Sinophobia

Recently the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to the People's Republic of China to discuss mutual economic issues, namely enticing the Chinese to keep buying US bonds as the federal deficit started to sky-rocket in the name of stimulus. Naturally the Chinese are skittish about this deepening crater of debt since they already hold billions in US debt that are called Treasury bonds.

This skittishness by the Chinese and the climbing US debt have launched some really fascinating flights of fantasy along with exposing humanity's truly ugly side to such an extent it makes me ashamed to be of the same species. So far not read all their comments so can not honestly say if the Trilateral Commission is forgotten, but it seems every other nefarious cabal is mentioned.

Lets look at this unreasonable fear that the PRC is going to seize all of California to help repay all the Federal debts. First I would hazard a guess that the US Senate would have to ratify this exchange of US property for federal debt. Such things as Kyoto have failed to pass the Senate. So why would this?

Then there is the matter of Constitutionality. What these folks are implying is the federal government allowing state, county, municipal, and private land to be seized by eminent domain in one fell swoop. There is no way for the Federal Government to do this except by Congressional legislation. And lets assume Congress rolled over and made all of California federal property, I can not think of another thing that would set off the dissolution of the United States than the federal government nullifying the sovereignty of a whole state just like King George III did when he revoked Massachusetts's charter. Civil war in the heart of the United States would occur as states would fight to keep their sovereignty from being subsumed by an imperial federal.

Lets say there is no civil war over sovereignty and all the affected municipalities agree to this. But all the private property owners are out there. Some are billion dollar a year companies that would fight having a Chinese lien slapped on them. Then there are the parcels of land, buildings, and companies owned by foreign countries; I bet they would litigate this along with getting their national governments involved in calling China to task. And since China needs consumers of their products or their economy tanks, I would foresee the Chinese realizing this is a mess best left alone least it make fighting a land war in Asia seem like child's play.

So what could Sec. of State Clinton whisper in the Chinese Politburo's ear to make them amenable to buying more US debt? And still fit in with the theory that the Chinese want to seize parts of the United States? Well there are physical assets that wholly belong to the federal government the Chinese could demand as repayment in lieu of the US Dept of Treasury paying the debt off by printing more money, thus making the US currency and those Chinese held bonds less valuable. One springs to mind easily that would help the Chinese economically without annoying all of their trade partners. Though it would mightily annoy many American citizens. What am I talking about? China needs oil, internally they have very little so they import. Now imagine if they demand the right to drill in ANWR as repayment? Considering the Chinese record of environmental stewardship, the pipeline would be going in a year pumping oil down to Prince William Sound and then to China but at the cost of a devastated ecosystem.

Or if that did not satiate the Chinese dragon as it hungers for something more substantial than paper embossed with US Treasury on it there is another possible option. I guess President Obama's administration might possibly offer to swap all the newly TARP acquired federal investments in US banks as trade to get as many of those Treasury bonds out of Chinese hands and hence reducing the US debt. Then lets see all those derivative padawans try their tricks against the sharp Hong Kong trained cookies China would send to oversee their new investments.

Well that was an amusing diversion into la-la land but reality seems to suggest something else. It seems instead Sec. of State Clinton has promised the Chinese to not be as straight laced about human rights as the US used to be, in exchange for buying more US Treasury bonds. It seems the adage of reality not being as exciting as fantasy seems to hold true once again.