Hi-
I’ve been reading DailyKos for awhile, and have been impressed daily by at least one exceptionally well crafted post, so I was hoping some of y’all might be willing to comment on a few questions that have been rattling inside my skull regarding international economics.
(Please be patient, this is the first time I have ever tried to interact with people online. I am completely inept at social interaction.)
So, here goes:
- In a global economic crisis, why can’t the system simply be reset? As I understand it, currency is a medium of exchange that we created, so it seems that we should have the ability to control it.
- Couldn’t this global turmoil be an opportunity to wipe out the debt of developing nations, reset commodity exchange values, and reassess trade practices?
The one aspect of this whole mess that I find Most Disturbing is what is happening with grains. I have grown up hearing discussions about global hunger and poverty, and have spent the last eighteen months digging up info on the American Food and Farm Bill...and here we are with international riots while grain sits in hulls (sorry, no pun intended) at docks, while quiet comments float around about how imported US rice has destabilized local agriculture in nations, and Latin people must protest over corn (while northern shelves hold Doritos and Fritos, and potable water is finally being publicly recognized as an ‘issue,’ and across from the snacks are shelves of pop and sport drinks...)
- With the situation as it is globally: governments destabilized, currency destabilized, dramatic shifts in weather patterns, and natural resources beginning to be reassessed, why can’t we just hit "reset"? Or is that what is actually going on? Are we actually on a historical fulcrum?
I believe The Elders, Soros, Chavez, Gore and, yes, Obama are all working to develop new paradigms for areas in societal engineering and development, but I am really hoping to hear from you guys.
I must confess, one of the main reasons that I have put these questions to y’all is because I have two young sons, and am trying to raise them with a global perspective, but I often find it difficult to frame issues clearly for them, and I’m looking for help.
Before anyone freaks out on me, I’ve read much Chomsky, Zinn, Twain and Aristotle, I read Bloomberg and Financial Times regularly, I am not naïve: I am 39, have lived outside America for a year, am completing my first graduate degree, have supported myself financially since I was 20, and reference a wide variety of news sources.
But...I am often just really confused by what we, humans, do. I mean, we made all of this up, so why can’t we control it?
If you made it this far, thank you for your time.