China and the U.S.: Till debt do us part

It's like a bad marriage. The U.S. and China are tied to each other in more than a trillion ways. For the time being, both endure this partnership for the sake of their dependents and their own well-being.

The two countries will make nice today at the World Economic Summit in London. They will smile at each other through clenched teeth, but the dislike and distrust between the two are painfully obvious. They fool no one.

It was a marriage of inconvenience right from the start. A divorce is inevitable. The question is: How long will it continue and, when the inevitable breakup occurs, how much damage will be inflicted?

Opposites attract, but this paring is ridiculous. China is pushy and domineering: The U.S. mild-mannered and reserved, generous to a fault.

China rules its citizens with an iron hand. They have no rights. Our citizens have plenty of rights, including the right to change and control our government.

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"Who, me? I can't be bothered with the affairs of government. It's time for my favorite reality TV show!"

We live like kings. We have exhausted our vast resources and allowed our government to run up a debt it may never be able to repay. China keeps its dependents on a tight leash. They live on the edge of poverty and, even the most productive of its citizens, have few luxuries.

Most of us, like our government, spend all that we earn and then some. We have no reserves. China and its citizens are savers. They invest most of what they earn. It is not surprising that China is now the U.S.' biggest creditor.

The U.S. needs China in order to survive the current economic crisis and beyond. It is hopelessly dependent and getting more so each and every day. China, on the other hand, needs the dollar to remain strong in order to make good on its investments.

China would like to crush the U.S. It hates capitalism and all that it stands for, but it doesn't dare rock the boat. The U.S. has little choice but to play along. We are broke. We have destroyed our manufacturing base and have given away what resources we have not squandered. We allowed our superior technology to be transferred both overtly and covertly.

China has become a manufacturing giant. Some of her products are made by people she has enslaves in her prisons, while we look the other way. Our companies prop up this brutal regime to have their products manufactured in China at a fraction of what it would cost in the U.S. Our citizens do the same to obtain cheap luxuries we cannot afford.

The U.S. is a powerful world leader, largely due to the amount of money we spread around the world and our powerful military. That is about to change: Much of the money we have been spreading around is owed to the Chinese. By necessity, our military is shrinking while China is in the process of a massive military buildup.

Let's kick this can down the road. If this marriage were to dissolve and things get ugly, which country likely would survive?

Solomon is regarded as one of the world's wisest men. Who can argue with the wisdom in his book of Proverbs?

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. (10:15)

Solomon's admonition against borrowing holds this sobering truth:

The rich rule over the poor and the borrower becomes the lender's slave. (22:7)

We have been partying like there is no tomorrow.

He who loves pleasure will become poor;
Whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. (21:17)

Can we grow our way out of this recession? We've done it before, but our problem is that, during the good times, unscrupulous politicians spend the surplus.

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
Consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
Yet it stores its provisions in summer
And gathers its food at harvest. (6: 6-8)

Why do our elected representatives spend the surplus? They play into our desire to have something for nothing.

The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. (21:25)

How do we stop this madness? By taking our responsibility for oversight over those we send to Washington, seriously: Watch them. Call them to accountability and, when they fail to heed the call, dump them. It's not about political parties. It's about survival!

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. (12:24)