That was some good info there...although in the future could you post the Cliff notes version so it doesn't take me 1/2 hour to read.
Who is Cliff and when and why did he make a (presumably abridged) version of what I wrote?
The reason I mention the United States dollar as being so important is because the entire world is affected by the US economy. If the US economy shrinks so does everyone elses. I'm not exactly sure why, but its true.
Notwithstanding the economic rise (until recently) of China, India, etc. which, had it not been severely dented by the present recession, looked set to have changed the face of that for the foreseeable future, it is true that this recession has brought us all back to the good old days of "if America sneezes, the world catches cold" (and there remains no cure for the common cold). That said, every country's economic performance affects almost every other country's to greater or lesser degre, since most countries have economic relations with many others, including lending and borrowing as well as trading.
I think what you were getting at is all countries are printing money that is not backed up by gold and silver (especially the USA.)
In Britain, the government has sold off most of our gold reserves but, even had it not done so, printing money for the sake of it doesn't do any good in the long term if it is not and cannot be backed up with collaterl of equivalent value.
Don't eat your piano; it'll give you indigestion and you'll then have nothing to practise on!
Best,
Alistair
Topic: Recession.