by lawnchair » Mon 23 Feb 2009, 01:19:09
When Nixon functionally defaulted on the dollar, other countries certainly didn't have to keep taking them any more. Why did they?
Good cop, bad cop.
Europe, Japan, et al, could prop up the US, a bloated overconsuming monster, or try and hold their own against the creeping power of the Soviets. Supporting the US constant indebtedness was expensive, but they'd still rather be punked bitches of the cool cowboys in blue jeans than bitches of the Soviets.
A lot of the world would rather prop up the US as their backstop, rather than end up paying tribute to Putin or China.
Of course, we threw away a lot of that "well, they're bastards, but comparatively nice bastards" goodwill in the last eight years.
But, still. You're not going to see countries (voluntarily) idealizing a Russia of mobsters, restored KGB, and infrastructure at the point of total collapse.
At 1% annual growth, human bodies will incorporate every gram in the observable universe in approximately 10,170 years.