The Erosion of the Dollar and the Rise of the East

The outcome of the push for globalization is a severe decline in the median standard of living in the US and an erosion of those individual liberties and freedoms which has made the US somewhat unique on the vast historical sweep of world history.

Few understand this. One cannot be completely sovereign when the push for 'competitiveness' is used to consistently erode the commitment to individual freedom.

David Rockefeller, and Sam Walton, and Bill Gates, looked at the social and economic structure of the People's Republic of China and saw the new American paradigm. Not in the evolution of China to democracy and freedom, but in the subjugation of the United States to huddled masses docilely wearing the yoke of debt subservience to the ruling elite.

Too much speculation in this? The pattern of behaviour of those who promote this canard of globalism is too obvious to ignore.

The banks must be restrained and balance must be restored before a sustained economic recovery can be achieved.


The Korea Herald
'Dollar faces challenge as reserve currency'
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A leading economist said in Seoul yesterday that the U.S. dollar's supremacy as the world's reserve currency is facing profound challenges as the balance of economic and financial power shifts East amid the current economic crisis.

"There is a slow-burning fuse underneath the dollar," Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said in the World Economic Forum.

Underscoring the strengthening role of Asia, Lyons said that the depth of the global downturn drove key emerging economies, such as China and Russia, to cite the possibility of a new global reserve currency.

The forum drew a group of leading figures from business, government and academic circles to discuss Asia's role in helping to overcome the current crisis and shaping a future paradigm for the global system.

"This is not just an economic crisis but also a social crisis," Rajat Nag, managing director-general of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, told participants of the convention, referring to the worsened social conditions stemming from a rise in unemployment. "Asia has to start on a different paradigm," the executive stressed.

He noted that the Asian economy, which enjoyed 9.5 percent growth in 2007, saw the rate fall to 6.3 percent in 2008, while this year it has spiraled further to 3.4 percent. Citing projections of 6 percent growth in 2010 for Asia, excluding Japan, Nag underlined the challenging times ahead.

About 400 of Asia's leading decision-makers from over 35 countries representing various public and private sectors from over 35 countries have gathered for this regional meeting themed "Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for East Asia."

The WEF said the event is designed to facilitate steps toward greater international and regional cooperation. They hope the discussions would inspire a clear direction for building a common agenda for reviving the global economy through new models of growth, technology and corporate practice.

According to the WEF, Asia's share of global GDP and its growing stake in international institutions point to the region's importance in restoring economic growth.

Reflecting the region's importance in rebalancing the international economic dynamics, participants stressed the greater leadership role of Asia's G20 members, as the United States focuses on strengthening trans-Pacific alliances.

Noting that the unprecedented economic crisis offers invaluable lessons, Peter Sands, chairman of the WEF on East Asia and group CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in the United Kingdom, cited the "huge need for coordination in regulation."

"I think it's very important for Asian countries to play a strong role in financial regulation architecture," Sands said, however, noting that proposals for global financial regulations still looked far-fetched.

The executive cited difficulties in striking a balance in tempering excesses of the market and continuing to use markets as a price-setting mechanism. But he also cautioned against too much regulation, stressing that more regulations was not necessary better.