Putin says U.S. is "parasite on world economy"

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

B92
While one would agree with the above statement one would also question Mr
Putin's continuous support to US economy.Russian sovereign fund is one of the largest holders of US debt.Geopolitical trade offs we are not aware of?

There is no doubt that US actions(Q/Es)had a profund donward spiral to the rest of the world.Indeed rising food prices have been behind a lot of the unrest in the Middle-East.By extension you can argue Ben Bernanke prompted the Arab Spring.

So far quantitative easing just seems a prop up asset values although on condition you hold the right assets. As we've seen in the US - the largest user of QE - this has contributed to inflation and the erosion of savings.

Incidently QE could be "a small price to pay for keeping the US economy from a full-blown depression" but I doubt the situation is so dichotomous. QE is currency depreciation and all holders of US currency will get a substantial haicut on the value of their holdings. It's a shelter mechanism that buys you time to effect structural change. But if you don't change and just rely on QE alone then you'll just end up with a worse bust later and this is what has happened in US in the last three years.

There is also no doubt that in the last thirty or so years there has been a continuous shift of power to wall street and the military complex.It really is only a matter of time before there is some kind of revolution in America. Sooner or later the blue collar workers are going to turn off Fox news and realise they are being screwed by the bankers and financiers that run the country.

I agree!

with 14 trillion in debt, the health and pension sector struggling, I am just wondering how much of that money went to the defense department. When the terms are up on the bonds and treasuries, who will buy them. Maybe a big push to market oil in a different currency, and really bring the facts of life to the US, and we will see less of them. Less of those tourists would be sensational

Welcome into the future Putin. What you learned in the school is comming out. Just continue to promote Lenin and follow the methods of Stalin. As Lenin said" Imperialism is the finalisation of capitalism". in 21st century The Russian imperialism, is the new order and democracy. Be prepared for the next October Revolution. In 2017 I am sure you will be the next Tsar of the new UdSSR

Gee Putin that is what Russian neighbours say about Russia strange indeed or was it a ever expanding tumour well neither good say the least.

Bottom line -- their HUMONGOUS debt is still there ..... and is set to grow, and grow and grow to become EVER MORE AND MORE AND MORE HUMONGOUS STILL .....

http://www.federalbudget.com/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/us-debt-deal-may-be-too-little-too-late-2330317.html

http://www.etidbits.com/u-s-could-stil-lose-coveted-aaa-rating=6261

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5icCwdEiNKs0TOeFwr-H9n26F42dg?docId=CNG.7c1c54e901dd41e5218ea8421d86694b.2e1

"Countries like Russia and China hold a significant part of their reserves in American securities. There should be other reserve currencies,"... oh yeah? And what other reserve currencies do you have in mind Mr Putin? The Russian Rubble? The Chinese Yuan? The Euro has already become a de-facto reserve currency in Asia... as for the aforementioned currencies, who in their right mind will ever hold any of those currencies in their safe? I guess he employs Mickey Mouse as Financial Adviser. A bit rich coming from him! :)

If Putin is such a visionary, why did Russia buy such a large amount of U.S. bonds and treasuries. There are other reserve currencies, the euro for example. If he doesn't trust the U.S. to be a stable economy, he has a choice of what he wants to invest in. As he said this is a global economy, he is just complaining about his losses.

"And the creditor countries like Russia will lose big time.
The 6 biggest creditors in trillion of US dollars:

1. China 1,2
2. Japan 0,912
3. UK 0,346
4. Brazil 0,211
5. Taivan 0,154
6. Russia 0,125
(Joe, 2 August 2011 16:33) "

Of course the creditors will lose ..... but the debtor in this case has already lost -- your fig leaf that is. No more pretending to the world that you guys are money bags when you can't even afford that fig leaf on you!

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

B92
While one would agree with the above statement one would also question Mr
Putin's continuous support to US economy.Russian sovereign fund is one of the largest holders of US debt.Geopolitical trade offs we are not aware of?

