Fernandez,

terests of US companies through share purchases. In this case, US economic sovereignty will have to be compromised somewhat. That was the case in the Japanese economic onslaught in the late ’70s and early ’80s and more recently in the Chinese buyouts in the early 2000s including purchase of significant oil assets and companies.

The US has aging infrastructure and large defense and health and other public services needs. The modernization of US infrastructure alone will require close to $ 820 billion in the next 10 years. US defense needs to meet with threats from increasingly hostile nations to decreasing reliable allies as a result of the America First policy are massive. With the tax cuts will naturally come reductions in public services as the US does not have enough money to fund all these needs and health services will probably be the first to suffer. As of now, the US cannot even afford to help its constituents in Puerto Rico, who still are literally in the dark.

In the long run, the tax cuts and the likely cuts in public services are bound to create some form of unrest, further decreasing confidence in the US. In my opinion, all of the foregoing lead me to conclude that a decrease in the weighting of US dollar-based assets, particularly hard currency or near cash assets, is a good idea. In the short run, the cash that will be repatriated back to the US is likely to cause a spike in the stock markets as companies use this to buy back their shares. This will likely lead to a crash or a significant adjustment, as the US stocks are on average already overpriced. The increase in productive capacity will probably take a while longer.

For those in the local BPO industry, it is unlikely that pullouts will occur anytime soon in favor of returning to the US. The wage rate differences are still too great to ignore and the BPO industry is people intensive. Exporters may have to make long-term decisions to de-emphasize the US market and look for other growth and emerging markets.

The way I see it, the time may come when I will be able to afford an American driver and an American maid.