Who Owns America?

In 2005 The Washington Post reported that Asian investors were buying U.S. mortgages at a record pace. Also pouring money into American banking were Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia. Given the economic outlook at the time, some raised red flags that this type of investment might lead to a weakening of the American economy because it only supported consumption as opposed to manufacturing or employment of American workers. The primary economists in the Bush administration who are strong believers in supply-side economics said that this was a sign of a strong and growing economy. Pointing to the attractiveness of American business to foreign investors the Bush economists said we had nothing to worry about.

Turn the page to 2008, our country is running headlong into recession with home foreclosures at record levels and unemployment on the rise. To counteract this trend the Bush administration has decided to give us a tax refund. But wait, we have a budget deficit. Where on Earth is that money going to come from? You guessed it, Asia and the Middle East. So now with a serious foothold in the U.S. real estate market, billions in treasury bonds and a growing trade advantage foreign countries are poised to supply the cash for more of the fantasy-world spending of the never-conservative Bush administration. Can nobody see where this might be leading?

This type of economic control over American properties makes virtually every American subject to the economic whims of foreign investors. They literally have the power to cripple our economy by calling in all of their markers. Beyond that, they now own large tracts of American real estate giving them a territorial foothold should they decide to begin using that real estate for something other than housing Americans or American businesses. As more and more Americans are defaulting on their mortgages, the foreign banks are amassing mountains of American real estate that they can sell or redevelop as they see fit. How can this be a win for America?

As an economic conservative that believes in the merits of taxation only for the necessary and the building of sustainable economic foundations for long term growth, it sickens me to hear any within the Bush administration refer to themselves as conservatives. These backwards nitwits have no clue about the fundamentals of long term growth and merely replace tax and spend liberalism with borrow and spend idiocy. The neo-con-artists try to fool us with bible pounding and nationalism while raping our economy for a quick profit. We are mortgaging our future by selling off our country to Asia and the Middle East and it is our children, who members of the Bush administration clearly care nothing about, that will pay the cost. For true conservatives these are dark times. The Democrats are not conservative, albeit more fiscally conservative of late than their counterparts in that they want to actually pay as they go, and the Republicans have forgotten what conservative means. What hope can there be for the long term economic health of America with either party holding the reigns?

Americans don't own a good portion of America any longer and we should all be worried about the long-term impact of that. Even if the American public rebounds from this recession, we will still be looking at weak economic fundamentals as long as foreign investment holds such a significant portion of our assets. Even when Americans can begin to afford their mortgages again, the money will be flowing out of the U.S. economy into Asia and the Middle East. The smart American investor is now not investing in the U.S. but in Europe and Asia because their long term economic outlooks are better than ours. With the European Union getting stronger economically and Asia being the world's primary supplier of consumer products it only makes sense to invest there just as it makes sense for them to invest in our cheap real estate and massive consumer debt with huge profit potential. The problem for America is that the investment coming here is not creating jobs and therefore is not a catalyst for growth. Our land is finite as are our natural resources that will not last forever. If we don't begin to invest in our workers and finding new ways to insert American products and services into the global economy we will wither and die. The foreign investors can always pull out their money and leave us out in the cold. We have to be able to stand on our own two feet and make it without their help if we are to survive.