Pittsburgh G-20: Three Points of View Converge at Three Rivers
James M. Roberts /
Pittsburgh is famous for its Three Rivers. The city was founded in 1758 at the militarily and commercially strategic point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converge to form the might Ohio. It is somewhat ironic, then, that as the G-20 leaders arrive in Pittsburgh this evening for a sumptuous dinner hosted by President and Mrs. Obama amidst exotic flora and fauna at the Victorian-era, glass-walled Phipps Conservatory, they bring with them three major proposals for discussion.
President Obama wants to impose upon China (and Americans) his “Framework for Sustainable and Balanced Growth” which would demand that American consume less and save more, while requiring the Chinese to ramp up domestic consumption and reduce its trade surplus (presumably by revaluing upward the yuan and making Chinese exports less attractive).
Unfortunately the President did not consult fully with the American people before he signed them up for this potential financial fitness regimen, nor does he have any way to enforce his framework (short of ceding American sovereignty to some sort of global UN police state). (more…)