I've seen these graphs going around social media and have brushed them off as being non-consequential. Often commentators of the graphs are quick to say things like, "It's all Obama's fault!" or "Yeah, you're right:  It was Bush's fault!" and so the blame game continues. I feel it is a bit childish and doesn't really address the fundamental issues on hand.

Rarely in finance do deals take effect on an arbitrary date. There's often a time lag when money is 'properly' spent under the governing accounting laws of the period (in the United States, the power of the purse theoretically rests with Congress). When a currency is perpetuated in debt, it leads to immoral practices and malinvestment. The malinvestment is never allowed to liquidate, creating/perpetuating moral hazard(s). It isn't allowed to happen because of interests in the deal that frankly shouldn't be there.

For instance, take the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insuring retail deposits for up to $250,000, causing a moral hazard in that firms are actually encouraged to take on more leverage than 'reasonably' necessary (and customers aren't told where their money is invested). Or, consider the Affordable Housing Act/Community Reinvestment Act, etc. which caused malinvestment/moral hazards because of cheap, inflated money. It's a currency issue, not a partisan issue. It's a philosophical issue, not a conservative or liberal one. It's really a human issue, but that is to be understood.

Allowing currencies to compete is not such a radical idea. The transition could take any arbitrary amount of years but the underlying understanding is that these things take time to deleverage, especially after such a period of time where events were allowed to "wind up." Unwinding is necessary. Contract law and civil law would need to take the jump forward. The problem with the governing accounting laws is that they are often behind the market. In the age of computing, it should not be hard to compute the numbers necessary and allow greater transparency. We are in an age when transparency should be encouraged and markets can assume their own risk.

As the US and Europe continue to struggle with their debt and deficit crises, Switzerland is beginning to feel an economic downturn as well. Exports are dropping off, manufacturers are struggling, and their central bank is trying desperately to keep their currency under control.

What is the problem in Switzerland? Their currency is strong....too strong.

Due to the fall of the Euro and Dollar over the past year, the Swiss Franc, historically regarded as one of the most stable currencies in the world, has seen its value skyrocket against the two major currencies. The reason for the strength is because they have a comparably competent government:  Their debt is a mere 53% of GDP, thanks to government surpluses the past two years, and projected surpluses every year until 2015. Unemployment in the country is also a tale of its economic strength, which sits at a paltry 3%, and the nation's GDP is expected to grow by 2% next year. As a result, the Swiss Franc has become a safe haven for investors worldwide, as more and more people are putting their money into Swiss bank accounts.

In a new poll conducted by CNN, most Americans view China as an economic threat. However, the question is should we fear the Chinese?

Many hawkish conservatives and liberals in the media intentionally try to depict China our potential or perhaps future enemy. Maybe it is because China's influence is growing or that China is now the second largest economy in the world. However, despite these depressing facts,the fact of the matter is that Americans should not fear China (at least I don't think so).

As savage and cruel as some aspects of Chinese culture and government may be (i.e animal cruelty, forced abortions and a highly questionable human rights record), the country and the people should not be feared. In fact, Americans shouldn't fear the Chinese, Americans should learn from them. Even though China is "Red," the Chinese have become far more capitalist than communist for the past decade or so. Economic liberty is slowing creeping into China and yet our politicians say we have to fear them. As  far as production goes, the Chinese are one of the top producers in the world today; this has obviously done wonders to their economy. American politicans, however, do not want to take this as a great example and soley rely on taxation, debt and inflation.