There is no doubt that US actions(Q/Es)had a profund donward spiral to the rest of the world.Indeed rising food prices have been behind a lot of the unrest in the Middle-East.By extension you can argue Ben Bernanke prompted the Arab Spring.

So far quantitative easing just seems a prop up asset values although on condition you hold the right assets. As we've seen in the US - the largest user of QE - this has contributed to inflation and the erosion of savings.

Incidently QE could be "a small price to pay for keeping the US economy from a full-blown depression" but I doubt the situation is so dichotomous. QE is currency depreciation and all holders of US currency will get a substantial haicut on the value of their holdings. It's a shelter mechanism that buys you time to effect structural change. But if you don't change and just rely on QE alone then you'll just end up with a worse bust later and this is what has happened in US in the last three years.

There is also no doubt that in the last thirty or so years there has been a continuous shift of power to wall street and the military complex.It really is only a matter of time before there is some kind of revolution in America. Sooner or later the blue collar workers are going to turn off Fox news and realise they are being screwed by the bankers and financiers that run the country.
(Leonidas, 2 August 2011 11:15)

I never understood why states don't use simple, home economics in making budgetary decisions: unless you have a natural disaster, or pandemic of some sort, which requires drastic spending in order to maintain or get rid of, then you simply can't spend more than you earn. You really should be spending at least 5-10% less than you earn.

And if, over a period of a couple of years you encounter no issues, then of course, your own budgetary reserves would accumulate to the point where you have quite a bit of "rainy-day" money. Then, in the case of a natural disaster, for example, the burden on your state would be mitigated. You can still maintain the level at which the state receives revenue (you don't have to increase taxes) and can still keep spending levels constant (don't have to cut back on necessary programs or infrastructure investments), as your savings can hopefully be able to cover it. If not, then you can cut back on certain things and increase taxes to try and reach a balance until things peter out. Once they do, then return things to as they were before and your reserves will accumulate again.

The only thing you'd hope for is to have not many crises which would result in you dipping into those reserves too frequently, otherwise your tax levels will be consistently increasing, and I don't think that'll do much for enterprise and consumer confidence, not to mention economic growth.

I mean, if you were earning a salary of $50,000 a year, you wouldn't go ahead and try and buy a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz unless you could actually afford it. A lot of people can get a loan which can cover the price of that car, and if they can manage it, then great... But if things go wrong, then that loan for your car is just going to make the defecate hitting the proverbial fan messier. This mess accumulates when you start barely scrapping together to afford a larger TV than you already own, installing pay-TV, getting your house renovated, etc. (all of which, ironically, propel the economy through consumer spending).

Moral of the story = Something is really wrong when the amount you owe (US' federal debt) is greater than all of the assets you possess (US economy). In a lot of circumstances, but especially this one, the burden really falls on one culprit, and that's the US Government themselves. They have no one else to blame, really; I just feel sorry for the millions of hard-working Americans who vote for candidates expecting, time-after-time, for proper fiscal management and change, but still end up with megalomaniacs who not only infringe on the principles of liberty and freedom, but also tarnish a once powerful superpower's name through war and neo-imperialism.

Old soviet rhetoric that's all. Heard many times in my life coming from Moskow.

Anyway they Russian presidential election are coming soon (next year) and president Medvedev, he seems doesn't want to give the office just yet, well until Putin learns to address him by formal "you" rather "ti". After all he considers himself highly privileged coming St Pertersburg.

There is also no doubt that in the last thirty or so years there has been a continuous shift of power to wall street and the military complex.It really is only a matter of time before there is some kind of revolution in America. Sooner or later the blue collar workers are going to turn off Fox news and realise they are being screwed by the bankers and financiers that run the country.

Wishful thinking, the brains of the general population are mush from watching too much Fox news. And the trend is that Europe and the rest of the world will follow. Television is the current opiate of the masses, the great "equalizer".

