4
4
3
At an April G-20 meeting in London the focus was on "Stability, Growth, Jobs." A look at the four working groups from that meeting shows two focused on international finance and two on international financial organizations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The ongoing economic struggle of billions of people didn't deter key G-20 figure Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke from announcing that the worldwide recession is "very likely over." Of course, there's a qualifier. It will be a jobless recovery which raises the question, just exactly who will be recovering?
The Epitome of Failure
An objective judgment on the promises of the London G-20 meeting, growth and jobs, shows a complete failure by the group. The world's economy continues to slide into oblivion with no remaining bright spots except for Wall Street bankers and others who caused the crisis. The largest U.S. and European financial groups have cash and credit guarantees of a potential $23.7 trillion (annotation) to preserve their market positions and executive perks. These guarantees were enabled by the actions of some of the very same leaders attending the Pittsburgh conference. It's a tight circle.
One sixth of the world population suffers from hunger largely due to unemployment, high food prices, and the high cost of borrowing due to the current financial crisis. Unemployment is increasing around the world complicated by a largely unmentioned structural jobs shortage. A report from the International Labor Organization shows that unemployment has grown to 190 million worldwide with an estimated 50 million more to join them in 2009. Rates of "working poverty" are expected to hit 1.3 billion people worldwide.
Even if the job market improves, the struggle to buy basic necessities will continue to pose a challenge for the vast majority of citizens. In the United States, for example, there has been no real increase in per capita income for the past nine years and few net new non government jobs.
U.S. Income U.S. Census Bureau *
The people who brought the world to this state of decline and struggle are still in charge. They're fixing the very problems they created.
What's their solution?
Change the way banks are regulated.
Sowing the Wind
The U.S. can no longer finance the military presence overseas without major debt. Foreign wars are simply not affordable. The banking system is in critical condition, unable to recover except on a superficial level. The neglect of domestic concerns in the United States and the ongoing drain of wealth from the middle, working and lower class have virtually eliminated taxation and the treasury as a viable source of real funds.
Undeterred, the United States government has begun yet another war it cannot afford in Afghanistan before even beginning to end the occupation of Iraq. At the same time, the government has issued trillions of dollars in cash and credit for a banking sector with many banks technically broke.
The rest of the world continues to struggle despite optimistic talk at the summit. Japan remains in a recession after nearly two decades and has just begun a faltering recovery. In Germany, there are fears of deflation. China may have exhausted credit and protectionist fixes in an attempt to avoid a major slump. Spain's unemployment figure will reach 20% soon.
More to the point of globalization, there are 1.3 billion "working poor" (p. 39) earning $2.00 (two dollars) a day concentrated in South, East, and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Does the G-20 recovery plan include these subsistence workers? When is it their turn to "recover?"
