Political Confusion

George W. Duvalier

Thank you, it's nice to be back. I was hoping you'd pick up on my currency concerns, and a little worried you'd bring up sanctions. In fact, I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass the second I wrote it.

Truthfully I never gave sanctions a second thought until college, where we both had our appetites ruined by life-sized photos of malnourished Iraqi children being brandished by guilt-ridden, trust-fund laden malcontents in front of the dining hall. Although perhaps I shouldn't question their tactics, since I now share their views. Sanctions have proven themselves to be both morally indefensible and completely counter-productive. But it added some padding to the paragraph, so I wrote it anyway. And it doesn't really matter, since the argument remains intact with or without sanctions.

My point about ruining the prestige of the dollar was not based on any technical economic analysis. I'm cognizant of the Euro's rise and the gains that accrue to US exporters when the dollar declines. Currencies rise and fall over time and the dollar's current value is not outside the boundaries of reason or history.

But do you remember when Marge and Homer went to marriage counseling, when all the couples were doing a "trust exercise", falling backwards into their partner's arms? Of course you do. So you know that Homer was out chasing the General Sherman, and Reverend Lovejoy told Marge he wouldn't recommend the exercise, even if Homer was there.

Since WWII we've been the world's trusted partner; time and time again countries have averted financial meltdown by falling into our arms. There was a point in time where the US Treasury and the Wu-Tang Clan could both say "word is bond" and mean it.

Well ODB is dead, and GWB is President. The dirt-dog's absence hasn't stopped the Wu from staying near the top of rap, but a promise from Bush isn't worth the whiskey soaked paper it's written on. George W Bush is the greatest 70's era Latin American dictator that ever lived: he appoints incompetent friends to powerful positions, he has a hard on for the military to mask his fairly obvious insecurities, he plays to peoples' basest instincts, and most relevantly, he seems to think he can just print or borrow money indefinitely.

World markets will eventually lose faith in our government as long as this behavior continues. It's not a question of if, but when; and by some indications it's already started. And when that happens--when the world has no more faith in the American dollar than it did the Argentine dollar peg--our affluent way of life is over. Caput, perhaps for decades. Hence, "ruined the prestige of the dollar".

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In the near future I'd like to discuss the issues surrounding Constitutional interpretation in more detail. But for now, would you care to comment on the cesspool of corruption your party has become? It seems that government is exceptionally responsive to the people that pay for it.

posted by Gabe @ 7:46 PM