Protesters are citing rising food costs as one of the reasons for the swift and startling revolt taking place in Egypt this week. No doubt the pent up rage of three decades of tyrannical rule have had an effect on the explosion of anger that we're witnessing. However, with inflation being held up as one of the sparks for unleashing the revolutionary spirit of a country that has been accused in the past of being trapped in a quagmire of political apathy, one can't help but wonder what the future of the dollar will be in Egypt if its government topples, since the dollar's weakness is one of the main causes for soaring food prices across the globe.
The dollar is the world's reserve currency. Because nations use it to trade commodities such as food and oil, the rapidly sliding value of the dollar from over-printing and lack of confidence in the ability of the U.S. to meet its debt obligations has caused the prices of these goods to rise, while the wages of ordinary people remain the same. It's no surprise that making the basic goods needed for everyday life in modern society less accessible to the majority of people have broken down the walls of civility and resulted in a stinging backlash against the figureheads of leadership within nations. While some reactionaries may place blame for food costs squarely on their national leaders, more economically aware resisters realize the true source of their trouble, begging the question of what solution they intend to offer if and when their government topples and they take charge.
The revolts taking place in the Middle East right now are like forest fires, one tree igniting the other, with each nation using the previous one as the inspiration for its actions. In the wake of the upheaval, this spirit is very likely to continue. Viewing the situation squarely from the perspective of a foreign national looking out for the interests of his or her country, a step away from the dollar and a willingness to trade in other currencies would certainly be on the table, and such a rejection of the dollar's supremacy would no doubt cause an even greater loss of confidence in it.
Since the economy of the United States' is dependent on the dollar's status as world reserve currency, any action taken against the dollar is closely watched and responded to by our government and the Federal Reserve that runs it. A move away from the dollar--out of step with the controlled decline orchestrated by the bankers that is intended to move us towards a world currency--would be considered a threat to the global power structure, and could jeopardize the economic stability of the United States. Whoever takes charge in Egypt (even if Mubarak somehow manages to stay in power) will no doubt have to contend with the heavy handed interference of the United States and its Globalist rulers in its internal policies, whether they interfere openly or through clandestine actions. After all, only a few years after Saddam Hussein sought to trade oil in euros instead of dollars, his country was invaded, his regime toppled, and he found himself hanging at the end of a rope. While other interests were involved in the decision to take over Iraq, Hussein's attempt to challenge the dollar's power played a major role in his own demise.
Americans must not only be vigilant by keeping track of what happens in the Middle East, but our own government's reaction to it. Any attempt to meddle in Egypt's national affairs and buck the tide of public sentiment there will only result in more resentment towards innocent Americans trapped--either by ignorance or by fear of speaking out--under the thumb of a government with a foreign policy they have no say in, many believing that anti-American sentiments overseas are only the result of "them hating our freedom". Our own economic stability will not come by interfering with the policies of other countries, but by taking the sour medicine at home and doing what's necessary--reducing the size of government, abolishing the Federal Reserve System, and regaining control of our currency once again.
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