Biden and House congressional leader McCarthy finally reached a deal on their country’s “debt ceiling” conundrum. The divided US House of Representatives – on a divided 314-117 vote – passed a bill to actually SUSPEND the US$31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Meaning that for a while there’s actually gonna be NO debt ceiling!! But the drama ain’t over yet – the Senate gotta also approve the arrangement – which ain’t as simple as it sounds – there’re all sorts of side deals to pacify doubters from across the divide.
Now, dear reader, you may be wondering why your Eyewitness keeps bringing up this seemingly-esoteric subject. As he’s said before, we’ve got an economy that’s getting more and more integrated into the American-dominated financial system with our oil-fuelled economy. So if they even emit a muffled sneeze, we’re gonna catch a cold!! It’s not only because most of our trade is denominated in US dollars – like the rest of the world – but we now park our Natural Resource Funds in their Fed!! So, for a while at least – what’s good for America is good for us!!
So, what’s with this debt ceiling business and how does it matter to us?? Very simply – just so your eyes don’t glaze over too much – the US right now has a total debt of US$31.4 Trillion – that’s 31,400,000, 000, 000 dollars – enough to go around the earth 20,000 times if laid end to end!! The US Govt owes this to domestic debtors and to countries abroad for “goods and services rendered”. All this means is the US has been allowed to just print pieces of paper with numbers on them that are basically IOUs that can be reclaimed at any time.
The debt ceiling is an arbitrary figure that Congress has set to signal that the government’s spending too much. For the domestic debt, the US can simply create a single coin that declares it’s worth the domestic debt of US$25 trillion!! For the foreign-held debt, foreigners – like China with US$3 trillion and counting – the fear is they’ll call in the debt by dumping dollars and demanding other currencies. The US dollar will lose value and plummet. And that’s when we catch that cold!!
With no debt ceiling in place, the US Govt will be able to pay its debtors and workers and American won’t seem to be in a tailspin – and create another reason for the dollar to plunge. Right now, everyone and their uncle see the US declining. The BRICS Foreign Ministers are meeting this week to expand their membership – and to place having a NEW reserve currency to replace the American dollar on their leaders’ agenda.
Ain’t gonna happen anytime soon – but doesn’t that mean speculative turmoil.
…enemy action??
The first time is “happenstance”; the second, “coincidence” – but the third time – it’s gotta be “enemy action”!! Now your Eyewitness has done some serious thinking after he learnt early yesterday that there was a fire at the girls’ dormitory at Karasabai. Luckily there were no injuries and everyone escaped. His first thought was that this was a “copycat” action – done for the thrill of notoriety.
But then he wondered: is there any connection between Smallie’s breakout from Mazaruni Penal Settlement and the fires?? To create a diversion from the manhunt in place to capture him?? After all, he broke out from Camp Street jail in spectacular fashion under cover of an even more spectacular fire where the casualties were seventeen dead!! Not that he’s a pyromaniac or anything, but maybe the fallout from the Mahdia fire might’ve given him the idea of a diversion. He certainly wouldn’t have minded another dozen deaths or so. He’s directly killed more during the Bartica Massacre and elsewhere!!
Did he persuade the 4 confessors!?!
…paranoia
Do folks realise that most of the mega bucks – “billions and billions” as Carl Sagan used to say about the stars! – Oil Companies had to shell out came out of lawsuits filed and not any “promise” to pay??
