At long last, a good portion of mainstream economists now concede that a double-dip recession is in the cards for the United States. To head off the pain, 16 top economists addressed an open letter to the president urging him to "stimulate" the economy with a massive new round of government spending. We feel this is a recipe for driving a recession into a depression.

However, there can be few doubts that such a move is being considered in the highest policy circles. Flush from victories in financial regulation and healthcare, the administration may feel the conditions are ripe to push through another bold initiative.

If so, the United States may find itself in a very diminishing bloc of nations that fail to appreciate the magnitude of the global debt crisis. Its policies will become increasingly at odds with the drift of other world powers. Given American dependence on economic

support from abroad, the risks of such isolation are significant.

On July 20, United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron made his first official visit to the US. At a joint press conference that followed the private meeting, President Barack Obama and Cameron papered over the fundamental economic disagreements that separate their governments.

At his core, Obama is in favor of spending his way out of the current recession. Most of the post-World War II occupants of the White House have followed the same course. Although the policy is short-sighted, it serves nevertheless to protect the competitive advantage of keeping the US dollar at the heart of the international monetary system.

Spending expands global credit and creates the illusion of an invincible dollar, increasing the system's popularity at home and abroad. In a self-perpetuating feedback mechanism, the dollar's unique international position allows it to get away with even more spending.

Many international economists, bankers and politicians now believe the US has overplayed its hand. At the recent Group of 20 meetings, America was at odds with the other major powers, which favored major cuts in government spending even if the result was a deeper short-term recession.

Part of this can be explained by currency movements. The Greek debt crisis threw doubt on even financially sound nations like Germany and ravaged the European common currency. Wishing to save the euro from the dustbin of history, the Germans and their allies within the EU have dug in. The sentiment even had an effect on the UK elections, which put the Conservatives into power with a mandate to strengthen the government's balance sheet and buck up the pound sterling.

On the other hand, Washington's profligacy has done little yet to dent confidence in the greenback. As a result, the Obama administration senses no need for caution. This hubris will prove costly.

On paper, the United States appears to be the world's richest economy. However, she is also the largest debtor. If unfunded obligations are added to the US$14.1 trillion official Treasury debt, the total would exceed $60 trillion, or 430% of 2009 gross domestic product.

If deficits and the disguised costs of Obamacare are included, the bill gets even larger. Despite this, the US government retains its treasured AAA credit rating, at least in the eyes of disgraced Western ratings agencies. Meanwhile, according to the seemingly less-biased Dagong International Credit Rating (DICR) agency of China, the US has been downgraded to AA-. Given its debt levels, even that rating may be overly generous.

According to the DICR, only Australia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland retain their prized AAA rating. Canada, China, Germany and the Netherlands have been downgraded to AA+. France, Japan, South Korea and the UK join the US at the disturbing AA- level. However, if Cameron delivers on his promised 25% cut in government spending by 2015, the UK may regain a higher rating.

On the other hand, Obama has bragged that Americans should "make no mistake, we are headed in the right direction". More disturbingly, his administration has put forward the absurd notion that government spending achieves a 3:1 multiplier versus private spending (meaning every dollar of government spending will "pay for itself" by generating three dollars of private economic activity). Sensible economists suspect that the reverse is true: every dollar of government spending sucks between one and three dollars from the wealth-creating private sector.

It appears that America is now set on the sanguine "progressive" path of stimulus and inflation. Our rejection of the other great powers' new-found maturity will push our recession into a depression, reduce our credit rating, and raise our already vast borrowing costs. Meanwhile, the rest of the world may not even notice we've fallen. Cool heads should plan accordingly. 

John Browne

 Senior Market  Strategist

Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.

20271 Acacia Street, #200 Newport Beach, CA 92660

Toll-free: 888-377-3722 / Direct: 203-972-9300 Fax: 949-863-7100

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John Browne is the Senior Market Strategist for Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. Mr. Brown is a distinguished former member of Britain's Parliament who served on the Treasury Select Committee, as Chairman of the Conservative Small Business Committee, and as a close associate of then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Among his many notable assignments, John served as a principal advisor to Mrs. Thatcher's government on issues related to the Soviet Union, and was the first to convince Thatcher of the growing stature of then Agriculture Minister Mikhail Gorbachev. As a partial result of Brown's advocacy, Thatcher famously pronounced that Gorbachev was a man the West "could do business with." A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Britain's version of West Point and retired British army major, John served as a pilot, parachutist, and communications specialist in the elite Grenadiers of the Royal Guard.

In addition to careers in British politics and the military, John has a significant background, spanning some 37 years, in finance and business. After graduating from the Harvard Business School, John joined the New York firm of Morgan Stanley & Co as an investment banker. He has also worked with such firms as Barclays Bank and Citigroup. During his career he has served on the boards of numerous banks and international corporations, with a special interest in venture capital. He is a frequent guest on CNBC's Kudlow & Co. and the former editor of NewsMax Media's Financial Intelligence Report and Moneynews.com. He holds FINRA series 7 & 63 licenses.

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