Most of financial commentators and economists keep on arguing about the status of EU and US' economies. They try to predict which one is going to fail sooner, who is responsible for the meltdown, how to recover from this stagnation, the currency wars and various other sources of ludicrous arguments. What they all fail to see (or to acknowledge) is that we desperately need a new business model, a new social representation and a new social re-organisation. In a nutshell, we need exactly the opposite of what all world leaders seem to be bound to do, which is try to desperately save the existing system. I do not derive any joy from witnessing the unemployment rates grow above historical levels, or countries like Greece facing default, but I strongly suggest that everybody should simply accept failures as part of a cycle or a growing/evolving trend. This is what we all learn soon, as traders, to accept our mistakes together with our losses. If we fail to reckon our mistakes, if our leaders keep on artificially sustaining economies as they are doing and even more, try to create larger political entities like the EU, the disaster of a few will turn into a historical collapse of the Western world. We mostly need to reduce government to boost economic freedom. We need to tear up all regulations to allow growth for small businesses. Small, new businesses are the key to innovation and competition. We need to reduce the power of central banks to minimise monetary policy and currency manipulation. We need to slash all income and corporation taxes and massively reduce social spending (especially in EU-UK).
Agree. Major restructuring all around needed. Problem... whenever there is major change, somebody gets hurt. Politicos don't want ANYBODY to get hurt... fearing those would vote against them and their party in the next election. Therefore.... we will get NO major reform until it's crammed down our throats by reality and there is no alternative. We don't have the common sense, savvy nor the political will to do otherwise, sadly.
Most of it is probably because of the rise in the price of energy. That set of a cascade of effects that will be felt for some time to come. Although my worst investment ever was buying Canadian oilsands who are still down 50% from 2008 so what do I know right...
What we need is new amendments to our constitution to include term limits, a balanced budget, true tax reform. and the elimination of the House Of Representatives.