Markets in Turmoil

For all of the criticism of the United States, for all of the gloating overseas that the American "economic hegemony" is over, for all of the claims that China now matters more than the United States, that India matters more, that the European Union matters more, the United States STILL drives the world economy, and we are seeing no better an example of that fact than in the turmoil that has whipped through stock markets around the world since Friday, all of which have been in freefall over fears of an AMERICAN (note: I did not say "world") recession. Now, even after the Federal Reserve interceded and made a huge Prime Rate cut of 3/4 of a percent, global stock markets remain down: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080122/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street.

It bears repeating: We MUST get our economic house in order. The budget deficit MUST be eliminated. The national debt MUST be paid down and eventually eliminated. Our absurd trade deficit MUST be trimmed. And, all of this MUST be done soon. To fail to do so will imperil the futures of all of us, as well as (more importantly, in my mind) our children.