Tibetan vendors await customers near the Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal.
...the United States economy teeters on a precipice. Other countries are worried; why are so few Americans paying attention, as Republicans deliberately refuse to act to save the United States from defaulting on its loans? Even normally cavalier bankers like JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon admit a default would be catastrophic, setting off a chain reaction of further economic disaster. Republicans need to stop playing politics, face facts and help avert a looming crisis.
Read more about this situation:
Just what is the federal debt ceiling?
What hope is there for us if America is driven to the brink of meltdown?
US credit outlook downgraded by Standard & Poor's
Hi Alexandra - Only because there doesn't appear to be any public pressure for the GOP to resolve the debt crisis. They are delaying and/or obstructing action, rather than acknowledging realities and solving the problem. Obviously some Americans are paying attention; but not enough to force the GOP to act, it seems.
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 18 July 2011 at 18:08
Why do you assume so few Americans are paying attention? As someone who is actually in the States that is not my experience at all. Both my fellow liberal friends and my more conservative family are all very much tuned in and voicing their opinions.
Posted by: Alexandra | 18 July 2011 at 17:39
Most Americans are entertainment saturated and view life as if it were a movie in which everything will turn out all right in the end without oneself having to lift a finger. After several decades of fighting the good fight as a liberal democrat in Texas, I am exhausted and dispirited and question the idea that democracy can work in a country this large. Perhaps Flaubert was right when he wrote that "the whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletariat to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeoisie."
Posted by: Charles Baker | 18 July 2011 at 17:04
I cannot figure out for the life of me why no one is protesting, calling out the Republicans who seem bent on destroying America, while blaming our president, rallying for action and change. Are we all so complacent, ignorant, disinterested, disconnected . . . that we can't be bothered to even entertain the possibilities of what will happen if we go belly up?
When I become frustrated with our president for being so nice, I am reminded of his promise: His presidency won't be about politics as usual. Well, I think he was the only one listening, and the only one on board, because his stab at decency looks like he's the only one trying to do something different to save our sorry asses, while the Republicans show their true colors. If they think the way the majority of Americans are thinking, then we are a pathetic nation. Those Americans really are zombies bent of self-destruction.
Posted by: Limner | 17 July 2011 at 22:10