I like to remind myself in any discussion about China that they're attempting to move from a feudal economy to a market economy in less than a century. Tienamen Square may have killed 10,000 people but they've got a billion and a half citizens. And they're building up a middle class as fast as they can. Which means energy. Which means oil. Which is why they have a most-favored-nation status with Kazakhstan. Which is why they're heavily invested in Nigeria. Which is why they have a trillion dollars in One Belt One Road. I've heard it argued a few times that Putin is attempting to jump into the vacuum left by the US abandonment of the Middle East. China's already there. here's what I know: China bears me no ill will. But a Pakistan with close ties to China has a lot less interest in my well-being than they do in the well-being of China. And there's a lot of ill will in Pakistan. Always has been, always will be. We're all so overwhelmed with daily dumbshit from the White House that the slow and steady severance of ties with our once and former empire barely gets a mention. This is in the back pages of CNBC, only linked because Seeking Alpha sends me a news summary every day. The more places trade on your reserve currency, the fewer places likely to go to war with you. As an American, the more places trading in dollars the better for me.
There's definitely a lot of frustration about decaying international relations and I'm kind of surprised myself that the media doesn't cover it more. NAFTA, for example, seems to be pretty important and it's crazy that you have to search for articles to see what's going on with that. Though I understand it's not as sensational and you know, if it bleeds, it leads. On the one hand, I'm worried because it's easier to to make enemies than it is to make friends. On the other hand, it's also easier to make amends and let bygones be bygones than it is to make friends from scratch, so I think there's still a chance for people in this and future administrations to patch things up. China's development with Pakistan though? I don't really know how worrying I should consider it. The way I see it is, Pakistan is their neighbor and China really takes regional stability seriously. At the same time, since we're one of China's largest trading parters, I can't help but think that our relationship with them will be in the forefront of their minds when they consider working with Pakistan. I think what I'm trying to say is that, even though the media seems to paint it the other way a lot, it strikes me that more often than not China's interests and America's interests are often generally in line with each other. So with that in mind, I guess I'm saying maybe this will be okay. I understand this. Though I have to wonder, the fact that we're such a major economy, even if people do stop trading in American dollars, doesn't our global presence still create a lot of clout for us? Not trying to argue here. Just trying to think this whole development through.As an American, the more places trading in dollars the better for me.
The Week has a little section called "Boring but Important." Golden showers? That shit'll pop up every week from now until the end of time. Pakistan's currency exchange vehicle? Good luck. The United States still has the world's largest economy, the world's largest refining capacity, and is the world's largest agricultural exporter. We're not going to become Portugal. For better or for worse, though, the position we enjoy is a position we have to maintain. We missed a lot of maintenance in 2017. 2018 doesn't look much better.
I think I'll put "Boring but Important" in my news rotation. One of my PBS stations recently changed their format and late at night, they're nothing but news. They have, in no particular order, BBC, DW, and NHK news programming as well as other random stuff like Nightly Business Report and it's all so much of a breath of fresh air. They literally make NPR's morning news sound sensationalist. Last night, because literally nothing else was on, I watched ABC's World News Tonight and it was awful. It was five minutes worth of commercials with two to three minute breaks of inane crap with splash graphics. At least, that's what it felt like. I'm gonna watch it again tonight to actually get a commercial to news ratio. I'm betting my estimate is not too far off. I don't know what 2018 is gonna bring for any of us. I'm gonna hope for the best and just in case, do what I can to batten down the hatches on the home front.