What Countries Owe the United States Money?

Rushcourt71

KH_Hirsch 30-10-2019 10:42 PM
Yes, and most of the busts were man made. In general everyone wants to get rich based on the money o ...

I agree.

Laissez Faire, Trade Liberalization, even Capitalism and Democracy under the present circumstances only favours rich nations.

   

soothsayer

The biggest problem is We do not have an alternate!

Rushcourt71

soothsayer 1-11-2019 05:49 PM
The biggest problem is We do not have an alternate!

I am afraid I disagree with you.

What we do have is the inability of nations, international and outreach organisations, pressure groups, middle to large multi national companies, lobbies and human rights activists to actively oppose the status quo and demand political and financial alternatives.

The second is persistence. Once you agree there is a need to change. You stick to it until you achieve it. I refuse to accept that universal demand with action will result in no revolutionary development.

What are some of the systematic features that require urgent attention. Due to time constraints I will list only three for now.

This is not a comprehensive list and each feature is not necessarily in this order either.

[I accept not all of them may be globally acceptable or welcome at this time, and some my not even be viable either. They are personal opinions alone and I myself gracefully urge others to come up with their own lists].

Option 1: The removal of the US Dollar as the world's reserve currency.

The replacement are the strongest currencies within each continent. The Euro and Rouble in Europe, The Yuan and Yen in Asia, The Peso in South and Central America and the US Dollar in North America.

Option 2. The removal of US leverage over who gets what and how through International Aid. For example this year, many nations have been threatened to have all international relief blocked to them unless they accept the compulsory teaching of LGBT in state schools within their countries starting next year. The US pushed the agenda and international agencies have followed their lead.

Option 3. The belief by developing world nations to want to do as much as they can for themselves to free themselves from dependence on the industrialised world. This does not mean exclusion and alienation of the the developed world nor complete isolation from them either. Only the promotion of self reliance by small adjustments. Examples of such include

-Creating your own oil companies
-Manufacturing your own weapons industry
-The non acceptance of laissez faire in their own countries [unless similar or identical barriers, tariffs and quotas are removed for privileged access to the same nations that demand it]      

soothsayer

I also humbly disagree . All options suggested are ones which have to be tested. Not sure how they would take off. Have you any suggestions for an international unit?  The replacement currencies suggested are such that they do not meet criteria for universal acceptance which would mean they are all vulnerable. yuan and yen may come close but We must not forget what the yen did to the markets in 2008-09. Not particular about dollar but I repeat we need a substitute and I do not see one readily

Rushcourt71

soothsayer 2-11-2019 05:52 PM
I also humbly disagree . All options suggested are ones which have to be tested. Not sure how they w ...

My first point is that oil exploitation is one of the greatest forms that exist today where a given country's natural resource is taken away from them via an unjust and unfair criteria; Arab and other nations do not have the same capacity to operate and function the way western MNCs do and hence they 'deserve' the greater share of oil. How they can achieve this is by nationalising the industry completely and only allowing local oil industries to do everything from exploration, extraction, allocation and refinement, even if it is substandard. This way all revenue from the oil is kept within the local treasury and it benefits the individual nations where the oil is located.

My second point; the arms industry relates to where so much of the developing world's budget is used. It bleeds developing world countries and enriches western ones. If you must be obsessed with weapons, manufacture your own along with similar friendly nations similar to you so that you can be self sufficient and save money.

My third point; laissez faire is not as strange as it sounds. The countries with the highest and tightest restrictions for international access to their own markets are the US, Europe and the western world, which shows you they don't believe in it themselves. There are some exceptions, but they are very minor. The developing world can create intra state unions similar to the EU for each continent and block or restrict all non members the way the EU is highly tightly knit towards non EU nations.

As to currencies. I agree, not all standards of money have strong value or have the same intrinsic image as the USD but we have to start somewhere. Once you take the first step, it can lead somewhere. Perhaps after some negotiations and some testing, some solutions can be found. I am just making suggestions on how it might get the ball rolling.     

Rushcourt71

You can also look at what I would call 'Economic Viability'. By that I mean you through [and within reason] tax those areas of industry that exist within your own nations which currently exploit you via foreign intervention. These include-

1. Chinatowns. Believe it or not there is a Chinatown [and very very large ones] in almost every country in the world and few if any pay tax. Each African, Asian and other Developing World has the right to tax them and should do so. Now they same Chinese worker populations have increased several fold and those enormous pockets of areas where they live and work are separate from natives and they still do not pay tax. This could generate millions in regular revenue per year. The Chinese can stay and pay tax or leave.   

2. Organisations that have a dark history of exploitation should be either forced out completely or agree to have a fairer share of profits to the local government. This includes Exxon Mobil, Shell etc. This will also help with creating a world vision that now sovereignty has greater weight than bribery. If you read Exxon's own books they gloat over the fact that they have removed developing world governments that challenged them and kept in power those that were weak but helped to grant unequal concessions in favour of the oil companies.

3. Last, to allow privatisation where necessary, but only to indigenous [and rarely foreign] firms that agree to respond to the welfare of the country and obviously agree to taxation. By this I mean first they sign agreements where a fair share is granted to the government and second when necessary such as famines, natural disasters, war, revolutions etc. they must help. This is because no western private firms pay tax even to this day in developing world nations, increase prices when there are natural disasters, send in huge teams of aid agencies that have strict conditionalities slanted towards them and ensure all native organisations are sidelined. In addition foreign pharmaceutical companies emerge with medicines banned in their own countries at inflated prices and sold as herbal or other false pretences given in state medical facilities. Cures are then sold at high figures and this adds to resentment against the local governments as western ones are not mentioned. This can stop with the rescinding or at least some level of massive reduction private contractors from western nations.      

soothsayer

All what you are saying is very sensible. However the limited point I am making is that it has been tough to fight the $ as a reserve . India's own rate behaviour is around baskets of currencies but US$ has the most weight and we keep running to and fro from it.

Rushcourt71

soothsayer 3-11-2019 12:08 PM
All what you are saying is very sensible. However the limited point I am making is that it has been  ...

Yes I agree, but I also believe if there is a genuine conviction, a will, determination and confidence to assert, demand, innovate and deliver we can accomplish what at present seems both improbable and impossible.