Like Blanche DuBois, the United States is "down on its uppers." We rely on the kindness of foreigners to finance our government.

A Whole Lot of Kindness

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Oct. 16, 2009

These customers must be extending kindness. How else do you explain the massive purchase of Treasuries Securities? They're ignoring wars that we can't afford and defense expenditures equaling 50% of the world's total spending. They're also ignoring the giveaways to failed Wall Street firms and others plus the forgiveness of the executives in charge by assuring their ongoing positions and bonuses.

It would be easy for an investor to look at the United States and say forget about it. But they don't. As a result, we're able to function, at least for a while, as though we're not totally upside down. Of course, there's self interest involved. If we hit the skids, they're likely to feel the back draft. But their self interest serves us well right now.

But there's another take on our benefactors. A "new kid" on the advocacy new block is sounding the alarm. Economy in Crisis is the new media group and their publication is America's Economic Report Daily.

"The American sellout is happening faster than ever as our companies are being taken over in a buying frenzy by foreign investors – like piranha fish consuming its weakened prey. Many of these companies have taken one hundred or more years to develop and were the source of our wealth, strength, and living standards; now overnight, gone. We should be concerned and even outraged that our government let this happen." About Economy in Crisis

Economic Emergency has some well known political figures signed up. These include Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Pat Buchanan, Paul Craig Roberts, and former Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SD) are the headliners. There also Democrats listed including Danny Schechter, Dan Mercia, and independent commentator Thom Hartmann.

There is a good deal of finger pointing in the group's mission statement. Foreign investors are like a school of piranha rippling the flesh off this country by devouring our businesses. And it's the "government" that let it happen. This is curious. Is the government some sort of discrete entity operating on its own rather than an arm of the financial interests that buy and control those who make up the three branches?

The people are left out in favor of offering, "solutions to return America's former economic glory" by becoming a key information source showing how the "US economy is being drained by foreign competitors and how our standard of living is being diminished."

Where were these people in the 1980's when Ronald Reagan systematically destroyed the union movement? Where were they over the past three decades when wages have been essentially flat? Where were they when money polluted election after election giving us a bought and sold Congress and White House? Did they notice that we've been spending half of our budget on war and fighting a few lately that have nothing to do with defense? We've had a tech bubble and a housing bubble. The former ended poorly. The latter triggered the current disaster. What glory? When would that have been?

It looks like our benefactors are losing faith based on these percentage changes from Dec 08 through Jul 09. Is this a good time to start calling the foreign governments that keep us afloat nasty names?

You can tell a lot about a political advocacy group by what they leave out. This organization has some good points on trade agreements etc. but there is hardly any mention of people, other than in reference to "our living standards." Who knows? That might mean the living standards of the membership.

Even if the foreign investors are piranha, the feeding frenzy wasn't arranged by the fish. It was home grown; Made in the USA by the very people screaming for protection right now.

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