Cay: The domino effect

In this age of terrorism, economic independence from the U.S. is a good thing. That's what the Cayman Islands discovered in the wake of 9/11, and challenge the government faces is how to create an economy that is less dependent on the U.S. for its prosperity.

The article is worth reading if only to help one understand the interdependence of the global economy. What happens to the U.S. affects not just the American economy, but also those related and inter-woven economies, such as in the Caribbean.

The Islamic nuts might tell themselves that a blow at the U.S. and the West will see the rise of Islamic fortunes around the globe. However, that kind of thinking is fantastical at best and unrealistic at worst. The fact is, if the U.S., the world's fastest growing economy, takes a major hit, expect the global economy to fold. China will lose its largest market and be even more unable to fund its oil and raw material purchases around the globe. Tourist-oriented economies in Europe, the Caribbean, and other parts of the world will also be devastated. As for the Islamist notion that they will be on top of the dung heap because they control the oil ... Fox News recently did a report on a trio of students who produced a model car with an extremely high fuel efficiency ratio -- something like several hundred miles per three inches of gas. (Wish I could find the link.)

As the Caymans have realized, terrorism is not an American problem; it's a global one. The Caymans will realize, as will the rest of the world, that it is not possible to have an economy that is separate from the U.S.