(Stefan, 2 August 2011 14:33

You're making the assumption that the US is an egalitarian state acting in the best interests of its citizens.Well it doesn't because the levers of power have been taken away from its elected politicians by vested interests which hold both country and its people into ransome.A brief historical re-visit to 1907 US constitution and some of its provisoes regarding the control of money supply in US will give you an understanding why the US has come so near to default.

It's the same vested interests which will hold the next generation into ransom as much by refusing to pay for education,policing,health,pensions transport and public services which they defraud by their tax evasion.

If someone knows what a parasite is then by God Putin is the right man. Him being an ex KGB agent, hmm.....

I have a suggestion for Putin and China - start paying your bills from us allies with those us treasury bonds. Since those countries love the usa so much, they won't mind accepting us junk bonds as payment.

The USA has been in debt since the 1970s. When the heads of several european states made an ultimatum to washington, the latter threatened to devalue the dollar. USA economics 101, the only value it has is how 'great' it is. Nothing monetary.

You're making the assumption that the US is an egalitarian state acting in the best interests of its citizens.Well it doesn't because the levers of power have been taken away from its elected politicians by vested interests which hold both country and its people into ransome.A brief historical re-visit to 1907 US constitution and some of its provisoes regarding the control of money supply in US will give you an understanding why the US has come so near to default.

It's the same vested interests which will hold the next generation into ransom as much by refusing to pay for education,policing,health,pensions transport and public services which they defraud by their tax evasion.
(Leonidas, 2 August 2011 16:15)

I'm not making any assumptions, and I am aware of the '07 Constitution, but states have always acted like that. The only thing that differs is whether the government or external factors (i.e. the private sector) determine what those interests are - power, military strength, capital, land, resources, financial leverage etc. It's been like that all throughout the modern era; the only time governments are directly seeking approval from the people is during elections.

My comment was mainly that reflecting a utopic, capitalist scenario - one where the private sector stimulates most of the economics growth and wealth in the country, with the government maintaining a sensible budget and keeping an eye on inflation - and like anything utopic, you hardly see it.

"Moral of the story = Something is really wrong when the amount you owe (US' federal debt) is greater than all of the assets you possess (US economy). ...

(Stefan, 2 August 2011 14:33) "

Fortunately this is nonsense. See for example "Total Assets of the U.S. Economy $188 Trillion, 13.4xGDP" http://rutledgecapital.com/2009/05/24/total-assets-of-the-us-economy-188-trillion-134xgdp/

U.S. government debt is about $14.x trillion, of which $10.y trillion is held by Americans. Of the approximately $4 trillion held by foreigners, about a third is held by China, another third by Japan + UK, and the rest by everybody else, including Russia. Maybe Putin's unhappy about the low rate he's getting on his money (and with the passage of the debt ceiling agreement, it's started to fall even lower.) If Russia has more confidence in its own economy than in ours, it is free to invest in developing its own resources, including its people.

"Bottom line -- their HUMONGOUS debt is still there ..... and is set to grow, and grow and grow to become EVER MORE AND MORE AND MORE HUMONGOUS STILL ..... "
lowe

And the creditor countries like Russia will lose big time.
The 6 biggest creditors in trillion of US dollars:

1. China 1,2
2. Japan 0,912
3. UK 0,346
4. Brazil 0,211
5. Taivan 0,154
6. Russia 0,125

American Capitalism is proven to be useless. The world must look at the way that China operates Capitalism. Only then can a state achieve growth.

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

That's true. But keep in mind that Russia has much lower living standards, so it's hardly imaginable that they live beyond their means. The Russian wealth (well, of the state, not of the population) comes solely from natural resources, mainly oil and gas.

Putin is right !.

US - the Torchbearer of Imperialistic Capitalism is going down,
and,
Saudi-Arabia and EU will take over the Economical World lead.

China will also go down and have to submit to Japan Economically.

Communists are right in many respects regarding what they are against,
but they are wrong in going against GOD and Christianity and what belongs to that.

