I think one disadvantage the US has is it has too many lawyers. Basically too many people making rules, and not enough people making things.
On all this talk of the demise of the dollar, what about the actual paper money that good and evil people the world over have been stashing away and using as a street medium of exchange since WW2? You can offer any premium you want in euros, yuan - whatever - it's my bet nobody bites anytime soon. Doesn't this matter?
Hmm now what happens when China and India start using oil in say 1/10 of the per capita usage of the US? Remember. 1. the US uses about 40% of all energy supplies 2. the US energy usage per capita is at least 50% greater than ANYONE else. 3. Most major new energy sources are a> Russia b> Middle East c> Far East. Now why would anyone want to supply the US when they have got customers nearer at hand? And remember US consumers pay virtually ZERO energy taxes .. as opposed to the rest of the world. Seems like there is a major culture and economics shift coming in the next 20 years.....
One can eliminate corruption by paying government salaries large enough that the loss of career earnings by being fired for corruption outweighs the additional benefits of taking bribes. Singapore pays its ministers about $500,000 per year and doesn't have a significant corruption problem in public life. The US pays not very much, and suffers considerably more corruption as a result. No guesses for how much government employees get paid in Nigeria. In reply to Mvic, one should not forget that the World Bank and IMF are possibly the prime sources of corruption in emerging economies, carrying far more money and political clout than any multinational. Could a GE or Nike ever impose an austerity plan on an emerging economy, single-handedly destroying its domestic industry and causing riots and mass looting, as the IMF has done repeatedly over the years? Has a corporation ever displaced as many native citizens from their land holdings as a World Bank funded hydroelectric dam project? Obviously a World Bank economist is going to find that private capital corrupts, and not mention the far greater role played by his paymasters in retarding 3rd world growth for generations. But the facts show that development economics has been a complete and utter disaster everywhere it has been tried. SE Asia, where the IMF/World Bank had little influence, was the great emerging success story of the last 40 years. In contrast, the NGOs playgrounds of Africa and Latin America have been a complete joke, and no amount of propaganda from hired World Bank monkeys can disguise that sorry record.
So basically, take care of illegal bribery by using taxpayer money to bribe officials legally? Something seriously wrong with this picture... not to mention that the corruption would just be shifted into efforts to get those pointlessly high paying jobs. Whatever happened to enforcing a reasonable system of checks and balances and making people take responsibility for their actions? Democracy has many flaws, but one if its best virtues is that people get the government they deserve because it's the one they elect. If they elect a bunch of crooks and choose not to throw them out or have the rules upheld, like Forrest Gump says, "stupid is as stupid does."
starting already.... ===================================== US goods set to double in price as Europe plans huge trade war By Stephen Castle in Brussels 11 November 2003 American jeans, Florida orange juice and dozens of other US products could double in price from next month because of a growing transatlantic trade war. The World Trade Organisation gave the European Union permission yesterday to impose huge import tariffs, which will allow price increases of between 8 and 100 per cent on a range of goods. The row, which began when America imposed special duties of up to 30 per cent on European steel last year, reached a climax yesterday when the trade watchdog gave a final decision in favour of the EU. It said the US action was "inconsistent" with free trade commitments. Europe can now impose duties on products ranging from T-shirts and lavatory paper, to bras, pantyhose, suspenders, ballpoint pens, ski suits and bowling alley equipment. Harley Davidson motorcycles were included in an early draft of the sanctions list, but were not included yesterday. The EU says its sanctions, amounting to ¤2.2bn (£1.5bn) a year, will come into force on 15 December unless Washington drops its steel duties. The sanctions would be the biggest in the history of the WTO. Most of the affected imports face tariffs of 30 per cent on top of existing duties, though a small number will be set at 8 or 15 per cent and some at 100 per cent. President George Bush now faces a dilemma over whether to back down and remove the steel tariffs. The American government issued a statement yesterday saying that it disagreed with the ruling but would study it carefully. The WTO's decision comes at a sensitive time, with the US presidential campaign about to begin in earnest. In drawing up its list of sanctions, the EU has deliberately selected products from states which are crucial to President Bush's electoral hopes. The steel tariffs have proved controversial in the US, where they dented President Bush's credentials as an advocate of free trade and angered American-based car makers. They say that the tariffs have increased the price of their raw materials, causing job losses and making vehicles more expensive for consumers. But the White House is also facing heavy political pressure from "rust-belt" states such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to keep the steel import duties, which are due to continue until 2005. The steel row is only one of a number of trade disputes which threaten to poison relations between the EU and the US, and could help stymie prospects for economic recovery. The EU has threatened to impose another set of sanctions against Washington from next spring if it does not repeal tax breaks for American exporters. Meanwhile, the WTO is considering a complaint from the US that Europe is blocking the import of genetically modified products. Washington is already retaliating against an EU ban on beef from cattle which are given hormones to stimulate growth. A spokeswoman for the EU trade commissioner, Pascal Lamy, said the measures were "not there to punish the US but to focus the minds of the US administration". The EU did not need to use these sanctions, she said. A British official argued that the WTO ruling "backs our view that the decision by the US to impose these tariffs was wrong". Richard Mills, a spokesman for the US Trade Representative, said its tariff measures were designed to give the US steel industry "breathing space needed to restructure and consolidate thereby becoming stronger and more competitive". This, he said, was consistent with WTO rules which allow short-term measures to cover restructuring. He added: "We disagree with the overall Appellate Body Findings. We will be reviewing the WTO report carefully." The WTO's director general, Supachai Panitchpakdi, said he hoped the countries would be able to solve the problem without resorting to sanctions. "I'm sure there will be some way out," he said yesterday. "I expect the conciliatory approach that we have seen in the past, and I certainly recommend that approach." =====================================