10 Signs The U.S. Is Losing Its Influence In The Western Hemisphere

[St Louis Car 09]

If anyone didnt see this coming,then you dont get out much.I totally agree with this article.

 

We won't be the alpha dog in the western hemisphere forever.

 

Even if the U.S. hadn't crashed into a financial crisis, there are demographic, material, and political forces that have been spreading power around the Americas for decades.

 

Brazil is first among the BRICs -- four economies that are supposed to overtake the six largest Western economies by 2032.

 

Mexico is first among the MAVINS (Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria, and South Africa) -- six economies we expect to blow away expectations and become leading powers in their regions relatively soon.

 

Canada and Venezuela are oil powers of the distant future.

 

Peru and Chile are sitting on a fortune of metals and minerals.

 

All these countries are cranking up, while America faces plenty of fiscal and demographic problems at home.

 

Here are Signs the US Is Losing Its Influence In Its Own Backyard:

 

Our most powerful regional ally--Brazil--refuses to follow our orders on Iran

 

Hillary Clinton went to Brazil to beg support for sanctions against Iran and came away empty handed. Now the UN is counting on Brazil, which is friendly with America and Iran, to lead nuclear diplomacy.

 

The World's Richest Man is now a Mexican, not an American.

 

For the first time in 16 years, the World's Richest Man is not an American. Carlos Slim, worth $54 billion, is the first Latin American to hold that title and one of many emerging market billionaires to eclipse the U.S.

 

Three years after a US financial crisis, Latin America is again growing rapidly. The U.S.? Not so much...

 

Compare this to what happened during the Great Depression. Latin America was devastated when US investment dried up and the export market soured in the 30s. A League of Nations report said Chile, Peru, and Bolivia suffered the world's worst depression.

 

Today is quite different. Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico have led a buoyant recovery from the global recession, according to Reuters. The regional economy is expected by the UN to grow 4.3 percent in 2010. If the American consumer remains weak, Latin American exports will move elsewhere.

 

Chile produces 300% more copper than America--the former world leader in copper production

 

America used to lead the world in copper production. We produced 49% of the world's copper in 1929, according to this article from the archives. Today we produced 1.2 million tonnes yearly, compared to 5.4 million tonnes in Chile.

 

Brazil now produces over four times as much iron ore as the U.S.. We used to lead that industry, too.

 

America once led the world in iron mining. In 1892 we discovered the world's largest mine at the Great Lakes Mesabi Range. It was a wellspring for America's industrial might and the foundation of the rust belt.

 

Now we claim reserves at 2,100 mt. Seven countries claim higher reserves, including Brazil at 8,900 mt. We produce only 54 mt yearly, while Brazil produces 250 mt.

 

Canada and Venezuela will pass the US in oil production in the next decade

 

America produces around 9 million billion barrels of oil a day. Venezuela and Canada each produce around 3 million. But America's reserves are 21 billion barrels and may last less than a decade. Our oil-rich neighbors claim 99 billion bbl and 178 billion bbl, respectively, and will keep producing oil into the distant future.

 

Now Brazil exports over twice beef as much as we do

 

America used to lead the world in beef production. Although we still do, America exports only 800,000 mt of beef per year. Brazil exports 2,200,000 mt. Here's some ironic excerpts from a 1911 NYT article: "American-Canadian syndicate to have world's largest beef plant in Brazil... The chilled beef industry has never been tried before in Brazil and has only recently gotten under way in Argentina."

 

Brazil is now a critical partner for Russia, India, and China

 

The acronym coined by Goldman Sachs to describe the four key emerging powers has taken on a life of its own. Brazil, Russia, India, and China have held several summits and even discussed making a supranational currency -- that would pull the rug out from the US dollar.

 

What's important here is that global emerging powers have good relations and are inclined to work together. For instance, China just signed major contracts to build factories and high-speed rail in Brazil.

 

Brazil, Canada, and Mexico all invest a greater share of GDP in clean energy

 

A Pew survey found that Brazil invests 0.37% of its economy in clean energy. Canada invests 0.25% and Mexico invests 0.14%. America is eleventh in the world at 0.13%.

 

Hugo Chavez is still in power

 

The CIA has a notorious history of interventions in Latin America, supposedly targeting Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, Fidel Castro, Manuel Noriega, Rios Montt, Che Guevara, and many others. But they haven't stopped Hugo Chavez from railing against the United States for years. Clearly America has adopted a more passive regional strategy.

 

97 votes|Recommend thisEmailIMBookmark

[Messino]

Pretty much on point. Also the Brazilian stock market is hot right now. Its one of the emerging markets that everyone around the world wants to trade in and it is just growing and growing..

 

Chavez is the man, American politicians should stop hating on him so much..He does more for his country and has more oil in his country right now than Saudi Arabia has. Only Canada can match his oil right now.

 

And dont even start with Chile..