Arn.Sweden.

Welcome into the future Putin. What you learned in the school is comming out. Just continue to promote Lenin and follow the methods of Stalin. As Lenin said" Imperialism is the finalisation of capitalism". in 21st century The Russian imperialism, is the new order and democracy. Be prepared for the next October Revolution. In 2017 I am sure you will be the next Tsar of the new UdSSR

Gee Putin that is what Russian neighbours say about Russia strange indeed or was it a ever expanding tumour well neither good say the least.

"Countries like Russia and China hold a significant part of their reserves in American securities. There should be other reserve currencies,"... oh yeah? And what other reserve currencies do you have in mind Mr Putin? The Russian Rubble? The Chinese Yuan? The Euro has already become a de-facto reserve currency in Asia... as for the aforementioned currencies, who in their right mind will ever hold any of those currencies in their safe? I guess he employs Mickey Mouse as Financial Adviser. A bit rich coming from him! :)

Old soviet rhetoric that's all. Heard many times in my life coming from Moskow.

Anyway they Russian presidential election are coming soon (next year) and president Medvedev, he seems doesn't want to give the office just yet, well until Putin learns to address him by formal "you" rather "ti". After all he considers himself highly privileged coming St Pertersburg.

I agree!

If someone knows what a parasite is then by God Putin is the right man. Him being an ex KGB agent, hmm.....

with 14 trillion in debt, the health and pension sector struggling, I am just wondering how much of that money went to the defense department. When the terms are up on the bonds and treasuries, who will buy them. Maybe a big push to market oil in a different currency, and really bring the facts of life to the US, and we will see less of them. Less of those tourists would be sensational

There is also no doubt that in the last thirty or so years there has been a continuous shift of power to wall street and the military complex.It really is only a matter of time before there is some kind of revolution in America. Sooner or later the blue collar workers are going to turn off Fox news and realise they are being screwed by the bankers and financiers that run the country.

Wishful thinking, the brains of the general population are mush from watching too much Fox news. And the trend is that Europe and the rest of the world will follow. Television is the current opiate of the masses, the great "equalizer".

I have a suggestion for Putin and China - start paying your bills from us allies with those us treasury bonds. Since those countries love the usa so much, they won't mind accepting us junk bonds as payment.

"Moral of the story = Something is really wrong when the amount you owe (US' federal debt) is greater than all of the assets you possess (US economy). ...

(Stefan, 2 August 2011 14:33) "

Fortunately this is nonsense. See for example "Total Assets of the U.S. Economy $188 Trillion, 13.4xGDP" http://rutledgecapital.com/2009/05/24/total-assets-of-the-us-economy-188-trillion-134xgdp/

U.S. government debt is about $14.x trillion, of which $10.y trillion is held by Americans. Of the approximately $4 trillion held by foreigners, about a third is held by China, another third by Japan + UK, and the rest by everybody else, including Russia. Maybe Putin's unhappy about the low rate he's getting on his money (and with the passage of the debt ceiling agreement, it's started to fall even lower.) If Russia has more confidence in its own economy than in ours, it is free to invest in developing its own resources, including its people.

"Bottom line -- their HUMONGOUS debt is still there ..... and is set to grow, and grow and grow to become EVER MORE AND MORE AND MORE HUMONGOUS STILL ..... "
lowe

And the creditor countries like Russia will lose big time.
The 6 biggest creditors in trillion of US dollars:

1. China 1,2
2. Japan 0,912
3. UK 0,346
4. Brazil 0,211
5. Taivan 0,154
6. Russia 0,125

The USA has been in debt since the 1970s. When the heads of several european states made an ultimatum to washington, the latter threatened to devalue the dollar. USA economics 101, the only value it has is how 'great' it is. Nothing monetary.

