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Last week I told you about one of the silliest ideas being forced down your throat by the mainstream media.
That false idea being that Wall Street caused the financial crisis. As I said last week, it’s certainly the case that Wall Street played a part, but all of the bubbles, panics, depressions and recessions can be easily traced back not to Wall Street, but rather to the policies and actions of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury and the federal government at large.
But no, instead of hearing about decades of flawed policy, or ridiculous amounts of deficit spending, we only hear about relatively small-time “banksters” on Wall Street that somehow orchestrated the collapse of the entire real estate market in America – and beyond.
I expect this kind of lazy journalism from most media sources. But last night I read something even more incorrect and much more sinister in the Financial Times – a news source I usually hold in high regard.
In an opinion piece published in the FT yesterday, the authors suggest that currency wars implemented by many of America’s biggest trade partners are the real cause of economic weakness in the West.
No doubt whatsoever – China and other eastern countries are very convenient targets for criticism and attack.
But think about what we’re expected to believe – that if only China played fair in the international currency market, then our problems here in the U.S. wouldn’t be so bad.
So what do the authors of this opinion piece say China and other countries are doing to America to ruin our economy? Well, in essence, they’re loaning us money!
Those conniving easterners somehow TRICKED us into borrowing money from them…
Remember, no one twisted America’s arm to make it borrow money from foreign creditors. No Chinese officials forced America to pursue decades upon decades of deficit policy that necessitated heavy borrowing.
If we’re expected to believe that it’s China’s fault for lending us so much money that it’s ruining our economy, then under what circumstances, exactly, is America responsible for its own success or failure?
And if you believe this type of nonsense, wouldn’t you then be responsible for the downfall of any entity you’re foolish enough to invest in? Because according to this article in the Financial Times, it’s the very act of lending someone money that’s sinister. And what’s an investment if not a form of loan that you hope to be repaid with profit?
The solution and the real behind-the-scenes motive for this article only come towards the end, as the authors state: “The rules of both the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization forbid currency manipulation to maintain trade surpluses. These should be implemented at long last.”
At long last, indeed. At long last we find out what’s really behind this article. The authors aren’t really interested in helping America, they just want America to cede further autonomy and governance to unelected officials at the IMF and the WTO.
You and I have seen what happens when a financial system is decoupled from both the market and a country’s sovereignty as these authors clamor for: it’s called the European Union. No thanks.
Beware these types of thinly veiled hack pieces – even in publications you otherwise trust and enjoy.