...more recent posts
living under fascism parts 1 and 2
pictures of protest from the great white north
"The very reason Mr. Bush had the luxury of launching a war of necessity in Afghanistan and a war of choice in Iraq, without a second thought, was because of the surpluses built up by the previous administration and Congress. Since then, the Bush team has been slashing taxes in the middle of two wars, weakening the dollar and amassing a huge debt burden - on the implicit assumption that nothing will go wrong in the future.
But what if there is another 9/11 or war of necessity? We're cooked. The tax revenue won't be there, so the only option will be more borrowing and a weaker dollar. But what happens if the Chinese and other foreigners, who now hold over 40 percent of our Treasury securities, decide they don't want to hold these depreciating dollars anymore, let alone buy more?"
this has been pretty self evident for a long time. like since the idea of invading iraque originally came up. where does friedman come off with that "It is now clear to me..." shit. didnt he skip covering "the most important presidential election of our lifetime" to sell his book ? after giving bush two thumbs up for the preemptive war in iraque!