Gauging the state of the U.S. economy

The state of the U.S. economy may be gauged by these major indicators;

1) Our international trade deficit widens as employment shifts overseas caused by globalization policies.

2) The national debt is at historic levels with a further rise in the debt ceiling pending.

3) Most of the nation's states are in funding crisis.

4) Geopolitical volatility in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India engender intense pressures on the U.S. economy.

5) Home foreclosures explode with no end in sight.

6) Sales of new houses are at lows for a half-century.

7) Health care costs continue to soar without restraint.

8) The feeble employment situation is causing a massive exodus of unemployed workers from the labor force creating beguiling employment statistics.

9) Economies of trading partners in the European Union are falling like bowling pins.

10) Stocks climb with irrational exuberance.

11) Nuclear catastrophe in Japan and upheavals in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula are presenting ominous uncertainties.

Federal Reserve policies are reminiscent of Bank of England policies of the 1950s and 1960s, which issued a string of devaluations of the pound sterling when currencies were pegged at fixed exchange rates taking the pound down from $5 to $2.40. Flooding the market with currency is a gradual devaluation of the dollar. Commencing with the post World War II years, England was bankrolled by the U.S.; at present, the U.S. is bankrolled by China. England became a second-tier nation, sheltered by the U.S. The future has yet to play out, but the trends are evident.

George Black

Iowa City