"And the creditor countries like Russia will lose big time.
The 6 biggest creditors in trillion of US dollars:

1. China 1,2
2. Japan 0,912
3. UK 0,346
4. Brazil 0,211
5. Taivan 0,154
6. Russia 0,125
(Joe, 2 August 2011 16:33) "

Of course the creditors will lose ..... but the debtor in this case has already lost -- your fig leaf that is. No more pretending to the world that you guys are money bags when you can't even afford that fig leaf on you!

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

B92
While one would agree with the above statement one would also question Mr
Putin's continuous support to US economy.Russian sovereign fund is one of the largest holders of US debt.Geopolitical trade offs we are not aware of?

There is no doubt that US actions(Q/Es)had a profund donward spiral to the rest of the world.Indeed rising food prices have been behind a lot of the unrest in the Middle-East.By extension you can argue Ben Bernanke prompted the Arab Spring.

So far quantitative easing just seems a prop up asset values although on condition you hold the right assets. As we've seen in the US - the largest user of QE - this has contributed to inflation and the erosion of savings.

Incidently QE could be "a small price to pay for keeping the US economy from a full-blown depression" but I doubt the situation is so dichotomous. QE is currency depreciation and all holders of US currency will get a substantial haicut on the value of their holdings. It's a shelter mechanism that buys you time to effect structural change. But if you don't change and just rely on QE alone then you'll just end up with a worse bust later and this is what has happened in US in the last three years.

There is also no doubt that in the last thirty or so years there has been a continuous shift of power to wall street and the military complex.It really is only a matter of time before there is some kind of revolution in America. Sooner or later the blue collar workers are going to turn off Fox news and realise they are being screwed by the bankers and financiers that run the country.

If Putin is such a visionary, why did Russia buy such a large amount of U.S. bonds and treasuries. There are other reserve currencies, the euro for example. If he doesn't trust the U.S. to be a stable economy, he has a choice of what he wants to invest in. As he said this is a global economy, he is just complaining about his losses.

Bottom line -- their HUMONGOUS debt is still there ..... and is set to grow, and grow and grow to become EVER MORE AND MORE AND MORE HUMONGOUS STILL .....

http://www.federalbudget.com/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/us-debt-deal-may-be-too-little-too-late-2330317.html

http://www.etidbits.com/u-s-could-stil-lose-coveted-aaa-rating=6261

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5icCwdEiNKs0TOeFwr-H9n26F42dg?docId=CNG.7c1c54e901dd41e5218ea8421d86694b.2e1

American Capitalism is proven to be useless. The world must look at the way that China operates Capitalism. Only then can a state achieve growth.

Putin is right !.

US - the Torchbearer of Imperialistic Capitalism is going down,
and,
Saudi-Arabia and EU will take over the Economical World lead.

China will also go down and have to submit to Japan Economically.

Communists are right in many respects regarding what they are against,
but they are wrong in going against GOD and Christianity and what belongs to that.

Arn.Sweden.

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

B92
While one would agree with the above statement one would also question Mr
Putin's continuous support to US economy.Russian sovereign fund is one of the largest holders of US debt.Geopolitical trade offs we are not aware of?

There is no doubt that US actions(Q/Es)had a profund donward spiral to the rest of the world.Indeed rising food prices have been behind a lot of the unrest in the Middle-East.By extension you can argue Ben Bernanke prompted the Arab Spring.

So far quantitative easing just seems a prop up asset values although on condition you hold the right assets. As we've seen in the US - the largest user of QE - this has contributed to inflation and the erosion of savings.

Incidently QE could be "a small price to pay for keeping the US economy from a full-blown depression" but I doubt the situation is so dichotomous. QE is currency depreciation and all holders of US currency will get a substantial haicut on the value of their holdings. It's a shelter mechanism that buys you time to effect structural change. But if you don't change and just rely on QE alone then you'll just end up with a worse bust later and this is what has happened in US in the last three years.