 

And talking about the American Govt intervening in south America..Kissenger and company had then Marxist leader Salvadore Allende assainated on 9/11/1973. Why? Because Chile has the worlds largest copper reserves like the article says and they didnt like that Salvadore was a marxist and brought the country out of high unemployment and wanted to raise copper prices..And its funny how Wikipedia claims he died of suicide when it is widely known he was assasinated. :tdown:

[Forest Glen]

Americans are consumers, not producers. All of the brain power comes from India and China. Americans no longer invent things or think. This generation is more concerned about playing the Xbox than learning math or science.

[Tokkemon]

Good thing I have Canadian citizenship to fall back on.

[St Louis Car 09]

I personally think our best period of inventions were from the late 1800s til the 1950s.Now every other country has taken our inventions and vastly improved on them.

[67thAve]

I'm also a Canadian citizen!

[Roadcruiser1]

This is why the American education system and every other system is losing to the world. We need to listen to the world for once and borrow their ideas and hire their scientist so they could work for us. After that I am sure we would win again. Among improving our education and everything else.

[SubwayGuy]

Americans are consumers, not producers. All of the brain power comes from India and China. Americans no longer invent things or think. This generation is more concerned about playing the Xbox than learning math or science.

 

While that is true, another big reason is the Generation X a**holes in suits who sold out our workers so that they could give themselves raises when they outsourced all of our operations and half of our customer service.

 

About the only thing they do in the US is have board meetings and file taxes here (in Delaware of course where taxes are lowest). When they get paid personally they shelter their shit in Cayman Islands accounts where they don't pay taxes (since the Swiss are SO not discreet anymore)

[B35 via Church]

Rather than go on a profanity laced tirade on why I think this is the case, I'll keep it civil.

 

Divide et impera, is what it boils down to.

 

Except it's not one nation that's weakened America's stronghold....

It's pretty much every nation vs. the US...

(hell, it's the US vs. the US in a lot of cases too - we're doing it to ourselves)

 

...and we don't see it.

That's the troubling part.....

 

 

 

Good article btw.

[R68 Subway Car]

And this is occuring because of:

 

1) A f**ked up, mismanaged education system.

 

2) Tree hugging a**holes who dont want us to drill anywhere for oil, even in uninhabited areas like ANWR.

 

3) Taxes which drive up our costs and hurt businesses around the nation, small and big.

[St Louis Car 09]

And this is occuring because of:

 

1) A f**ked up, mismanaged education system.

 

2) Tree hugging a**holes who dont want us to drill anywhere for oil, even in uninhabited areas like ANWR.

 

3) Taxes which drive up our costs and hurt businesses around the nation, small and big.

Not to mention unions,which scares away businesses.

[Citaro]

Not to mention unions,which scares away businesses.

 

That's the biggest bullshit i've ever herad. Brazil is strong because of its socialist gov. with Lula. Lula has strengthened the unions, he has increased welfare and public ownership of companies while regulating finance capital.

 

And Europe, especially northern european states have the most competitive economies in the world, although they have much stronger unions than the US, welfare and better education and higher taxes. Sweden is the most competitive economy in 2010, Germany exports more than the whole US and France has a strong internal markert, because of its strong unions.

 

China is the world's most powerfull economy because of the socialist market economy and the chilean economy isn't the result of the capitalist pinochet, but the socialist governments after his presidency. Venezuela and Iran aren't strong because of weaker unions. Africa and North America except Canada are the losers of the 21th century.

[St Louis Car 09]

That's the biggest bullshit i've ever herad. Brazil is strong because of its socialist gov. with Lula. Lula has strengthened the unions, he has increased welfare and public ownership of companies while regulating finance capital.

 

And Europe, especially northern european states have the most competitive economies in the world, although they have much stronger unions than the US, welfare and better education and higher taxes. Sweden is the most competitive economy in 2010, Germany exports more than the whole US and France has a strong internal markert, because of its strong unions.

 

China is the world's most powerfull economy because of the socialist market economy and the chilean economy isn't the result of the capitalist pinochet, but the socialist governments after his presidency. Venezuela and Iran aren't strong because of weaker unions. Africa and North America except Canada are the losers of the 21th century.

Hey I`m just saying.In this country,businesses are afraid of unions.There was a Wal-mart in canada that closed down once it found out that they were becoming unionized.People out here are calling Obama a "Socialist" and are afraid of real change.Wake up America!!!Capitalism and greed is killing this country and wonder why everything is "Made in China"

[Urbanfortitude]

That's the biggest bullshit i've ever herad. Brazil is strong because of its socialist gov. with Lula. Lula has strengthened the unions, he has increased welfare and public ownership of companies while regulating finance capital.

 

And Europe, especially northern european states have the most competitive economies in the world, although they have much stronger unions than the US, welfare and better education and higher taxes. Sweden is the most competitive economy in 2010, Germany exports more than the whole US and France has a strong internal markert, because of its strong unions.

