Latest update April 21st, 2026 12:30 AM
May 12, 2020 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
“Because of the role that the U.S. dollar plays in global financial markets, strains in dollar funding markets overseas can disrupt financial conditions in the United States. To address severe strains in global short-term dollar funding markets, the Federal Reserve established temporary central bank liquidity swap lines (also referred to as reciprocal currency arrangements) with a number of foreign central banks” (Fed website). This swap line is with 15 countries with large US assets. There is no Caricom country in these elite countries and the rest of the world is de facto under US sanctions because trade and tourism and other service with the US is anemic or has completely stopped so other countries earning US dollars will be extremely difficult. What is Guyana and Caricom doing about their inevitable shortage of foreign exchange which could lead to possible food shortage, unemployment and eventually crushing of our economy? The US is using swap line as a geopolitical sword.
JP Morgan says that it will take US 10 to 12 years for US employment to return to pre-Covid shutdown level. In seven weeks 33.5 million apply for unemployment. The unemployment level is far worse because many have not applied because of crashing website or slow processing and the millions that are ineligible for unemployment benefits and estimated millions of undocumented immigrant. Fifty-two percent of small business survey says they will have to close permanently. This is indicative of a depression. Looking at history, every, about 75 years, a new global monetary system is implemented. The last reset was the 1944 Bretton Wood agreement which made the US dollar the world reserve currency.
During a depression or reset four solutions are implemented: 1) printing of money (inflationary), 2) cutting spending (deflationary), 3) debt restructuring (deflationary), 4) redistribution of wealth (deflationary). Humanity have learned from dealing with a disintegrating monetary system so we can innovate and improve. This financial crisis will likely increase self reliance by many countries because of the collapse of the supply chain. For some, the Covid-19 crisis is the first anthropocene- the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. There will be many in the future; whether pandemic or climate change triggered disasters. Prepare or fail.
Yours truly,
Brian E. Plummer
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Your children are starving, and you giving away their food to an already fat pussycat.
Apr 21, 2026
2026/27 West Indies Regional 4-Day Championships Round 2…GHE vs WWIV Day 2 – Volcanoes trail by 210 runs ahead of Day 3 By Clifton Ross Kaieteur Sports – Clinical half-century knocks...Apr 21, 2026
(Kaieteur News) – In 2025, there was a seismic shift in Guyanese politics. For years the established parties assumed voters would remain in their accustomed enclosures, dutifully choosing between familiar flags, familiar slogans, and familiar disappointments. But then something happened last...Apr 19, 2026
By Sir Ronald Sanders (Kaieteur News) –As with all my commentaries, this one is strictly in my personal capacity, drawing on more than fifty years of engagement with Caribbean affairs and a lifelong commitment to the cause of regional integration. I do not speak on behalf of any government or...Apr 21, 2026
(Kaieteur News) – The questions came before, are coming again. Former Minister David Patterson pushed questions in and out of parliament relative to the Wales gas-to-energy project and got nowhere. The Speaker of the National Assembly, like a Roman emperor, repeatedly gave the thumbs down. ...Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: glennlall2000@gmail.com / kaieteurnews@yahoo.com