There is also no doubt that in the last thirty or so years there has been a continuous shift of power to wall street and the military complex.It really is only a matter of time before there is some kind of revolution in America. Sooner or later the blue collar workers are going to turn off Fox news and realise they are being screwed by the bankers and financiers that run the country.
(Leonidas, 2 August 2011 11:15)

I never understood why states don't use simple, home economics in making budgetary decisions: unless you have a natural disaster, or pandemic of some sort, which requires drastic spending in order to maintain or get rid of, then you simply can't spend more than you earn. You really should be spending at least 5-10% less than you earn.

And if, over a period of a couple of years you encounter no issues, then of course, your own budgetary reserves would accumulate to the point where you have quite a bit of "rainy-day" money. Then, in the case of a natural disaster, for example, the burden on your state would be mitigated. You can still maintain the level at which the state receives revenue (you don't have to increase taxes) and can still keep spending levels constant (don't have to cut back on necessary programs or infrastructure investments), as your savings can hopefully be able to cover it. If not, then you can cut back on certain things and increase taxes to try and reach a balance until things peter out. Once they do, then return things to as they were before and your reserves will accumulate again.

The only thing you'd hope for is to have not many crises which would result in you dipping into those reserves too frequently, otherwise your tax levels will be consistently increasing, and I don't think that'll do much for enterprise and consumer confidence, not to mention economic growth.

I mean, if you were earning a salary of $50,000 a year, you wouldn't go ahead and try and buy a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz unless you could actually afford it. A lot of people can get a loan which can cover the price of that car, and if they can manage it, then great... But if things go wrong, then that loan for your car is just going to make the defecate hitting the proverbial fan messier. This mess accumulates when you start barely scrapping together to afford a larger TV than you already own, installing pay-TV, getting your house renovated, etc. (all of which, ironically, propel the economy through consumer spending).

Moral of the story = Something is really wrong when the amount you owe (US' federal debt) is greater than all of the assets you possess (US economy). In a lot of circumstances, but especially this one, the burden really falls on one culprit, and that's the US Government themselves. They have no one else to blame, really; I just feel sorry for the millions of hard-working Americans who vote for candidates expecting, time-after-time, for proper fiscal management and change, but still end up with megalomaniacs who not only infringe on the principles of liberty and freedom, but also tarnish a once powerful superpower's name through war and neo-imperialism.

You're making the assumption that the US is an egalitarian state acting in the best interests of its citizens.Well it doesn't because the levers of power have been taken away from its elected politicians by vested interests which hold both country and its people into ransome.A brief historical re-visit to 1907 US constitution and some of its provisoes regarding the control of money supply in US will give you an understanding why the US has come so near to default.

It's the same vested interests which will hold the next generation into ransom as much by refusing to pay for education,policing,health,pensions transport and public services which they defraud by their tax evasion.
(Leonidas, 2 August 2011 16:15)

I'm not making any assumptions, and I am aware of the '07 Constitution, but states have always acted like that. The only thing that differs is whether the government or external factors (i.e. the private sector) determine what those interests are - power, military strength, capital, land, resources, financial leverage etc. It's been like that all throughout the modern era; the only time governments are directly seeking approval from the people is during elections.

My comment was mainly that reflecting a utopic, capitalist scenario - one where the private sector stimulates most of the economics growth and wealth in the country, with the government maintaining a sensible budget and keeping an eye on inflation - and like anything utopic, you hardly see it.

(Stefan, 2 August 2011 14:33

You're making the assumption that the US is an egalitarian state acting in the best interests of its citizens.Well it doesn't because the levers of power have been taken away from its elected politicians by vested interests which hold both country and its people into ransome.A brief historical re-visit to 1907 US constitution and some of its provisoes regarding the control of money supply in US will give you an understanding why the US has come so near to default.

It's the same vested interests which will hold the next generation into ransom as much by refusing to pay for education,policing,health,pensions transport and public services which they defraud by their tax evasion.

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

That's true. But keep in mind that Russia has much lower living standards, so it's hardly imaginable that they live beyond their means. The Russian wealth (well, of the state, not of the population) comes solely from natural resources, mainly oil and gas.