The credit crunch has shattered America's 'neoliberal dream'

[CHIMO]

With money comes great influence: political, ideological, even sartorial. The doublet and hose of Henry VIII were copied from the lavish dress of rich Florentine and Venetian merchants at the height of the Renaissance; sombre suits spread throughout the world in homage to the Victorian gents who commanded the British empire, and the jeans and T-shirts of today's teenagers were born in the United States, the 20th-century hegemon.

In their new book, The End of Influence (subtitled What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money), the economists Stephen Cohen and Brad DeLong argue that the supplanting of the US by other rising economic powers will have seismic consequences for a world that has spent the best part of the past century buying up the American dream and all its accessories – from Coca-Cola to schmaltzy Hollywood movies, hamburgers to irritating conversational tics ("like, whatever!").

Because America had the money – had it solidly, rightfully, self-assuredly, and durably – for about 100 years, people all over the world wanted to be like Americans: successful, modern, loose-jointed, efficient, democratic, socially mobile, leggy, clean, powerful, and, of course, rich," they say.

Today, the US is in hock to China to the tune of $800bn (£520bn) in treasury bonds, and potentially a much larger sum in shares and other ­investments, after a decade-long borrowing binge by governments, families and corporations. Even before the crunch, that shift made it inevitable that the US model would lose its allure. But the crisis, which had its roots in the home of the unbridled free-market capitalism, has supercharged the transfer of power from the west to the emerging economies of China, India and Latin America.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/22/america-neoliberal-dream-imf

[Demeter]

1. That Money Will NEVER Be Paid, So Don't Worry About It

[HeresyLives]

2. Yes, indeed it will.

[girl gone mad]

6. Not if today's young generation has anything to say about it.

They feel no obligation to pay off the useless, profligate debts they're being handed, and nor should they.

[DJ13]

3. More deficit scare

Its a deep recession, trying to lower the deficit at this time would be a death sentence to our economy.

[HeresyLives]

4. Not the time to do it, agreed.

[Caretha]

5. An old fashion indicator

for the pulse of the American economy was the length of women's skirts. The poorer the economy, the longer the skirt, the shorter the skirt indicated a better economy. I'm not sure how it would be related though towards women's jean fashions. :shrug:

[starroute]

7. Neither that old nor that indicative

Skirts were long throughout the late 1800's, through fat times and lean.

I think the legend was born when the short skirts of the 20's dropped roughly about the same time as the stock market crashed (actually starting a bit sooner, but who's counting?) reached a low when the economy did, and perked up again as the 30's continued.

There was some attempt to tie the short skirts of the 60's in to the economy as well -- but it never quite parsed. And skirts were definitely longer in the growth years of the 90's than in the 80's.

So this one really doesn't fly. And I sure haven't noticed an tendency for skirts to drop since the economy went south two years ago.