Tuesday, September 25, 2012

As Clinton sounds interest rate alarm, a Warning Against a Do-Nothing Congress


As Clinton sounds interest rate alarm, will reason prevail?
The cost of politics as usual is very high. If Congress takes the stance that the best politics is to assure that the other guys fail, real people will get hurt.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Fiddling at the Fire by Nouriel Roubini - Project Syndicate

After compiling all the elements of the future perfect storm leading to potential global depression, Roubini states the cause:

Ineffective governments with weak leadership are at the root of the problem. In democracies, repeated elections lead to short-term policy choices. In autocracies like China and Russia, leaders resist the radical reforms that would reduce the power of entrenched lobbies and interests, thereby fueling social unrest as resentment against corruption and rent-seeking boils over into protest. But, as everyone kicks the can down the road, the can is getting heavier and, in the major emerging markets and advanced economies alike, is approaching a brick wall. Policymakers can either crash into that wall, or they can show the leadership and vision needed to dismantle it safely.

This confirms the fundamental truth that problems can be solved. All problems have solutions, but, as is so often the case, the primary players' political agendas trump reason. Fiddling at the Fire by Nouriel Roubini - Project Syndicate