2003-03-16 I don't see this as off-topic, but very connected. I am not advocating, as you put it for "obliterating" the US economy. That would be foolish on my part, since I live and work here. However, I feel that without some external force to give metrication a big push, it will never happen. Economic reasons are always the most compelling.
As long as dollar hegemony exists, most US businesses will see no need to metricate. Some industries who export (more truthfully also have factories in other countries) have gone metric. But, most have not or don't intend to as long as they can export FFU with no problem. And this "status quo" will continue as long as dollar hegemony exists. Euroisation is just the catalyst, the starting point. To make the world more dependant on each other and not just dependant on the US will force the US to be more of a team player and less of a dictator when exporting and/or importing. Ending dollar hegemony may not force congress to initiate a plan for metrication, but it could create a greater demand for metric via the "back-door" approach. businesses that export but have not gone metric may be forced to as customers overseas become more demanding of it and less likely to accept FFU from the US. This can have a domino effect within the US as businesses forced to go metric will have to start procuring metric parts from other sources. If this can force the use of metric to above the 50 % level, then it will be easier for congress to act and finish the job. The end of dollar hegemony will mean the US will have to repatriate a lot of the jobs it exported. American's will have to produce products to export in order to earn hard currency to buy imports that can not be obtained from within. When you become a net exporter, you really have no choice but to metricate. Canada's motivation, along with all other countries that converted in the 1970s did so because they needed to be net exporters in order to survive. They needed to sell to the metric world and being metric themselves was the only way. However, in Canada's case, the US failure to metricate had a damaging effect on Canadian metrication. The end of dollar hegemony will also reinvigorate Canada's metrication program to. It is just a matter of time. I just don't see it happening any other way. Pleading and begging WILL not work. It hasn't so far. Neither will logic. You're idea of a world currency is wonderful, but it is far in the future when this will happen. Euroisation will prove that a collection of sovereign states can effectively pool their economies together. This will be a motivating factor for other regions to do the same. Spanish speaking South American countries could be the next block to have a common currency. Eventually the regional currencies will merge into a single world wide currency. Whatever the case, it is the end of dollar hegemony that will be the catalyst to US metrication. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Johnathan McClure" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, 2003-03-16 02:35 Subject: [USMA:25168] When Economics Becomes Off-Topic > kilopascal- > > While I appreciate your interest in global politics and share many of your > views, I fail to see the point of introducing into the e-mail groups > something so blatantly off-topic. It is one thing to talk about the EU and > its currency rising to the occassion as the US refuses to metricate- it is > another to talk about obliterating the US economy by divesting oil money. > > So may I suggest a more topical discussion -- a single currency standard for > the world? After all, we've got the metre, the litre, and the gram. Why > not the WorlDollar or the Terra? > > Regards, > > Johnathan McClure >
