FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
There's a saying that "When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold."
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And that's why the ripple effect of the debt ceiling crisis in Washington reaches far beyond our borders.
The whole world has been watching - and worrying - as Congress carried on like children the past few weeks, threatening to send the U.S. into default.
A piece in The Daily Beast suggests that the debt ceiling debate was "the most disturbing sign to date that a global economic system that hinges on the United States is a system waiting to crash."
A growing number of experts suggest it's past time to come up with an alternative to the dollar and to U.S. Treasuries in the global market.
One of the first signs that America's economic leadership was unraveling came with the financial meltdown of 2008. And since then, the situation has only become more dire.
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is accusing the U.S. of living beyond its means "like a parasite" on the global economy.
Putin says if there's a "systemic malfunction" in the U.S., it will affect everyone. And he's right about that.
So it's no surprise everyone from Saudi Arabia to China to Canada has questioned the antics in Washington surrounding the debt ceiling.
And - even though President Obama has now signed the debt bill into law raising our borrowing limit, there are still jitters in international markets that the U.S. credit rating could be downgraded.
For countries that hold billions - or trillions - of dollars of U.S. Treasuries that's not good news.
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Kathy:
Major U.S. corporations and financial institutions are U.S. in name only and have no allegiance to the U.S. at all. They have already turned to new emerging markets around the world to take the place of U.S. consumers and U.S. manufacturing. If unchecked by the lawmakers they have "purchased", they will continue to invest in other countries, suck this country dry and then leave for greener pastures with their money safe in off-shore accounts, leaving behind a third world replica of the U.S.
Jimmy:
No! We've had a few economic idiots advising and leading the U.S. but there has been one person for years talking about our poor economic policies and only now he is being heard. Rep. Ron Paul has been leading on these issues for many years. He is the best candidate in 2012 to lead us out of this economic disaster.
Annie in Atlanta:
Pssst… it has been for a while. Free Trade Agreements anyone? We're only here to enhance profit driven corporate greed, and becoming less useful to them by the day as the people of China and India are now creating a consumer class.
Jenna in Roseville, California:
You bet, Jack. Just look at how the stock market reacted to the farce of a "compromised" Debt Ceiling bill passage. The markets aren't stupid. Anyone who voted FOR this bill should be packing up their offices now because they won't be re-elected.
Larry in Georgetown, Texas:
Duh, yes. Good jobs have been shipped overseas and replaced with low paying service jobs. Greed is now legal and we are more divided as a nation than anytime in our history. We haven't hit bottom YET but when we do it will be 10 times worse than the Great Depression.