China calls for 'de-Americanized world'

[Peikko 1,575]

With the clock ticking down fast, frantic behind-closed-doors efforts were accelerating today in Washington to craft a stop-gap fiscal package temporarily to reopen the government and authorise an increase in America’s debt ceiling before Thursday when the US Treasury expects to run out of cash to meet all its obligations.

The focus shifted to the White House after President Barack Obama invited top Republicans and Democrats from both the US Senate and the House of Representatives for talks on breaking the impasse. Hopes appeared to centre on bi-partisan solution cobbled together by a small group of senators from both parties. “We are making progress… the conversations have been very constructive” Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, told reporters.

Harry Reid, the majority Democrat leader in the Senate, said that after morning talks between leaders of both parties there was still no final deal but indicated that progress had been made. Asked if he thought there might be a putative package in place in time for the White House meeting three hours later, he replied, “I sure hope so”.

A meeting originally set for 3pm Washington time was postponed ostensibly to give Mr Reid and his Republican counterpart, minority leader Mitch McConnell time to close whatever gap still remained.

Even as the partial shutdown entered a third week and a dysfunctional Washington flirted with hitting the Thursday deadline when the US could theoretically default on its debt for the first time and spark global financial turmoil, Wall Street seemed to be keeping its head with shares on the Dow Jones industrial average down only slightly in morning trading. Trading was light and bond markets were closed on the Columbus Day holiday.

Visiting a local Washington food bank charity, Martha’s Table, that has been asking furloughed federal workers to volunteer, Mr Obama said that if Republicans can't resolve the standoff over the debt ceiling and the partial government shutdown, “we stand a good chance of defaulting”.

Officials cautioned that even if a deal were to be unveiled later today, it could still face tricky passages in both chambers. Notably, it would have to be put to a vote in the House, possibly on Wednesday, where the right wing Tea Party rump of the Republican Party will be wary of anything that looks like a Republican retreat.

In a vivid illustration of how the squabbling on Capitol Hill has implications far beyond the Washington beltway and indeed America’s borders, an impatient China, which holds more American debt than any other nation, called for a ‘de-Americanized world’ where the dollar is no longer the chosen international reserve currency.

The case was made in a sharply worded editorial published by the official Xinhua news agency. “As US politicians of both political parties are still shuffling back and forth between the White House and the Capitol Hill without striking a viable deal to bring normality to the body politic they brag about, it is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world,” it said.

With global growth barely returning after the 2008 crash, including in the Eurozone the political crisis here could hardly be coming at a less helpful time At the weekend the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, warned sternly of the "risk of tipping, yet again, into recession” if solutions are not found this week.

It wasn’t clear whether Mr Obama was ready to participate directly to sew up a final deal that was thought likely to include extending the debt ceiling through the end of January next year. An official repeated he would would “not pay a ransom”, referring to earlier Republican demands for greater spending cuts and possible changes to his signature healthcare overhaul. The White House meeting was also to be attended by Vice President Joe Biden.

The broadside by Xinhua, which usually represents the views of the Beijing government, was all the more striking because it went beyond even the “pernicious impasse” on the fiscal dossier taking advantage of the crisis to take Washington to task also for taking “the moral high ground” in world affairs while “covertly doing things that are as audacious as torturing prisoners of war, slaying civilians in drone attacks, and spying on world leaders”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-shutdown-obama-brings-republicans-and-democrats-together-to-fix-fiscal-package-ahead-of-thursdays-debt-deadline-as-china-calls-for-deamericanized-world-8879808.html

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

This is what the Tea Party really is accomplishing - diminishing America's role and standing in the world. They are turning this once great country into the world's laughing stock with their sheer idiocy. They are Americas largest enemy.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Mr. Big Dog

[Darnell 8,478]

China calls for 'de-Americanized world'

That's just funny.

[mota bhai 2,675]

Hey China, guess who has all your money?

That's right, we do.

Enjoy wiping your back sides with our worthless bonds, losers.

[Dakine10 5,452]

an impatient China, which holds more American debt than any other nation, called for a ‘de-Americanized world’ where the dollar is no longer the chosen international reserve currency.

The biggest factor that allowed the US dollar to remain as the reserve currency for so long was the relative stability in the political and economic systems we have in place. We know the dollar has been going south for years, but the relative stability of the US has kept other countries trading in dollars even when they should have been looking for a better system years ago. The tea party has thrown a monkey wrench into all that by replacing stability with insanity.

The upside is without reserve currency status, as other countries stop using the dollar, the debt ceiling becomes a non issue. The US government will no longer be able to just print more dollars to pay for these debts. Spending bills will have to be more closely tied with our ability to actually pay for them which is good in the long run. Washington may be going about it the wrong way, but the result will be an end to the crazy unchecked deficit spending that has been going on for so long.

[JohnR! 5,495]

A de-Americanized world would be boring and inconsequential.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The biggest factor that allowed the US dollar to remain as the reserve currency for so long was the relative stability in the political and economic systems we have in place. We know the dollar has been going south for years, but the relative stability of the US has kept other countries trading in dollars even when they should have been looking for a better system years ago. The tea party has thrown a monkey wrench into all that by replacing stability with insanity.

Indeed.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Mr. Big Dog

[Novembro 1,763]

The tea party has thrown a monkey wrench into all that by replacing stability with insanity.