Davos, Switzerland
The World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos, Switzerland right now. Davos is located in the eastern part of the country, about 10 miles from Austria.
-
I've been to Switzerland many times. Once just travelling around by car with a young lady who I was very much in love/lust with. Another time by train to go up to see Oberammergau where they perform the famous Passion Play. Several times I went backpacking in the Swiss Alps. Once to see the archaeological museum in Zurich, and a couple of times I was just driving through on my way to somewhere else. --Switzerland is truly a wonderful place...one of the very best anywhere.
-
This year many top people from American corporations are not attending the economic forum in Davos because of their efforts to project a PR image of their company wisely saving money. So in several cases the CEO is not attending Davos, but many of his top deputies still are. Also, some people have begun to notice that virtually all of the people who attend Davos and who are at the top of the world’s economic decision making system are men. Almost none are female.
Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia spoke to the group. He put down American economic policies pretty hard (many would say quite correctly) when he said, “A year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasized the U.S. economy’s fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist.”
The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, left little doubt that Beijing blamed the United States for the economic breakdown. “Inappropriate macroeconomic policies,” an “unsustainable model of development characterized by prolonged low savings and high consumption,” the “blind pursuit of profit” and “the failure of financial supervision” all contributed, he said.
Goodness. Each of these guys presented a good analysis of why the world is in such difficult economic times. And each blamed the misguided policies that were begun by Ronald Reagan and were brought to complete fruition during the Republican administration of George Bush Jr.
From a more local perspective it is entirely fair of me to point out that “blind pursuit of profit” can also be described as selfish, materialistic greed. And that “the failure of financial supervision” was a completely intentional policy of the Republicans. The misguided and now fully discredited concept of deregulation deliberately eliminated all sorts of vital government regulations in the name of the god of market fundamentals and trickle down economics.
“Low savings” are obvious if you look at the amount owed to credit card companies, and “high consumption” could also be described as unnecessary wastefulness. Such as driving a large inefficient pickup truck or an SUV which gets horrible fuel economy.
But the mostly wealthy Republicans still have their eyes closed and are living in the past. Yesterday in the American House of Representatives, every single Republican voted against President Obama’s plan to help get the economy back on track. Every one of them. These old geezers really are clueless. Lost in space.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
