ANOTHER ECONOMY BITING THE DUST – AT 9:59 A.M. ET:  Americans are understandably preoccupied by their own economic problems.  But we should be aware that a number of European countries, including ones that regularly lecture us, are also in trouble.  Their problems might become our problems before too long if Europe slips into a deeper recession.  From The New York Times:

DUBLIN — Ireland has formally applied for a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Brian Lenihan, the country’s finance minister, said Sunday.

Speaking on Ireland’s RTE radio, Mr. Lenihan said the application would be approved at a cabinet meeting later Sunday in Dublin.

The bailout would be in the tens of billions of euros, he said, adding that the final figure was subject to further negotiations.

His announcement ended a feverish bout of speculation on the rescue talks, which took on added urgency this weekend as the depth of the problems in the Irish banking sector became known to I.M.F. and European officials. People briefed on the talks said that the fear had grown that without swift action, a full-fledged banking panic might materialize on Monday.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Brian Cowen insisted that no form of debt restructuring would be on the table, despite a growing cry in Ireland and abroad for the bondholders — who financed the boom that has brought such a painful aftermath in this country — to share some of the pain.

COMMENT:  Yeah, what about that boom?  Where did it go?  It proves once again that economic prosperity on Monday is no guarantee of boom times on Tuesday.  Remember Japan, and how it would take over the world?  Why, the Japanese were buying American icons like Rockefeller Center and Columbia Pictures.

And today?  Japan struggles along, predicted Japanese dominance but a memory.

We're told that China will soon dominate the world's economy.  But China is plagued with problems, including an inability by the central government to control distant provinces. 

Other countries sometimes look ten feet tall to us.  It was only a few years ago when "Ireland's miracle" was being advertised.  No longer.  We wish Ireland well, and we wish ourselves well. 

November 21, 2010