 

China is the world's most powerfull economy because of the socialist market economy and the chilean economy isn't the result of the capitalist pinochet, but the socialist governments after his presidency. Venezuela and Iran aren't strong because of weaker unions. Africa and North America except Canada are the losers of the 21th century.

 

This basically comes down to the point that its not always the subject but the execution and handling of said subject.

[Citaro]

Hey I`m just saying.In this country,businesses are afraid of unions.There was a Wal-mart in canada that closed down once it found out that they were becoming unionized.People out here are calling Obama a "Socialist" and are afraid of real change.Wake up America!!!Capitalism and greed is killing this country and wonder why everything is "Made in China"

 

Ok it was a misunderstanding;)

[Roadcruiser1]

So therefore if America wants to be strong it might have to adopt some socialist policies like that would happen in a million years. Americans wouldn't surrender a bit to socialist polices even to some of the good parts that might be good for America.

[SubwayGuy]

China is not a powerful economy. Their government bullies their currency down to keep their prices low abroad.

 

Meanwhile millions of their own people live in poverty, die from known hazards that are allowed to be exposed to the public, and grow up mutilated and mutated. And if that's not enough they kill their young too.

 

China sucks. And the US needs to tell that country and its horrendous leaders to go to hell. And we need to stop importing the poison they are exporting around the world because they are too cheap to make sure that their products are safe.

[Citaro]

China is not a powerful economy. Their government bullies their currency down to keep their prices low abroad.

 

Meanwhile millions of their own people live in poverty, die from known hazards that are allowed to be exposed to the public, and grow up mutilated and mutated. And if that's not enough they kill their young too.

 

China sucks. And the US needs to tell that country and its horrendous leaders to go to hell. And we need to stop importing the poison they are exporting around the world because they are too cheap to make sure that their products are safe.

 

You forget that China was a poor country 20 ago. 52,8% of the people have lived in poverty in 1981 thanks to radical socialism. Thanks to the socialist market economy the poverty has fallen to 8,0% in 2001.

 

China is no longer just a low-Cost Producer, it is increasing its increasingly high-value products. Many cheap production is outsourced to Vietnam and other countries.

[SubwayGuy]

You forget that China was a poor country 20 ago. 52,8% of the people have lived in poverty in 1981 thanks to radical socialism. Thanks to the socialist market economy the poverty has fallen to 8,0% in 2001.

 

China is no longer just a low-Cost Producer, it is increasing its increasingly high-value products. Many cheap production is outsourced to Vietnam and other countries.

 

That country still sucks. Here is Beijing, major city. Their smog situation is worse than anywhere in the US:

 

 

Likewise the rural areas are an unmitigated environmental and health disaster.

 

I don't trust their statistics because they come from their own government. They are also held to a lower poverty standard than the US, so they're not on the same playing field. They have rampant government censorship over there too which may prevent the truth from ever really being known.

[Messino]

You forget that China was a poor country 20 ago. 52,8% of the people have lived in poverty in 1981 thanks to radical socialism. Thanks to the socialist market economy the poverty has fallen to 8,0% in 2001.

 

China is no longer just a low-Cost Producer, it is increasing its increasingly high-value products. Many cheap production is outsourced to Vietnam and other countries.

 

It may no longer be a low cost producer but their products are still low quality, not really high-value.. They are just charging more money for manufacturing of the same low quality products..I know people who get things manufactured there and have to constantly send the prrofs back because the colors are off or there are major mistakes that need correcting. He goes over to China frequently and then he comes back and says, no wonder why they are getting the proofs all wrong, These people are so cheap in these warehouses they keep most of the lights off and work in the dark to save money.

[Citaro]

It may no longer be a low cost producer but their products are still low quality, not really high-value.. They are just charging more money for manufacturing of the same low quality products..I know people who get things manufactured there and have to constantly send the prrofs back because the colors are off or there are major mistakes that need correcting. He goes over to China frequently and then he comes back and says, no wonder why they are getting the proofs all wrong, These people are so cheap in these warehouses they keep most of the lights off and work in the dark to save money.

 

ok, but China has no problems to sell its products. They have no trade deficit and their infrastructure isn't broken. They have HSR and brand new roadways. There is no reason for doubt that China is much richer than in the 1980's, the truth of the extreme increase in demand can not be denied.

[MTARegional Bus]

Good thing I have Canadian citizenship to fall back on.

 

I'm also a Canadian citizen!

 

 

Then Why do you guys live here? lol

I hate when people take advantage of this country, specially illegals.

 

 

Who cares if were are losing are Influence overseas,we have to think about Job creation,fixing are school System and fixing are economy Yet this suddenly Turing into a popularly contest.B)

 

Messino, If you like Chavez so much then move to Venezuela and see how much you like him .

[INDman]

We need to nuke someone, just pick some random country and show the world we still mean business.

[Citaro]

We need to nuke someone, just pick some random country and show the world we still mean business.

 

We should nuke you!:mad:

[INDman]

We should nuke you!:mad:

 

Relax dude, it's a joke....