How is this all going to evolve, where will it lead? Well, I believe that in the coming years there is going to be a radical change in the way world commerce is conducted and that it can have a great beneficial effect on America in the long run. It is becoming evident that in the not too distant future, as the emerging economic powers' demand for petroleum rapidly accelerates, the world demand for that resource will overwhelm the oil producing nations' production capacities.
When this materializes the decrease in world supply will dramatically increase the costs of oil to such levels that it will entirely change world commerce. Nations will realize that they will have to alter the way that they conduct commerce since the costs of oceanic transportation will skyrocket. The obsession with free trade will be replaced by a reliance on trade within distinct regions of the world; North and South America, Europe, Asia to name a few.
Here in America large transnational corporations will no longer be able to take advantage of using slave labor costs around the world to manufacture products and ship them thousands of miles back to America; it will become cost-prohibitive and many of these corporations will see their profits plummet. They will have a choice: they will either change their entire philosophy of doing business and face reality by, once again, using American workers as the foundation of a new domestic manufacturing agenda or: if they fail or refuse to adjust they will not survive.
But here's where the greatest danger lies. There is only one reason why China continues to loan mega-billions of dollars to America and that is the size and power of our consumer-driven economy. As our economy continues to spiral downward and the costs of ocean transportation drastically reduce the shipments of products from China to the U.S., China will no longer need America.
China will know that it is time to cut the financial cord to America. It does not even have to demand we repay the massive debt we owe them because it knows that America is nearing insolvency. But what it will do is discontinue any further loans and that will be devastating. One of the results of that cut-off of funds would be the dismantling of America's military empire and its massive network of worldwide bases. Another could be that China would cash in its "promissory" notes by acquiring major financial institutions and real estate in America; an ominous thought.
Of course, there is no guarantee that this theory will materialize. However, it certainly could since it is based upon solid evidence from a wide array of petroleum scientists and analysts who have declared that a diminishing world supply of oil is inevitable in the coming decades and it will greatly drive up transportation costs. Therefore, it is only a matter of time until we see dramatic changes in world commerce.
One thing is certain. The current situation in which huge corporations continue to ruthlessly ravage America and its workers cannot be sustained for it will bleed this nation and our consumer-driven economy dry. Radical change must come to America or we will experience a monumental economic collapse that might well be irreversible.
Michael Payne
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