It's called selling America's capital assets to foreigners, to pay for the annual so-called trade deficits.

The point of all international trade is to get like value for like value. We get their consumable goods, they get our capital assets. We then consume those goods away; while they keep the ownership (and control) of American industry. Kinda' seems like a new sort of colonialism to me. And it won't be any nicer or happier than the original colonialism was. Including the slavery!

In my view, it pretty much started with Nixon's releasing of the dollar from the fixed price of gold - "floating the dollar, allowing for a ruthless speculation on the dollar. Of course, "that was needed" to free the monetarists (The Fed) to print more dollars without having to "spin" more gold, or at least to increase American production of wealth; which those huoy-poulloi bankers don't know how to do.

Unfortunately, the resultant speculation on the dollar has also severely skewed exchange rates, making it difficult to sell our production abroad - thus the chronic trade deficits. It ain't because of Unions!. (even if I get flamed for saying so). Monetary speculators also caused the housing bubble - and then popped it when they shifted their speculations to oil futures(also traded with dollars).

The last nail in that coffin was when Clinton gave away the whole damn store to the Chinese (the most cutthroat ruthless bunch there ever has been on Earth), in a very lopsided one way trade deal; that also gave away much of our own sovereignty in treaty. Of course along the way, nothing much was ever done to reign in the wild speculation on the dollar, as this would have required "Austerity" for a while.

Why did they do it - why did their successors, Bush and Obama, let it all slide as is? Some say campaign contributions, even illegal ones from the Gov't of China. But even if true, I think the reasons are much deeper than that. Their actions also allowed us to keep on increasing consumption (actually encouraged it); much faster than we increased American production.

Good for "the economy", right? - Uh, No!

Not in the long run. Now, those chickens have come home to roost. What this thread describes, and the ruin of many a small railroad, is a direct result of all this. Of course some of us are appalled now, and some of us saw it coming, and tried to say something. However, many if not most Americans were and are just plain asleep - it just wasn't politic.

Really - when was the last time we the people. allowed an American politician to actually tell it like it is. We cannot go on consuming more than we produce! We must be allowed to produce all of what we need right here!

OPB



P.S. OOPS - I gotta rush just now - have a prior commitment. So if I've poorly proofed this - please forgive....