They know something is wrong and don't like it. They know that it involves abuses of deregulation, or that some of that deregulation was itself abusive, but they seem unable to see that the whole neo-classical approach was only propaganda to cover systematic looting. We need to break the spell and reject the entire frame--as a country--as a world economy--while there still are such things remaining to us. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
As I see it the main current problem is the transition phase we are in now where everyone is holding on to their chips and begging the bank - i.e. Paulson and his collegues around the world - for more.
I think we need transparency more then anything. Removing all these exotic crap is one way, another is forcing greater transparency (and thus faster bankrupcies) so that the new owners can take over, a third would be to put up new institutions of credit and clearly signal that old ones will not be propped up - again causing faster bankrupcies in insolvent companies. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
Targetted, though, it might work. One of the main tricks would be to find honest-broker bankruptcy courts with enough expertise to understand the root problems. It could be a good experiment to run, starting with General Motors, wherein there is enough mutual need among labor, management, politicians, and subsidiary industries to promote some level of unified solutions. Of course, stockholders would be the last served, but isn't there some sort of cliche about risk involved there? paul spencer
