Louise Cooper: "... America's stupid politicians can't do a deal and think a default by the world's largest economy is something to do ..."

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Budget, debt limit fight hurts U.S. image abroad
By Mark Phillips, October 16, 2013



Across the world, the influence of the American economic model -- work hard, set your markets free, provide stable government -- has taken a hit.

"Clearly, America can't teach the world how to run an economy, and clearly it can't teach the world how to run government, to be brutally frank," says Louise Cooper, an international market analyst.

Seen from afar, the debt crisis that undermined the world's banking structure started in the United States. And now the recovery, already stumbling, is being threatened by U.S. political brinksmanship, as well.

"And now, here we are, threatening credit markets, the banking system, because America's stupid politicians can't do a deal and think a default by the world's largest economy is something to do," Cooper says. "It's utterly insane, and the rest of the world is kind of fed up."

And a short-term deal isn't seen as a solution here, either. The Europeans say the U.S. has been telling them to deal with eurozone problems now, but from here, it seems the U.S. is taking the can and kicking it down the road.
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