The head of Europe’s biggest economy said Thursday that world leaders should be looking at the massive U.S. deficit and other economic imbalances, not just problems caused by financial markets, as they debate a new global order.
Speaking at a conference in Paris on the future of capitalism, German Chancellor Angela Merkel singled out the American budget deficit and China’s current account surplus ”” the difference between exports and imports ”” as problems upsetting the global economy.
“We would be making an error if we were content to look solely at financial markets,” she said.
The problem is that one does not simply “call” for a new world order or a new form of capitalism. Another problem is that such a movement would require leardership and leadership means hard work and hard decisions. Post WWII history shows that European leaders, save some of the British, are afraid to do the work required of a leader.
Impending disaster has a way of stiffening the resolve.
In this particular crisis, I would say “hard work” and “hard decisions” are in short supply on this side of the Atlantic, and has been for a long time, and of course have much to do with the mess we’re in. Considering our culpability in the current global economic crisis, I am uncomfortable picking at any other country’s leadership unless there’s a lot of mea culpa mea culpa to accompany it.
Government-involvement and profitable-business-operations are antonyms, not synonyms.
just for a chuckle:
http://www.despair.com/effort.html