Isn't the real problem a massive lack of accountabilitty. Consumers spending money they don't have for products and services they want and don't need. Business grew to meed this demand; banks lent money they should not have to fuel their growth. All of this in turn led to corporate greed and escalating compensation with no accountability. This in turn stifled creativity and problem solving and led to further waste of just hiring additional people rather than training existing employees and holding them accountable. The end result - we have businesses filled with employees and management that aren't capable of doing their jobs and consumers aren"t able to pay their debts.
This isn't a crisis that was made on Wall Street. Yes, Wall Street enabled it and made it worse; in addition, there is no place where the greed is more apparent than on Wall Street. I agree with the remedie's suggested in the article, with the exception that consumer habits wasn't really addressed. Yes there needs to be massive job training and not just for people who have lost their jobs so they can get other jobs, but also for individuals who have managed to hold onto their jobs. In addition, there should be a massive education program regarding consumer finances so individuals will realize they can not continue spending more than they make indefinitely. This is a crisis that was fed from all areas of the economy and not just Wall Street.
The Big Bang of Bailouts
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One of the big problems plaguing global markets now is that no one knows where the trends are leading. Are we headed for government domination of markets—more toward Chinese state capitalism than American-style free markets (at least as they were a year ago)? Is the financial system going to be characterized almost entirely by behemoth commercial banks that are risk-averse, or will there be room for institutions that will be able to take the chance of financing the great innovations of the future? When the dust settles, will there be a new global monetary authority or financial regulator?
Under ordinary circumstances, it might be enough to let the market settle these questions. But these are not those times. Uncertainty is the enemy of stability and growth. Governments are, like it or not, in charge. Obama needs to push for a G20 consensus toward a vision on all these issues, all at once. This is a tall order, to be sure, but the crisis is proving that even efforts unprecedented in size and scope are too small when delivered one at a time. The world needs a sweeping shock to the system.
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