Oh my… “Life on life’s terms” as they say in the Twelve Step Program. Life is about balance; pendulums swing because no extreme can maintain its position for a long time. Gravity guarantees this; so does human nature. We were a good ally in World War II. We sacrificed human lives and our economy to save our allies and the future of democracy. Our actions and values made us a world leader both politically and economically. We were the envy of people struggling everywhere.
But then greed and power took over. How could we stay on top, manipulate currency and trade and resources to benefit our own bottom line? Along the way we also dumped our own working class — and now even our middle class. Control and greed on a global playing field have become the biggest game in town.
Slowly, but in plain sight, we are starting to see what we must learn as the system we have created starts to bend, crack, and buckle. Our economy swaggers atop the biggest national debt the world has ever witnessed, paid for primarily by foreigners who used the U.S. government as a guarantor for their investment in our treasury bills. As our government becomes an adversary, an untrustworthy ally, other countries are shifting to defense. The pendulum is swinging.
Iran knows this. China knows this. China owns $3 trillion in U.S. treasuries. When the world is ready to shift to Yuan as the global currency, they will sell all $3 trillion overnight and other countries will follow (see Jeffrey Sachs). Iran has just announced it will allow tankers through the Strait of Hormuz who will pay in Yuan. Is this the turning point for the U.S. dollar? Will we be left to pay our debt off by ourselves? Who will pay?
It’s a sad but predictable story because every empire in history has done it — rot from within. Maybe rot is just another word for greed and control — the very things our founding fathers were determined to balance with people power, with power spread across three branches of government. Bravo for their wisdom. What we need to learn is that when that balance of power is undermined and those with lust for power and control get the reigns, collapse is inevitable. That pendulum will swing. Hold onto your hats! See you at the next No Kings march!
Sandra Boston lives in Greenfield.