A Cup of Coffee and a Look at the River

We have a lovely view from our kitchen window.  It seems that it's almost different every day.  This morning, there were thin grey clouds overhead, trimmed in gold by the sun.  The river was ruffled by breezes near the surface and, when the sun is at the right angle, the water looks like a blanket of diamonds, shimmering and sparkling for all to see.  As I sipped my coffee, I wondered to myself, "With a picture this perfect, how can this country be in such a damned mess?"

America has been on a binge of sorts.  We have all spent more money than we should, and some have spent money they didn't have.  The other day, I asked Jerry Rains how the lumber business was.  He replied that it was better than you would think.  He said that in the next two weeks, there were 5-6 new houses starting, all of which were over 5,000 square feet; one was 6,500 square feet.  I said, "Jerry, how much does a house like that cost?  He answered, "It doesn't make any difference.  All they want to know is the amount of the payment."  And the beat goes on!

The other morning after breakfast, I was washing  dishes and reached in the drawer to get a dishrag.  It happened that this dishrag was new and sewn into the cloth at the edge was a tag, much like you find inside of a shirt.  It said Made in China.  A dishrag!  President Obama is in China right now, talking to the leaders of that government.  Our most serious problem with them is their refusal to let their currency "float."  I'm not sure I know what that means, but I do know that their failure to do so underprices their export products. This results in the their accumulation of unbelievable amounts of U.S. money because we buy so much of their cheap stuff.

They don't buy much of our stuff. They're smarter than we are, I think.  They use their dollars to loan to the U. S. Government financing our deficit.  They probably also loan their dollars to credit card issuing banks so we can all carry balances of $10,000 to $20,000.  And so, what happens?  All of sudden, our greedy Wall Street bankers get stung by sub-prime mortgages, those same bankers stop loaning money to Americans, and the economy goes into a tail spin and damn near fell off the table. All the while, China watches.

Before going to China, the President stopped in Japan where they have recently elected a new prime minister.  He's decided Japan is better off cozying up to the Pacific nations for their trading partners.  He also thinks Japan should refuse access to our Navy for refueling purposes.  Wonder what he'll think when that nut in North Korea launches its missiles aimed at him.  Where, oh where, is the U. S. Navy and the U. S. Air Force and all those soldiers who used to protect us?

Sometimes I think that the United States of America has been played for a fool.  That war in Iraq was totally unnecessary and yet, we undertook it at a cost of over $300 billion a year for seven years.  We're getting ready to do the same thing in Afghanistan, and who's with us.  Well, the Brits always try to  help; there are a few Germans over there, but very few.  We have a standing army in Germany to protect Germany which costs a fortune.  We have a standing army in Korea to protect South Korea, another fortune.  And Germany and Korea are two of the most prosperous nations on earth, after the U.S. and, now, China.  We maintain a Navy and an Air Force the likes of which has never before been seen on this planet, mostly for the purpose of defending foreign nations.

One day soon, maybe the President should walk out of his office and announce to the world that we have some serious problems here at home which need our undivided attention; that we are recalling our armed forces from around the world; that we are imposing import tarriffs on all goods, except raw materials, imported into this country, using the revenue to pay off our debt; and finally, that we will again enter the manufacturing economy and start making what we need for ourselves.  Maybe we'll get back in the game we have played someday, but right now, it's about us.  We should remind the powers of the world that we will maintain sufficient military strength to obliterate any nation committing agression toward us, but the rest of the world will have to look after itself.   Be really interesting to see what would happen!  Lots of weeping and wailing and gnashing to teeth. 

I know it won't happen, but it feels good saying it!