalities on its own.
United States trademark and copyright laws are not valid in China; they have their own laws.
The bottom line is we are interdependent. They already have money and much of it is invested in our national debt. That is a fact most people overlook. That is what China uses as their weapon against the United States. Be very careful what you wish for, it may do more harm than good.
China is the second largest owner for our national debt. They do not own the majority, but a significant portion. That trade imbalance has allowed them to have a voracious appetite. What do you do with all the Treasury notes that you can no longer sell? Do you increase the interest rates to make them more attractive? What happens when when funds start to dump the bonds for stocks or stocks for bonds? We are hugely intertwined. Did the recent stock panic in China not teach you that?
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, I understand that issue, I used to work in the forex industry. Irrepective of China, the weak dollar helps tremendously.
As someone else posted here, the U.S. increasingly has very little to export
This is not true. Food stuffs (both raw and processed), minerals, computer equipment, etc... Yes, we do not have the manufacturing base like China, but to say we have little to export is fear mongering.
As your currency devalues it makes foreigners stop investing in your economy or currency which causes it to devalue further
Again, not true. Foreigners have been investing in our economy at an incredible rate. I am not talking about Treasury bonds and notes. Expansion, buyouts, and stocks all have seen in increase of foreign activity, and the weak dollar gives them incentive to keep up the pace.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F
If the world decides dollars are worthless
I highly doubt it will get to that level. Remember, currencies do not exist in a vacuum. Major structureal changes, such as switching oil to use the Euro, will send shock waves throughout the world. The minor stock meltdown a few weeks back in China should be a reminder to everybody that the world's economies are not isolated.
most big U.S. companies have globalized
Most of the world has globalized, not just large U.S. companies. I worked for a 50 person small business that generated half of its income from outside the U.S.
fundamentals of the U.S. economy is mostly in really poor shape.
I do not see anything to indicate that. Despite weakness in housing, the U.S. economy is strong, with low unemployment and strengthening exports.
We do have some major issues that are looming: Social Security, Medicare, and the debt. Also, the growth in private health expenditures is a worry.
That plunging dollar has been helping our economy, making our exports attractive to foreign markets. Coporations also use the weak dollar to their advatange when repatriating their profits.
Russia has been helping us with our space needs for awhile; they have a contract in place with NASA.
You think that would solve something?
The point of the WTO is to govern international trade and resolve disputes.
"It is a consequence of too much crappy food."
Incorrect. There are people that are obese that do not have the standard associated diseases (such as high blood pressure and diabetes), eat healthy, and excercise. Obesity is a complex problem. You can eat 'good' food and still become obese.
it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer.
And if they lay everyone who worked on it off and hire a bunch of foreigners, what then? All you're doing is shifting from one set of problems to another.
He is not talking about support at all, he is talking about development. Foreign developers could be in India, China, Canada, or Finland. Where they are located does not matter for a commerical project, nor should it matter for a open source project.
Do you have xenophobia? I ask because I do not see why hiring foreigners is relevent to the matter. I am in the United States and I use software all the time that has been written by foreigners.
Penalties and fees would need to be negotiated through the World Trade Organization, after the WTO found anything improper. A member of the WTO cannot impose trade penalities on its own.
United States trademark and copyright laws are not valid in China; they have their own laws.
The bottom line is we are interdependent. They already have money and much of it is invested in our national debt. That is a fact most people overlook. That is what China uses as their weapon against the United States. Be very careful what you wish for, it may do more harm than good.
China is the second largest owner for our national debt. They do not own the majority, but a significant portion. That trade imbalance has allowed them to have a voracious appetite. What do you do with all the Treasury notes that you can no longer sell? Do you increase the interest rates to make them more attractive? What happens when when funds start to dump the bonds for stocks or stocks for bonds? We are hugely intertwined. Did the recent stock panic in China not teach you that?