Thursday, March 17, 2005
Bush Policies Weaken US Defense
The New York Times' Tom Friedman notices the impact of China holding two hundred billion dollars ($200,000,000,000.00) in US debt:
When John F Kennedy ran against Richard Nixon, the question was defending Quemoy and Matsu, two small islands then held by Taiwan. Thanks to George Bush, the question now is whether Taiwan can defend itself... because the US can't help them without allowing China to destroy our economy.
|
The excessive tax cuts for the rich, combined with a total lack of discipline on spending by the Bush team and its Republican-run Congress, have helped China become the second-largest holder of U.S. debt, with a little under $200 billion worth. No, I don't think China will start dumping its T-bills on a whim. But don't tell me that as China buys up more and more of our debt - and that is the only way we can finance the tax holiday the Bush team wants to make permanent - it won't limit our room to maneuver with Beijing, should it take aggressive steps toward Taiwan.
What China might do with all its U.S. T-bills in the event of a clash over Taiwan is a total wild card that we have put in Beijing's hands.
On energy, the Bush team's obsession with drilling in the Alaskan wilderness to increase supply is mind-boggling. "I am sure China will be thrilled with the Bush decision to drill in Alaska," said the noted energy economist Philip Verleger Jr. "Oil in Alaska cannot easily or efficiently be shipped to our Gulf Coast refineries. The logical markets are on the West Coast of the United States and in Asia. Consumers in China and Japan, not the U.S., will be the real beneficiaries of any big Alaska find.
"With a big find, China and Japan will be able to increase imports from a dependable supplier - the U.S. - while consumers in the U.S. will still be at the mercy of unreliable suppliers, such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. It is simple geography. [Also], a big find will lead to lower prices in the short term, promoting more emissions and more warming."
Source: New York Times (emphasis added)
When John F Kennedy ran against Richard Nixon, the question was defending Quemoy and Matsu, two small islands then held by Taiwan. Thanks to George Bush, the question now is whether Taiwan can defend itself... because the US can't help them without allowing China to destroy our economy.
