The U.S. Economy is Sick, And the Whole World Pays for its Medication

Published in People's Daily
(China) on 6 December 2008
by Huang Ying (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Crystal Kim. Edited by Christie Chu.
Taking advantage of the current dollar and the fact that America has been the superpower for a long time, many countries have been paying great attention to the U.S. national debt, and America's secondary market has been the market with the deepest extent, the widest range, and the greatest liquidity in the world.

As the financial crisis becomes worse and worse, many funds are looking for help from the U.S. national debt, which also hit the historic lowest rate of return. At the same time, the U.S. dollar's weakness may also lead those foreign holders of U.S. national debt to suffer from financial losses, which could be inevitable.

So how do we comprehend the dollar's assets (including the U.S. national debt) for those foreign holders now? Besides the U.S. national debt, are there any other choices?

There are two experts invited to this round-table meeting to help you to understand it.

The U.S. national debt broke through the maximum which America’s GDP could bear

Guangzhou Daily: In what way will America handle its 11.3 trillion national debt?

Jiang Yong: The U.S. total debt has become too much and has broken the maximum amount that America’s GDP could bear.

It is reported that the upper limit of the National Debt Clock in New York is 10 trillion dollars, but the U.S.'s national debt has actually surpassed that, and the Clock has run out of digits. The Clock owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt. Obviously, America will keep on raising “new” debt to cover “old” debt, and America is not hoping to repay this high debt, but worrying that no one will buy U.S. debt any more. Since the debt is growing more and more, the American government only wants to “clear it” by depreciation of dollar.

Yan Haibo: From the U.S. bailout plan we can see that their main policy is to increase the amount of money issued, and as a result the national debt will keep growing. It shows that America is satisfied with being a high-debt country, and will keep on like this, will keep on going like this, based on the fact that the American financial system has been run better than those of other countries since World War II. It’s not good for other countries objectively, but other countries couldn’t handle the problem either, and as a result, the U.S. economy is “sick,” and the whole world pays for its medication.


美国经济“病了”全世界支付“医药费”
2008年12月06日10:19 来源:《广州日报》

  长期以来,利用流通美元、超级大国的独特优势,美国国债一直是国际市场上受众多国家青睐的重要金融产品,其二级市场是世界上最具广度和深度、且最具流动性的市场。

  在金融危机日益恶化背景下,众多资金纷纷涌入美国国债寻求避险,也导致美国国债收益率降至历史最低;与此同时,美元持续疲软的长期态势,可能导致持有美国国债的国家面临亏损,有无法避免的风险。

  如何解读美元疲软下各国增持包括美国国债在内的美元资产?除了美国国债外,是否还有其他选择?

  本次圆桌会议我们特邀两位专家为您解读。

  美国债务:突破美国GDP所承载的极限

  广州日报:美国政府外债如今高达11.3万亿美元,美国到底会怎样应对?

  江涌:美国现有债务总量是十分危险的,已经突破了国家GDP所能承载的极限。

  有媒体报道,架设在纽约曼哈顿的“国债钟”,原本设计最高可列出10万亿美元上限,但美国政府债务已超过10万亿,使得钟面已经无法正确显示出国债额。“国债钟”的负责人表示,将修改数字钟软件,再增两位数,让显示数据可达到千兆。很显然,美国还会继续增发“新债”来偿还“旧债”,他们并不希望清偿如此高额的债务,而只会担心没人买他们的债券。由于债务会越滚越多,美国政府就只能通过美元贬值的形式“赖账”。

  严海波:从美国政府目前救市措施看,他们主要还是通过增发货币来解决,国债数额还会大幅上升。这说明,美国满足于“高债务国”这样一个地位,还希望一直做下去,这是二战以来美国在金融体系的优势所致。这在客观上对其他国家不利,但其他国家也没有合适的解决办法,从而导致的后果就是:美国“病了”,全世界都来替他支付“医药费”。

(责任编辑:董菁)
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

India: The World after the American Order

Sri Lanka: The Palestinian Story Outshines Flattery and Triumphalism

India: The Real Question behind the US-China Rivalry

Poland: Democrats Have Found an Effective Way To Counter Trump*

Germany: A Decision against Trump

Topics

India: The World after the American Order

India: The Real Question behind the US-China Rivalry

Pakistan: No Coalition for Reason

Pakistan: The Beginning of the 2nd Cold War

Sri Lanka: The Palestinian Story Outshines Flattery and Triumphalism

Pakistan: Israel Bent on Sabotaging Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan

Turkey: No Kings in America but What about the Democratic Party?

Ireland: The Irish Times View on the Trump-Zelinskiy Meeting: 1 Step Backward

Related Articles

India: The World after the American Order

India: The Real Question behind the US-China Rivalry

Pakistan: The Beginning of the 2nd Cold War

Thailand: Southeast Asia Amid the US-China Rift

Taiwan: Can Benefits from TikTok and Taiwan Be Evaluated the Same Way?