Thomas Friedman of the NYT. Shouldn't he register as a foreign agent ?

I can't think of anyone who's drumbeat for 'globalization' has caused more harm to the country. He has honorary Indian and Chinese citizenship: why isn't he required to be up-front about this and register as an agent of a foreign power, just like Billy Carter had to do over Libya ?

Will someone please explain how this doofus has gotten away with this 'World is Flat' crap for this long if not for M$M and greed ?

JamesWolcott.com and therudepundit.com, Friedman gets the evaluations he deserves.

Scamming whore that he is.

Most of the free market ideology foisted on this country over the last decade or so was bogus. Even Clinton would talk about how American workers needed to compete without ever having to explain how it was possible for someone with a mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc., to compete with someone making 12 cents/hr.

They trashed regulation as being anti-capitalist and now we will once again pay the price for letting gangsters take over markets. (IE., investing pension funds in hedge funds.)It'll be a redux S&L scandal on steroids.

But with no accountability for their wonderful handling of our finances, the let's-drown-it-in-the-bathtub gang morphed into the Holy Crusade Against Terrists. Now they're shoveling money to contractors and offshore bank accounts like there was no tommorrow... and with these a-holes driving, there's probably not.

If Americans would only work 60-70 hours a week for $10 a day we would be fully employed and keep our competitive edge.
You don't hear all this "living wage" BS in Bangalore. Friedman understands how oligarchies work. We should listen to his wisdom.

But seriously, someone like FDR is going to have to come into office in order to 'save capitalism' from itself, just like FDR did. I don't see these free-marketeer's waking up anytime soon...only AFTER the crash.

US savings rates at under 2% means that total savings are in the Housing Bubble, where mortgage bankers are raking in the money. Housing a.k.a. mortgage payments are what, something like over 50% of monthly incomes. So if median family income is $60,000 yr with $5,000 monthly you're population is vastly living on ( minus say 20% total taxes, federal, state, local taxes ).

With $30K - $12K taxes, that leaves $18K "disposable" income approximately for a family of four. Factor in car payments, car insurance, food, gasoline... Hey, there ain't much left at the end of the month even to buy the foreign made stuff being peddled at Wal-Mart.

is that globalization is a fact of life, and has been for over 20 years now. All other countries are dealing with it on a daily basis. Most of them successfully.

It was never discussed in the US, because everyone there thought it would be 'Americanization Of The Planet', and you wouldn't have to make any changes...you'd just get more prosperous.

Since there are 6 billion other people involved, that isn't the case.

It is causing turmoil and displacement and massive change everywhere...most of it to the good, but certainly harmful to those who refuse to recognize the facts, or who refuse to change.

Don't blame the messenger.

Globalization will continue even if Friedman retired tomorrow.

Globalization will continue even if Kucinich became President tomorrow.

As the old saying goes...adapt or die.

according to World Bank. You cut US consumption and you are slowing draining the world's economic engine of its oil, metaphorically speaking.

Adapt or die ? The rest of the world needs to 'make up for' the declining US consumption. That's not going to happen on their labor-arbitraged competitive advantage wages.

Wake up or die, world !