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Another day...a new world.

Kieron

I've been away for three days and the world order has changed.

OK, so the Guardian claiming that 'the era of American Global leadership...is over!' is hardly the final nail in the coffin. But, I think it's fair to say that we can expect many economies to be run differently from now on.

America has allowed itself to deregulate in to oblivion, and the 'maverick' actions of those Senators desperate to keep their jobs by rejecting the bail-out, won't hide the fact that they all played their part in this fiasco.

This article is a pretty good look at how the world is viewing the situation at the moment, and when France is leading the way in calling for economic reform you know things have gone a bit mental.

The economy in tatters, engaged in two expensive wars that it can no longer afford and a President that no-one cares about; it's hardly what you'd call the American Dream. And, to make things worse, the Presidential candidates have backed the whole bail-out proposal making them look a little lost as well.

So far, so horribly wrong. But, there is hope...there's always hope. No, I'm not about to put on an Obama t-shirt like all the 'cool' kids (though I really want this one,) I'm just pointing out that there's a silver-lining.

1. Bush has been dying on his arse for months: The fact that no-one wants to play ball with him is because he keeps dropping it and kicking it to Dick Cheyney, who shoots it and sends it back in tatters. So, it's no surprise the bail-out is taking time. Much of the crisis is being blamed on him, and no-one hangs around with the class moron.
   
   
2. Whilst the economic free-fall has been swift it isn't surprising: I'm an economic ignoramus but remember being told it was going to happen when I worked at a Bank called, 'of England'*. On my first day, during the induction, I was told by an intelligent looking economist that the US was borrowing far too much and that it simply couldn't carry on...or words to that effect. His had more syllables and pomposity. That was in 2003.
   
   
3. There's an election coming up soon: And elections always carry a disproportionate sense of optimism for the future. But, with the world watching ever so closely, whoever takes charge will have to make some 'change'. The American people want it and so do the rest of the world.
   
   
4. Times are a changin': China, India and any other country with a billion people or more has the capacity to expand it's economy substantially. But this might lead to a more flexible US, taking decisions multilaterally. The new guy in charge can't afford to do it alone - no, they literally can't afford to. And, that isn't a bad thing in my view.
   

In conclusion, things look bleak for a while yet, but if any country can adapt to such catastrophe I'd say it is an America with a new President, a sense of vulnerability and humility and a renewed hope in change.

As for Britain...well we'll just sit and watch as stuff crumbles around us I'd imagine.


*DISCLAIMER: Quick note to anyone who is now saying to themselves...'Oooh hark at him with his job in the Bank of England, thinking he's all that!' I don't, I lasted 9 months in the job before I realised I still didn't know what I was doing and had been caught, more than once, playing computer games instead of working. I wasn't pushed but they made sure I knew where the exit was. Like I say, ignoramus!

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Videos

Presidential Underdogs
(01.11.08)

An Englishman, an election and a lot of questions.
(01.11.08)

When the Levy Breaks
(30.10.2008)



All stood-up!
(27.10.2008)


A place in the sun... we wish!
(23.10.2008)



Hello we're in the United States...
(20.10.2008)


Keep Checking back for our latest video updates.

Swings and roundabouts

Luke

As his time in office winds-up Dubya faces the biggest financial crisis that the US has seen since 1929.

El Presidente puts forward a massive rescue plan to ‘save the world’ and all ends well. In the movies that's what happens, America always saves the world. In this unhappy tale though, America looks like it’s not going to save the world at all…. Quite the opposite.


The $700 billion rescue package that Bush was proposing went against pretty much everything that the Commander-in-Chief and his party stand for. Still, it was a bold move and to have it rejected was a real punch in the face…. but hang on, I thought the president was the most powerful man in the world, if this was his idea why couldn’t he just pass it?


The powers of the president are limited by the American Constitution in a big way.
If you fancy a really dry read, have a look here

The checks and balances in the American system were drawn up and codified from the experience of being ruled under an iron fist and they are pretty far-reaching in the ways in which they keep the reigns on presidential power.


