What a wonderful economy we are having....right?

I do not think so. Taking a look at what I see locally and what remains of my bank account, I think I safely say it sucks. I am sure some tax cutting maniac of a Republican will say that all we need do is cut more taxes. Yeah, like we have been doing for years under our Fearless Leader, the Shrub from Crawford.

Reading things like Eugene Robinson's Washington Post column Tattered Dream brings up a point that has worried me for many of the years I have lived in Anderson - what happens when people realize that have become stuck economically, that the American Dream no applies to them?

"The American self-image is suffused with the golden glow of opportunity. We think of the United States as a land of unlimited possibility, not so much a classless society but as a place where class is mutable -- a place where brains, energy and ambition are what counts, not the circumstances of one's birth. But three new studies suggest that Horatio Alger doesn't live here anymore."

The Economic Mobility Project, an ambitious research initiative led by the Pew Charitable Trusts, looked at the economic fortunes of a large group of families over time, comparing the income of parents in the late 1960s with the income of their children in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here's the finding that jumps out at me:

"The 'rags to riches' story is much more common in Hollywood than on Main Street. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the very top."

That's right, just 6 percent of children born to parents who ranked in the bottom fifth of the sample, in terms of income, were able to bootstrap their way into the top fifth. Meanwhile, an incredible 42 percent of children born into that lowest quintile are still stuck at the bottom, having been unable to climb a single rung of the income ladder.

Then Thursday might I hear that Argentina and Brazil are dropping the dollar for their trade. I heard that on NPR but could not find an article there. Here is the story from Forbes: Brazil, Argentina may drop dollar in bilateral transactions - minister.

Now consider this post Show Me the Euros! from ContractsProf Blog. Or this from NPR: Canadians Shop for Bargains in the U.S..

What happens when the Chinese decide to stop using dollars for Euros? That will not be pretty.

How did we get where the dollar is so weak that international trade not want to use it? My semi-gut, semi-educated guess comes down to financing a war by borrowing money (sort of like a drunk on a spree or a teenager with a credit card). Words failing me, here is the answer to our current and future economic ills: