[Image from BBC]Thus, at G-20, the "leader of the free world" (our president!), helped to bring about what McClatchy calls "large achievements."
"The leaders of the world's major industrialized nations accomplished something at their G-20 summit...that rarely happens at such gatherings of heads of state.
"The produced large achievements.
"They pledged the first-ever global regulation of hedge funds and private-equity firms, big players in global finance that have enjoying operating under the regulatory radar. They agreed to require banks to set aside more capital in good times to help them function in bad times. They vowed to crack down on tax haven nations that allow the wealthy to escape taxation. And they pledged $1.1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund and related institutions to help revive the global economy."
What struck me, in particular, was how for the first time in a long time, the United States held out the hand of friendship by explicitly involving itself in cooperative efforts, and thus telling the rest of the world we not only own up to our culpability in this godawful mess, but recognize that we do not live in isolation, that we cannot "make it" on our own, that we're all in this together and we'll do whatever it takes to make it right.
That's a 180 from how the Bush/Cheney gang of criminal thugs operated over the past eight years!
This obviously does not mean that our problems are over and that we're on the way back to easy street. We may never walk easy street again. But it does mean that we're committed to taking the necessary steps to modify the system so that it works, not just for the greedy bastards on Wall Streets around the world, but for all the people -- those who because of the greedy bastards are now homeless, jobless, and hopeless.
McClatchy has much more on this subject which you can survey here.
2 comments:
It is very refreshing to have a President who reaches out to other world leaders, not only to help but also for help.
This is so much of a difference from the arrogance of the last eight years of the Bush/Cheney disaster which drove long standing relationships into the ground.
Maybe Obama hasn't gotten everything that he wanted in going into this G-20 conference, but this has been one big step forward from where we were with the other world leaders that were there.
I like and admire both Obama’s. I am not expert enough to judge if everything he has proposed will work or not. Apparently there are legitimate disagreements (NOT POLITICALLY MOTIVATED) AMONGST those that are experts. Executives make those kinds of decisions, every day. They pick the best option. Smart ones figure the down sides and are prepared to change course if needed. I hope Obama is that type of executive.
So far my major disagreements with him concerns his policy to not have the Congress investigate wrongdoing doing the Bush administrations, designed to cure abuses of power, punish criminal behavior, if any, determine future use of unauthorized assumptions of power; in addition, the role of bankers, financial leaders etc regarding fraud and or deceit in lending practices. Many of these same people are currently involved in decision making to cure problems they created. The fox in the hen house can be risky. If we do not know what was done and by whom. We will allow self interest to delay cure. I suspect some knew exactly what they were doing but Congress, the Attorney General; the FBI etc must get involved. Not for a witch hunt but to determine the facts.
I do not fear losing some valuable executives. In the case of illness or death, replacements are usually found. The entire world ha been affected by these subjects. They are too important to be left to fester. We need the facts in order to move on. The innocent have nothing to fear.
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