Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
Geithner, who took office this week, said Jan. 22 President Barack Obama believes China is “manipulating its currency,” suggesting the new administration may take a tougher line with the biggest foreign buyer of U.S. government debt.

So how precisely do you "take a tougher line" with the guy who's bankrolling your current account deficit?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd think that it's the other guy who's got the leverage in this situation, at least until you start doing something serious about not having a current account deficit that needs to be bankrolled anymore...

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Thu Jan 29th, 2009 at 02:43:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
... take a tougher line, as in lines of dialog from a script ... that is, he's not talking about taking tougher actions, but only about acting like someone who's tougher.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 29th, 2009 at 04:03:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh. Right.

And how is belligerent posturing supposed to help again?

I must have missed that memo.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Fri Jan 30th, 2009 at 01:45:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It will impress Republican Congressman and open the way to a wonderful new era of bipartisan comity as politicians of middle and right sit down and get serious about solving the country's problems rather than playing partisan politics, creating, in effect, a centre-right to radical right government of national unity.

Just like watering down a stimulus package with corporate tax cuts with little or not multiplier impact, actually, and look what a tremendous success that was in generating broad based bipartisan support.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Jan 30th, 2009 at 08:47:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh. Right.

Change we can believe in, indeed.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sat Jan 31st, 2009 at 04:52:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:

Occasional Series