At a Pro-Kremlin youth group the other day, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States as being "like a parasite" to the global economy. Adding that "they [United States] are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy." With Russia holding a large amount of U.S. bonds and treasuries, to the tune of some 132 billion (for an interactive look at U.S. debt, click here) Putin has something to be concerned with. With the U.S. maintaining its hold as the currency of choice, foreign nations are seeing volatile ups and downs with their assets. The U.S. remaining as the hegemony of the world, closely followed by the rapid rise of modern day China, any ripple in the pond seems to have global effects. However, when there have been tidal waves throughout Europe and North America, the United States is losing its ability to dictate financial policy around the world and many nations on the rise, along with those lead by egocentric politicians like Putin, are jumping on the chance to place themselves in a future where China may be the outright hegemony or in a future with joint U.S. - China hegemony.
So with the U.S. having many difficulties in governmental management and an almost designed meltdown by greedy Wall-Street financiers, people around the world are no longer confined to following U.S. foreign policy or feel inclined to giving outright support. This is a huge challenge for the United States to overcome, and if we are to do so, we need to start now. Rebuilding this economy in a sustainable way is not just wise to support our own economy, but to protect our interests abroad as well as ally economies.
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