Bill Sykes' Newsletter from America.
(February 2002)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
The 'Home Front' financial situation update.
At the beginning of this year Mr. Bush advocated a multi-billion
dollar tax cut, which in my opinion really only benefited
'Big Business' and the financial community at large.
 Mr.Greenspan,
(The Fed Chairman), was at the same time advocating and
lowering interest rates on what seemed to be a monthly basis
in order to avoid an inflationary spiral.
Those interest rate cuts did little for the average individual
but certainly have made the banking institutions happy.
They, the banks, are receiving overnight funds from the
Federal Bank at around 2% and still charge credit card holders
around (15% to 16% or higher) interest rate on outstanding
balances.
Mr. Bush's plea to the general public, as Christmas 2001
approached, was to spend, spend, spend, in order to jump
start a flagging economy. This plea apparently fell on deaf
ears due to the fact that the general public was up to its
neck in trillions of dollars of unrecoverable credit card
debt and with the distinct possibility of facing future
layoff and unemployment were unwilling to stick their neck
out and accrue further debt.
 The
financial status of business in general was in a state of
rapid decline after the demise of the dotcom companies and
currently the United States economy is in dire straights,
as can be seen by the rapid escalation of unemployment and
the billions of dollars being expended on the war effort.
I am fully aware that the war against terrorism has to be
conducted, but this is a worldwide problem and the United
States cannot, and should not, be expected to foot the complete
financial bill for the efforts to put and end to this terrorist
madness. It would be financial irresponsible and virtually
impossible for one nation to provide the necessary armed
forces and finances to conduct a war on several fronts all
within the same time frame.
It doesn't take a John Maynard Keynes economic genius to
predict the long term outcome of financially irresponsible
actions being taken short term.
Mr. Keynes played a central role in British World War Two
financing and his last major public service was his brilliant
negotiation in 1945 of a multi-billion loan from the United
States.
 I'm
afraid it's too late to correct our, (American), past foreign
policies of interference in other countries political, religious,
and financial affairs, which has degraded our social status
in today's world.
Perhaps it would be provident for us to prepare for the
future by taking immediate corrective action by strengthening
our foreign policy attitudes and economic values, by the
evaluation and education of the people involved in, and
responsible for, the day to day activities in the arenas
of world politics and economics.
I'm afraid that I don't have a complete answer to solving
the problem, but I do have a suggestion: Each and every
member of the White House and Congress, responsible for
the Fiscal, Political and Diplomatic policies of this country,
should be required to return to the classroom to study Economics
101, Political Science 101, and Foreign Diplomacy 101, in
order to obtain at least a basic understanding of how to
conduct internal and foreign affairs in the best interests
of the citizens of this country.
By the way, for the uninitiated, the figure 101 represents
the initial course of education in the stated subject.
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