[P2P-F] Fwd: Christopher

Thu Aug 16 13:41:46 CEST 2018

Michel,

Thought this blog post might be of interest.

Kind regards,

Christopher
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------------------------------

*Our "Prosperity" Is Now Dependent on Predatory Globalization*
<https://www.oftwominds.com/blogaug18/predatory-globalization8-18.html>

*August 15, 2018*

*Nowadays, trade and "prosperity" are dependent on currencies that are
created out of thin air via borrowing or printing. *

*So here's the story explaining why "free" trade and globalization create
so much wonderful prosperity for all of us:* I find a nation with cheap
labor and no environmental laws anxious to give me cheap land and tax
credits, so I move my factory from my high-cost, highly regulated nation to
the low-cost nation, and keep all the profits I reap from the move for
myself. Yea for free trade, I'm now far wealthier than I was before.

*That's the story. Feel better about "free" trade and globalization now?*
Oh wait a minute, there's something missing--the part about "prosperity for
all of us." Here's labor's share of U.S. GDP, which includes imports and
exports, i.e. trade:

*Notice how labor's share of the economy tanked once globalization /
offshoring kicked into high gear?* Now let's see what happened to corporate
profits at that same point in time:

*Imagine that--corporate profits skyrocketed once globalization /
offshoring kicked into high gear.* Explain that part about "makes us all
prosperous" again, because there's no data to support that narrative.

*What's interesting about all this is the way that politicians are openly
threatening voters with recession if they vote against globalization.* In
other words, whatever "prosperity" is still being distributed to the bottom
80% is now dependent on a predatory version of globalization.

*Let's rewind to the era of truly free trade, from the late Bronze Age up
to the Roman Era.* In the late Bronze Age (circa 1800 to 1200 B.C.),
vigorous trade tied together the ancient empires and states of the Mideast
and the Mediterranean. In the Roman Era, trade in silk and other luxuries
tied China, India, Africa, the Mideast and the Roman Mediterranean together
in a vast trading network.

In the good old days, merchants paid for goods in gold or silver, as the
value of the precious metals were known to all and relatively easy to
transport and verify.

*Nowadays, trade and "prosperity" are dependent on currencies that are
created out of thin air via borrowing or printing.* The problem with gold,
in the view of predatory globalization, is that it can't be printed or
conjured out of thin air. That won't do, because predatory globalization's
primary export is newly printed currencies: dollars, euros, yen and yuan.

*This puts every nation that can't print a global reserve currency at an
extreme disadvantage.* While the U.S. can conjure "money" out of thin air
and trade it for goods, other nations must cough up resources and goods in
exchange for the "money," and borrow it at hefty rates of interest if they
want to use the global "money" for development or investment.

*That leaves them highly vulnerable to foreign exchange fluctuations* which
can raise the cost of their interest due in dollars, etc. to punishing
heights while devaluing whatever they built with the dollars, etc. they
borrowed.

*Then there's a financial crisis of loan defaults and those who created and
loaned out their global reserve currency demand the debtor nation sell all
its assets and resources at bargain prices.* Being a member of the European
Union didn't save Greece from this fate; no peripheral nation can protect
itself from the predatory powers who can create currency at zero cost and
send the value higher by restricting its issuance after other nations have
loaded up on loans denominated in the reserve currency.

*This is how "free" trade works in predatory globalization:* The only thing
that's free is the cost of issuing trillions in global reserve currency.
Everything else will cost you dearly.

*Christopher*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Musings <https://www.oftwominds.com/musings-sample.html>     My Books
<https://www.oftwominds.com/CHS-books.html>     Archives
<https://www.oftwominds.com/archives.html>     Books/Films
<https://www.oftwominds.com/books.html> *
------------------------------

*Our "Prosperity" Is Now Dependent on Predatory Globalization*
<https://www.oftwominds.com/blogaug18/predatory-globalization8-18.html>

*August 15, 2018*

*Nowadays, trade and "prosperity" are dependent on currencies that are
created out of thin air via borrowing or printing. *

*So here's the story explaining why "free" trade and globalization create
so much wonderful prosperity for all of us:* I find a nation with cheap
labor and no environmental laws anxious to give me cheap land and tax
credits, so I move my factory from my high-cost, highly regulated nation to
the low-cost nation, and keep all the profits I reap from the move for
myself. Yea for free trade, I'm now far wealthier than I was before.

*That's the story. Feel better about "free" trade and globalization now?*
Oh wait a minute, there's something missing--the part about "prosperity for
all of us." Here's labor's share of U.S. GDP, which includes imports and
exports, i.e. trade:

*Notice how labor's share of the economy tanked once globalization /
offshoring kicked into high gear?* Now let's see what happened to corporate
profits at that same point in time: