The euro crisis affects the United States through three channels: It hurts exports, increases the exchange rate of the dollar, and keeps the eyes of financial markets off our own fiscal issues.
US exports have been hurt directly by European sovereign debt and banking crises, which have tipped Italy, Spain, Greece, and others into recession. As a result, the growth of US exports to the eurozone, which accounts for 18 percent of American exports, has slowed in each of the last six quarters.
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Mann's implicit warning that the US has its own looming sovereign debt crisis is well taken. The US needs to come up with a solid debt management package QUICKLY. The country ignores this issue at its own peril.