Another ‘emerging’ Market

“America is back,” said the President of all the Americans, “Anyone who tells you America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about.” Well, Dear Reader, we’re here to tell you: America is in decline. We can give it to you straight because we’re not running for public office. And if we were elected, we would immediately demand a recount. Anyone who tells you America is not in decline is either running for office…or not paying attention. In 1969, more than one out of every three dollars of income in the entire globe was earned in the US. That’s what the IMF’s World Economic Outlook tells us. By 2000, that number had fallen…but not by much. The US still took home 31% of global income. But in the last 10 years, the US share has fallen hard — ...

We arrived at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai after President Obama had left. As we were leaving, President Sarkozy was arriving. It is a Grand Hotel. They come. They go. Nothing ever changes. One of the problems with traveling so much is that you spend much of your time in a jet-lag fog. It was hazy when we left Mumbai. It is hazy in Kuala Lumpur. Was it the weather…or us? But when we read the news, our eyes opened wide. Friday’s jobless numbers were shocking. The latest figures show unemployment increasing, not going down. Here’s the New York Times write-up: The United States added a total of just 39,000 jobs last month, down from an upwardly revised gain of 172,000 in October, the Labor Department reported on Friday. With local governments shedding jobs, the additions in the private ...