If we can maintain an adequate degree of flexibility, some of America's economic imbalances, most notably the large current account deficit and the housing boom, can be rectified by adjustments in prices, interest rates, and exchange rates rather than through more-wrenching changes in output, incomes, and employment.
In 2014, South African bond yields also adjusted (downwards) in line with US Treasuries despite various negative domestic developments, including credit rating downgrades and the depreciation of the rand, which under normal conditions would have driven yields higher.