sleepless_on_wall_street

Europe's Economic Contraction Intensifies in February

Edward Hugh - - -

Thanks for this excellent review, complete with thorough data. One item you did not mention: I have read that European super banks may have more problems than in the U.S. because they are, in many cases, much larger compared to GDP levels in their parent countries. This diminishes the amount of help (other than nationalization) that can be provided through fiscal policy. Even in the case of nationalization, how effectively can liabilities several times GDP be dealt with?

Again, thnaks for this excellent article.

In This Economic Crisis, We Are All to Blame

Gracias - You are correct that there are individuals and segments of the financial and business world who do not share in the blame. Congratulations if you are one of them. But I think the author is speaking in broader terms, in societal terms. If I voted for the losing presidential candidate in every election of the past 29 years (I didn't, I voted for many winners) can I absolve myself from my American existance? Not unless I moved to a hermitage in the Amazon rain forest and divorced myself from all dependence on any economic ties to the U.S. Otherwise, I participated in this mess, to some extent. I participated in the society of the past decades, whether I approved of the government or not.

It is not important in sorting out this mess to point out that someone is not a cause of the problem. This is a societal problem. In fact, it is a world societal problem. Just because someone contributed little to the problem does not mean they will be absolved from having to contribute to the solution.

'The Change We Need' Is in Economic Direction

This is a paraphrase of a comment I just wrote in another comment stream.

The old religion was the use of credit (debt) to produce more credit.

The new religion should be the use of credit (debt) to produce the means of production of goods and services.

The old religion is related to Ponzi.

The new religion is related to economic growth.