Et år efter Lehman: Mange billioner fattigere og ikke spor klogere

Professor Kenneth Rogoff, den tidligere cheføkonom hos IMF, har et indlæg på Project Syndidate, hvor siger, at vi 1 år efter Lehman Brothers fald har brugt en masse billioner, men stort set ikke er blevet klogere på krisen.

Rogoff kritiserer investorer og politikere, som tror, at finanskrisen kunne have været undgået ved blot at give Lehman Brothers et redningsbælte. Lehman Brothers havde forvandlet sig til en ejendomsspekulant, hvis fundament hvilede på boligboblen. Denne og andre ubalancer gjorde en krisen uundgåelig. Og Rogoff fortsætter:

"So what is the game plan now? There is talk of regulating the financial sector, but governments are afraid to shake confidence. There is recognition that the housing bubble collapse has to be absorbed, but no stomach for acknowledging the years of slow growth in consumption that this will imply.

There is acknowledgement that the US China trade relationship needs to be rebalanced, but little imagination on how to proceed. Deep down, our leaders and policymakers have convinced themselves that for all its flaws, the old system was better than anything we are going to think of, and that simply restoring confidence will fix everything, at least for as long as they remain in office."

Rogoff forudser, at Asien ophører med at være sponsor for vesten:

"Within a few years, western governments will have to sharply raise taxes, inflate, partially default, or some combination of all three".