are funding their entire economy right now, and for a long while into the future.

Personally, I am glad I left my money in pounds sterling I made in England. Just by leaving it in the bank over there it has returned a hell of an investment over the last 6 years.

15 years ago Canada was in a similar mess financially to the US. Then it bit the bullet (pushed by the financial community). There is a country wide feeling that debt has to be paid down...cutting taxes is not politically popular (at least no where to the extent as in the US).

Canada has had budget surpluses for the last 8 years and counting. It is paying down its debt. In fact there is a shortage of Canadian debt in the market!

Canada shows what it is like to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

but no long term strategy. Selling them at any and sometimes bargain prices to satisfy a balance sheet may well have been good for corporations but did not benefit the people who owned them, the people of the United States.

Some forty years ago the Canadian Dollar was worth more than the American $. I think it was about as much as $1.20 relative to the American Greenback. It was back during the time of our Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbacker/Kennedy administrations.

Indeed, these are scary times for all fiat currencies. Paper based curriencies will go down one at a time. Bernacki did the wrong thing by dropping interest rates. Contagion will spread to US Treasury Bills that are used to finance your current account deficit.

Empires faced with the choices America now faces typically resort to two tactics: inflation or war.

With the war in Iraq and the sabre rattling against Iran, it seems the US may continue its march over a cliff.