OK, so he’s commander-in-chief and can deploy troops anywhere, of his own volition but pretty much everything he does has to be rubber-stamped by the Senate... this includes going to war.
At the moment the Senate has an equal number of Republican and Democrat members, so any incoming president may have a difficult time getting anything done, just as Bush has had since the mid-terms.

I have simplified here to levels of ignorance that only an outsider can have about the American political system. But, it still remains true that as we get all caught up in the hype and hysteria surrounding the election of the next US head of state, it really is a lot more complex than we think.

The actions of the current US president and Congress over the next four weeks will affect our lives far more than the anything the next president will be able to do in the next four years.

Shiny, Happy, People

Kieron

I've been told to write a blog entry - Luke is small and oddly proportioned, (his legs are shorter than his upper body,) but he is a scary man so I told him I'd write it, 'straight away Sir, sorry Sir!'

I wasn't sure what to look at - Luke has commented on the importance of cash in the elections and the impact of neo-liberal financial policy as a contributing factor to the current credit collapse. So ,I thought it was my turn to do some hard-hitting journalism - I chose 'Biggest election nutters!'

Yep, I was going to get some side-splittingly, pant-wettingly funny videos of people crying over how much they love Obama, or waving flags with McCain's face on whilst singing 'Born in the USA'.

So I started by looking at some partisan blogs. And that was the mistake.

I've never read so much bullsh*t in my life; so much hatred, so much rage aimed at two people, connected only by their desire to lead.

For Obama it's the claims of his Islamic heritage making him a Muslim, and some bizarre references to his desire to fund dictatorships in the middle-east via the UN.

On more than one blog I also found references to Obama's gay bashing record and his rejection of gay marriage as proof that he's a homophobe; On right-leaning websites! The mind-boggles.

But, whilst Republican attack politics of Karl Rove and his lapdogs has seemingly spread to the blogosphere, the Democrats have responded in kind.

McCain is a Bush clone, uses his war stories too much, and Palin is an affair loving, hypocritic Nazi in disguise, hell bent on banning books.

Hours after Librarygate had been reported, a fake book list appeared on the net. This was devoured by bloggers and the media alike and apparently found its way on to Obama's website for a few brief hours.

The blogs themselves rarely, if ever, refer to direct sources. They are usually second-hand accounts, selected quotations or fabricated reports. And they're usually riddled with partisan comment, tacked on to the end to drive the knife home.

Some is ironic humour - us Brits get it, we're good at it - but a lot is just shoddy journalism. Most of the time, blogs are either made-up or lazy: It's like the the worst aspects of tabloid sleaze mated with the excess of political propaganda and produced an oozing lump of bile and distortion. And, worst of all, the media loves them.

Come January, whoever the winning candidate, Americans will be asked to come together, to put aside petty partisanship and unite under the star-spangled banner.

Good luck. The hatred of some of these inexplicably respected bloggers, makes me think there's just more partisan segregation in store. And good luck to the new man in charge, they'll be telling more lies than you do!

I really wish I'd found a funny video now...

Ker-ching!

Luke

‘It’s all about the money.’

That’s what a friend said to me about the US elections. ‘Celebrity and money’ He said dismissively as he took a pensive sip on his Earl Grey.

An avid follower of the elections knows that there is a lot of substance behind the circus though… but money does talk, and here’s why.

The American political system doesn’t seem to be that accommodating to those with limited means. Data from 2006 showed that the average wealth of a member of the House of Representatives is around $5 million (£2.7 million) and for the Senate, it’s over $10 million (£5.4 million).

(In the interests of fairness, it's right to point out that, 21 of the 488 of those who sit in the lower House have so little money, that their net wealth is in the negative.)

The amount of money floating round among the American political elite is huge... well that's the perception at least.

By August this year, Barack Obama and John McCain had managed to raise $693,182,851 between them towards their respective election campaigns. Of that amount though, Obama raised $468,841,840, almost double that of Johnny.

There are around 142,000,000 registered voters in America. So.... a vote for one of the main candidates is worth around $4.80, that’s the average amount that would have been spent by the big two, per voter, to win support.

If I was voting in this election, I'd kinda like to think my vote was worth a little more than $4.80. But maybe I'm just not that special.