U.N. Study: Austerity Measures Pushing World Economy Toward Disaster - Reuters/HuffPo

[WillyT]

U.N. Study: Austerity Measures Pushing World Economy Toward Disaster
Tom Miles - Reuters
First Posted: 9/6/11 12:46 PM ET Updated: 9/6/11 12:46 PM ET

<snip>

GENEVA (Tom Miles) - The pursuit of austerity measures and deficit cuts is pushing the world economy toward disaster in a misguided attempt to please global financial markets, the annual report of the United Nations economic thinktank UNCTAD said on Tuesday.

The report, entitled "Post-crisis policy challenges in the world economy," savaged U.S. and European economic policies and called for wage increases, stricter regulation of financial markets, including a return to a system of managed exchange rates, and a conscious break with market-led thinking.

"The message here is very pragmatic: we need to reverse our course quickly," said UNCTAD Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi. Supachai, a former head of the World Trade Organization, said the policy response to the crisis, with an emphasis on fiscal tightening, was misconceived and inept.

The report's lead author Heiner Flassbeck said the global economic situation was extremely dangerous and, without more stimulus, a decade of stagnation was the best-case scenario.

<snip>

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/un-study-austerity-deficit-cuts-world-economy_n_950551.html

:kick:

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[ixion]

2. "a decade of stagnation was the best-case scenario"

Yep. And we don't really have much time to correct this. Forming investigative committees, messing around with 'framing' and all that rot isn't going to do a damn thing to stop it. Without decisive action, we're screwed.

[whosinpower]

3. A misguided attempt to please global financial markets....

Which were the ones who created this mess in the first place when they sold crap on the market, backed by subprime mortgages -and triple A rated, even though it clearly was not....and then betted against those very securities they created.....

And we, as a global community embrace austerity - to somehow give them confidence that they themselves eroded...

Why are we doing this again? I call bullshit.

[Claudia Jones]

4. k and r

Important post.

[The2ndWheel]

5. Growing economy pushing world environment toward disaster

Coming and going.

[emcguffie]

6. As a retired UN employee, a report like this --

-- gives me a nice warm feeling. Some people tend to confuse the World Bank and the IMF and the UN.

Edit to clarify: I don't mean to imply that I like what's going on, I am pleased to see UNCTAD, which is a UN body, pointing out the real problem instead of jumping on the crazy bandwagon to hell.

[WillyT]

8. Way Cool !!!

And thank you for your service to World Peace!

:bounce:

:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. I had to clarify in the morning exactly that

To much inside baseball.

[JDPriestly]

7. K&R.

It is well worth it to go to the link and read the full article.

It makes really good sense.

And, essentially, what makes good sense is good for the economy.

[moondust]

9. Basically what Krugman has been saying for months.

If not years by now.

[Starry Messenger]

11. k&r