By Sebastian Rotella and Janet Stobart, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
September 20, 2008
LONDON -- It's a rare day when finance officials, leftist intellectuals and ordinary salespeople can agree on something. But the economic meltdown that wrought its wrath from Rome to Madrid to Berlin this week brought Europeans together in a harsh chorus of condemnation of the excess and disarray on Wall Street.The finance minister of Italy's conservative and pro-U.S.
government warned of nothing less than a systemic breakdown. Giulio Tremonti excoriated the "voracious selfishness" of speculators and "stupid sluggishness" of regulators. And he singled out Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with startling scorn.
"Greenspan was considered a master," Tremonti declared. "Now we must ask ourselves whether he is not, after [Osama] bin Laden, the man who hurt America the most. . . . It is clear that what is happening is a disease. It is not the failure of a bank, but the failure of a system.
Until a few days ago, very few were willing to realize the intensity and the dramatic nature of the crisis."In an interview Thursday in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Tremonti drew a comparison to corruption-ridden Albania in 1997, when a nationwide pyramid scheme cost hundreds of thousands of people their savings and ignited anarchic civil conflict."The system is collapsing, exactly like the Albanian pyramids collapsed," Tremonti said. "The idea is gaining ground that the way out of the crisis is mainly with large public investments. . . . The return of rules is accompanied by a return of the public sector."
[to read the rest of the article click on the title link - and there is a lot more good stuff from the Euros on this issue, in the article]
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I do not dispute the greed factor. The dot.com bubble was all about greed. The billions made (personal wealth on Wall Street) between 1996 and 2000 ... greed that made the 80s look downright altruistic.
Greenspan - fine, blame someone. Of course Europeans would blame him - he is Jewish. You love scapegoats.
But to mock the US Treasury for its offer to assist other nations and their banking systems ... a little bit petty of them. Very small of them. Jealous much.
Without the reasons why this all fell apart - and greed is a piece of it. Beginning with mortgages, then banks, and institutions betting on mortgages (why this even happened I do not know) ... we find ourselves in the trouble we are in ... here. So why has Russia melted down. Why did London nearly collapse. Why has the world economic system teetered on collapse? If they have not given out mortgages that due to declining home prices, lost value, yet still forced to pay mortgages for at a higher rate given the value of their home, and then foolishly bet on the mortgages - why is their economic system teetering on collapse? Why is European unemployment (EU average and country specific) 4-5% higher than in the US? Why is their growth not considerably better than that which the US is currently doing during these economic difficulties.
One very good reason - the global interceonnectedness of our economies. For this, I support the anti-globalists. I prefer small units. Not large. Go back the way it was, we can still do the trade, we can still do everything we do now ... without the interconnectedness.
What they just do not get, because we whine and complain so much, is we can do it because ... we can. They couldn't if they even wanted to, which they would never want to do.The world hears from us how in debt we are and think - well, they have no money yet they spend like they have it. Yes, and ... so what? Their dollar is valued less than ours and they think they can ... yes, and so what? They are in murky waters, and they think they can offer us a source to reach for funds from ... yes, and so what? Oh, but the world buys your debt (China) and if you were so economically well off, you'd be able to handle it yourself ... yes, and so what?
Try not to over tax yourself (literally and figuratively) ... we will be just fine, and it will not be because you saved us, it will be because we over came these issues, and rose above.
Imagining Europe as anything but what it is - an indignant, pontificating pot of annoyance, would be far too taxing, and would require me to enter the realm of science fiction and fantasy.
Our economic woes need to be addressed (less spending) and they will be, but that will not change the fundamental nature of our system, even if the Euros would prefer Obama - he has a more internationalist approach to the US economy - place our fate in the hands of the twits in London or Europe. It will not happen. Our economy is too large. And for all the threats that the dollar will lose its position - please, better bet - bet that a meteor hits you as you read this post, you would be more likely to win the bet.
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