Dimes To Doughnuts

I was talking with a friend of mine at work the other day, and I asked him how he liked being part of the third world. I made this query after hearing that the dollar had continued its precipitous drop, and the United States' hold on the top spot on the chart seemed to be slipping. The British Pound is doing quite nicely, thank you, just as the Euro continues to be more and more valuable. Asian currency is making strong movement as well, and us here in the land of the free and home of the brave? Well, we think we might be entering a recession.
Might be? What sort of indicators would help us come to grips with this realization? I think of the 1979 film "Americathon", in which a telethon is organized to save the U.S. form being repossessed by native Americans. President Chet Roosevelt, ably played by TV funnyman John Ritter (God Rest His Soul), has been elected on his one and only campaign promise: "I'm not a schmuck!" He aims to make good on that, and bring America back from the brink of bankruptcy. Set in 1998, who could blame the filmmakers for missing by ten years the actual date of foreclosure.
The powers that be continue to refer to what is taking place as a "slowdown", but from where I'm sitting it's hard to see it as anything but a "smackdown". When something actually hits the wall and stops moving, it is no longer slowing down. This is where we could use Doctor Leonard McCoy to pop up and tell us, "He's dead, Jim." Step one is always the same: admitting that you have a problem. The sad irony is that Democrats will happily trumpet the onset of fiscal instability until they get their guy or gal in there, and then suddenly the "R" word will disappear from the lexicon again.
But for now we can relish the opportunity to discuss the problem of living in an economy that is taking on water fast. And don't forget to wave at the friendly boaters passing us by, the ones from China, and Japan, and Europe, and Australia, and Brazil, and even Sri Lanka.