ussian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, disgusted by Washington's rancorous battle over the debt crisis, says the U.S. is living beyond its means, "like a parasite" on the global economy. Other nations are also gloating. The state-controlled Xinhua newspaper in China, which owns a fortune in U.S. bonds and currency, called Congress's flirtation with default "dangerously irresponsible." Did the fight over the debt ceiling do irreparable harm to America's global economic leadership?
The U.S. is now a laughingstock: "The United States has made a fool of itself," says Philip Bowring at The Jakarta Globe. This fiasco shined a glaring light on America's dysfunctional political system "to the point of seriously damaging the U.S. position in the world." Not only that, but by making bond investors jittery, Washington will drive up the cost of borrowing for everybody. Thanks a lot, America.
"A global laughingstock, U.S. politicking could hurt us all"
And Congress' last-minute deal failed to undo the damage: This ugly fight was like a "scary movie," says China's Global Times in an editorial, and the ending was nothing to cheer about. The 11th-hour agreement merely allowed a country mired in debt to borrow another $2.4 trillion. All that does is send the U.S. "sinking further into quicksand," and every country that holds U.S. debt will suffer if the bottom falls out of America's economy. Sadly, there's no longer any point in trying "to talk sense into the U.S."
"U.S. debt deal merely delays pain for all"
Blame the Tea Party for making Uncle Sam look bad: Everyone's glad "the prospect of financial Armageddon appears to have been averted," says Britain's Independent in an editorial. But the debt ceiling — a "nonsensical legal cap" on Washington's ability to borrow money — is still in place. "And as long as a generation of Republican politicians feel entitled to hold a gun to the head of the credit of America to secure their political ends — disaster will never be far away."
"Disaster postponed"
- How typeface influences the way we read and think
- The last word: He said he was leaving. She ignored him.
- WATCH: Australia's army chief demonstrates how you address sex abuse
- Reports: Sopranos star James Gandolfini is dead
- Ben Bernanke to Wall Street: It's the beginning of the end
- The FBI has purposefully — and, it says, justifiably — shot 150 Americans since 1993
- The world is way, way bigger than you
- 32 TV shows to watch in 2013 [Updated]
- The culture war is over, and conservatives lost
- Why labeling obesity as a disease matters
- Michael Hastings, remembered
- How typeface influences the way we read and think
- Former employees say Bank of America lied to a lot of homeowners
- How immigration reform could save taxpayers nearly $1 trillion
- The last telegram ever is about to be sent
- The last word: He said he was leaving. She ignored him.
- WATCH: Australia's army chief demonstrates how you address sex abuse
- The daily gossip: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have allegedly chosen a baby name, and more
- Can fetuses masturbate?
- What language is your baby speaking?
