No Longer Prosperous, Powerful, or Free

Our pathetic congressional pygmies are running in circles and mewing about taking action to counter what they claim is China's manipulation of its currency to the disadvantage of the U.S.

Like so much that takes place in the clown house atop Capitol Hill, this is a charade for the gullible.

The hard reality is that the Chinese will do exactly as they please and the U.S. is incapable of any effective action to prevent them from doing so.

That is the case because for all practical purposes the Chinese own us, They hold the whip hand and easily can cause us far more distress than anything we could conceivably do to them. They hold the debt that our government has incurred. They could dump their position, the ownership of our country's debt obligations onto the world market any time they choose to do so. Not only are we, as a nation, indebted to them, but our government is dependent on, and could not function without China's willingness to continuing to finance the U.S. government's ongoing deficit spending.

As a debtor, the U.S. is no more capable of influencing China than a slave is capable of influencing the conduct of its master. Our military might notwithstanding, our government's profligacy has transformed the nation into a pitiful helpless giant no longer sufficiently prosperous, powerful, or free to act as it chooses. For all practical purposes the U.S. today is an economic colony and dependent of China.

China to date has graciously permitted us to maintain the illusion that this is not the case. We ought not try their patience.