Rand sinks R11.2833 to the dollar

[pierrehugo]

why does the US$ affect us so badly, when for instance China is a much richer Country (I think) *puzzled*

 

[stoke]

Pierre revives Oct 2008?
Damn!
Good question though, though I think that the dollah is just an indicator.

 

[BBSA]

why does the US$ affect us so badly, when for instance China is a much richer Country (I think) *puzzled*

Most commodities are traded in US$

PS. China is not richer than the us.

 

[BandwidthAddict]

There is no country on the planet richer than the USA. The USA controls 1/3rd of the worlds GDP.

That is why when they sneeze, the world catches a cold. People have tried to do something about it but there is a reason that the US is the strongest, it is because they also are the hardest workers, work smarter on average and don't hate people who are successful (unlike most socialist countries) so people are more inclined to invest and work hard to enrich themselves.

The rest of the world is mostly of a "gimme" culture whereas the US is mostly of a "investme" culture.

Although things are changing now that hopeandchange and his cohort are in charge. Years of government education has stripped out the good work ethic and responsibility of around 30-40% of the USA population. That number is growing.

And to those who see this as a good sign, "yaaay .. the USA is weakening, now we won't feel so inferior etc..." remember this .. the USA is an economic driver, without it, the world will collapse into an economic hole which would strip you of all your toys and benefits. I know you don't believe this (you are stupid) but then again, you refused to believe that Zim would turn out to be such a mess... lol... look how that turned out.

Also the USA military machine and world wide projection means most economically positive / real democratic countries don't fear being invaded so their defense budget does not need to be so large .. they divert those funds for social programs. Without the US military, alot of those countries could not afford their social programs (think EU).

Reality is a beeeatch and Ize love her

 

[Xarog]

PS. China is not richer than the us.

Oh yes it is.

 

[Xarog]

There is no country on the planet richer than the USA. The USA controls 1/3rd of the worlds GDP.

70% of that GDP is consumer spending. Consumer spending that has been financed on debt. This is why the budget and trade deficits are so immense, and unfortunately it's going going to balloon in the coming months.

That is why when they sneeze, the world catches a cold. People have tried to do something about it but there is a reason that the US is the strongest, it is because they also are the hardest workers, work smarter on average and don't hate people who are successful (unlike most socialist countries) so people are more inclined to invest and work hard to enrich themselves.

Rubbish. The reason for this is that the dollar is the reserve currency. Unfortunately for the US, this will change soon.

Although things are changing now that hopeandchange and his cohort are in charge. Years of government education has stripped out the good work ethic and responsibility of around 30-40% of the USA population. That number is growing.

ROFLMAO.

So you think that Obama magically reversed the last 60 years of US behaviour patterns in the last, what, 11 days?

And to those who see this as a good sign, "yaaay .. the USA is weakening, now we won't feel so inferior etc..." remember this .. the USA is an economic driver, without it, the world will collapse into an economic hole which would strip you of all your toys and benefits.

Partly true. However, most of those toys are manufactured in China. The consumption that the US has engaged in has been financed on debt. I can make a lot of "money" if I sell my PC to some homeless bum for R100 000, but unless he actually has the money, it's not going to do me much good. The only reason the US has been able to behave so irresponsibly until now is because the reserve currency allowed it a ridiculous amount of leeway when it came to printing more money (i.e. IOUs). It's slowly dawning on people that there's no ways these IOUs are ever going to be refunded. And yes, unfortunately the result is that the world economy was taken in on a massive ponzi scheme.

Also the USA military machine and world wide projection means most economically positive / real democratic countries don't fear being invaded so their defense budget does not need to be so large .. they divert those funds for social programs. Without the US military, alot of those countries could not afford their social programs (think EU).

It's also by far the most aggressive country and the country that is most willing to invade foreign nations. The end of Rogue Nation Prime's dastardly Rogue Nation Ways is a good thing.

Reality is a beeeatch and Ize love her

Sadly, Reality is about to give you a "rude awakening" in the form of a bill for last night's pleasure.

 

[BBSA]

Oh yes it is.

Countries with the Largest Economies

Check your facts!

 

[Xarog]

Countries with the Largest Economies

Check your facts!

I repeat. 70% of US GDP is consumer spending, funded on debt. If you borrow a million bucks from the bank and buy a house with the money, does that make you rich? No.

Same goes for countries. The US would have to pay every last penny of its earnings for well over a year in order to simply break even. With that kind of debt, there's no way in hell they could be considered "wealthy".

So you check your facts.

 

[BBSA]

I repeat. 70% of US GDP is consumer spending, funded on debt. If you borrow a million bucks from the bank and buy a house with the money, does that make you rich? No.

Same goes for countries. The US would have to pay every last penny of its earnings for well over a year in order to simply break even. With that kind of debt, there's no way in hell they could be considered "wealthy".

So you check your facts.

You can spin and twist it as mutch as you want but it does not change the facts.

I'm definitely not going to debate this with you for the next 3 days.

 

[Xarog]

You can spin and twist it as mutch as you want but it does not change the facts.

There is no twisting. The US is bankrupt.

I'm definitely not going to debate this with you for the next 3 days.

Then just admit you're wrong.

 

[BBSA]

There is no twisting. The US is bankrupt.

Then just admit you're wrong.

The facts are there for everybody to see. You can not debate agains facts, and I'm not going to wast 3 days to explain facts to you.

 

[marine1]

Well we have tried for some time to explain the conflict in the Middle East and that proved a waste of time so......

 

[BBSA]

Well we have tried for some time to explain the conflict in the Middle East and that proved a waste of time so......

I have learned from my mistakes

 

[Xarog]

The facts are there for everybody to see. You can not debate agains facts, and I'm not going to wast 3 days to explain facts to you.

Here's a clue train : Those stats basically amount to creative accounting. Sure, it looks good on paper, but that's all it does. Just like enron lying about their assets, just like citigroup lied about their assets. Just like all the banks with their creative accounting schemes lied about their assets.

I repeat : 70% of that 11 trillion is financed by consumer spending. But US consumers have collectively been encouraged for the last 20 years to fund that spending by taking out second mortgages, by using credit cards, and all sorts of other creative ways of borrowing money. Which leads us back to the question : If I borrow money to buy a house, am I rich?

No one is lending to the US consumer anymore. They've been tapped out. Latest stats show that 10% of US households are now technically involvent.

And the US still has its massive budget and trade deficits to deal with. Where do you think all the money for the bailouts are coming from? It's more debt.

If you have to work for a year and put ALL the money you earn towards paying off your debt, that means you're in deep trouble. It's that simple.

The bottom line is that the facts disagree with you. You have displayed absolutely no understanding of economics thus far, you're just looking at a balance sheet and going, "wow". It's the equivalent of thinking that some 0-star dive you happen to be spending the night in is a 5-star hotel just because the sign at the gate says "5-star" hotel.

Arguing from a position of ignorance does not make you right.

(P.S. I really, really hope you remember this discussion 10 years from now. Because that's when it will be blatantly obvious even to you that the US is stuffed.)

 

[krycor]

The US survives basically by other poorer countries supplying them with loans in the hopes they will spend it in the countries that give it to them in the first place(with interest).

With the spending curtailed lately countries like china are beginning to realize that they have a large population of their own that they kinda forgot about and i suspect people are tired of paying the US bills.

 

[Xarog]

Well we have tried for some time to explain the conflict in the Middle East and that proved a waste of time so......

Mostly because you don't read what the other person actually says.

 

[BBSA]

Here's a clue train : Those stats basically amount to creative accounting. Sure, it looks good on paper, but that's all it does. Just like enron lying about their assets, just like citigroup lied about their assets. Just like all the banks with their creative accounting schemes lied about their assets.

I repeat : 70% of that 11 trillion is financed by consumer spending. But US consumers have collectively been encouraged for the last 20 years to fund that spending by taking out second mortgages, by using credit cards, and all sorts of other creative ways of borrowing money. Which leads us back to the question : If I borrow money to buy a house, am I rich?

No one is lending to the US consumer anymore. They've been tapped out. Latest stats show that 10% of US households are now technically involvent.

And the US still has its massive budget and trade deficits to deal with. Where do you think all the money for the bailouts are coming from? It's more debt.

If you have to work for a year and put ALL the money you earn towards paying off your debt, that means you're in deep trouble. It's that simple.

The bottom line is that the facts disagree with you. You have displayed absolutely no understanding of economics thus far, you're just looking at a balance sheet and going, "wow". It's the equivalent of thinking that some 0-star dive you happen to be spending the night in is a 5-star hotel just because the sign at the gate says "5-star" hotel.

Arguing from a position of ignorance does not make you right.

(P.S. I really, really hope you remember this discussion 10 years from now. Because that's when it will be blatantly obvious even to you that the US is stuffed.)

What is wrong with you? The facts are there and you still arguing around your own ass.

 

[marine1]

Mostly because you don't read what the other person actually says.

When people continue to lie and spew out propaganda all the time, it gets a bit boring and proves to be a waste of time.

 

[Xarog]

What is wrong with you? The facts are there and you still arguing around your own ass.

Yeah, the fact are there, and they disagree with you. Which is why you can't refute the argument on its merits and instead resort to ad-hominems.

When people continue to lie and spew out propaganda all the time, it gets a bit boring and proves to be a waste of time.

Yeah, I guess that means I should start ignoring the bilge you spew out on such a regular basis.

 

[marine1]

That would be your decision now wouldn't it?