COMMENTARY
I do not disagree with Colin Lucas-Mudd's prescription for immediate action, but there is something that in my view needs to be added. He states very confidently that 'However, today we have management tools that were not available in past decades.' and while it is true that we have technology and we have data and analysis tools, as a management system it has been catastrophically wrong and until it gets changed it will have bad results over and over again.

The metrics serve a capitalist market economy, and for that they are relevant, but for a society that aims to satisfy needs in the best possible way to maintain and improve quality of life, the management tools are dysfunctional. The money accounting system that is used to manage for profit in the corporate enterprise works very well in its limited space, but there is no equivalent that addresses the question of valueadd for society by the corporation. GDP growth is widely used as a proxy for the health of an economy, but for a modern economy GDP is wrong in almost every elements of its structure. Stock market prices are another proxy that has relevance only for the investor class, but not for anyone else.

In my view there is something structurally wrong with the money, banking and financial services sector when low risk lending ... as in US Treasuries ... earns nearly nothing, but a struggling poor person has to pay more than 20% interest on consumer debt, and will likely default on that debt because opportunities do be employed do not exist. The key change needed is for the metrics to support resource allocation to economic activities that are needed, whether or not they are actually profitable. Economic activities that are needed deliver valueadd while they may or may not deliver profit. It is valueadd that maintains and improves quality of life while profit merely adds to wealth.

In the last thirty years much of the wealth accumulation has been merely the transfer of accumulated valueadd from people who are relatively poor to people who are in the investor class, or who are engaged in the investment casino that is sometimes referred to as Wall Street. Some real valueadd has taken place in the last thirty years as a result of amazing progress in technology, but very little of the valueadd has served to improve quality of life for the general population ... and this has to change. Printing money does not help very much, changing the metrics will change everything.
Peter Burgess

Global Gridlock Myopia and what might be done to emerge from the crisis

Although a cynic by nature, I've always attempted to leverage historical precedent to smooth out the blips. This has allowed me to overlay an optimistic tint on mankind's ultimate future. It allowed me to survive the idiotic nuclear blast drills at school in the 50's and 60's. It allowed me to buck the trend in the 70's recession and start a business that I took public in the mid 80's. Today, I must admit to verging on pessimism as I survey the myopia of governments, global institutions, banks, and corporations. These bodies are either restricting money supply at a time of crisis or hoarding existing cash that needs to be circulating.

The myopia is, sadly, not limited to just this group. The #Occupy movement has locked itself in the self-defeating 99:1 ratio that sounds good statistically, yet is inherently damaging to the cause. Many in the '1%' are intelligent, caring, and philosophical people; often representing ethical corporations. Although wealthy, they fully understand the concept of Noblesse Oblige and its transition from the nobility to the (perish the thought) nouveau riche. Equally, many in the upper quartile, or two, of the '99%' are greedy, venal, and selfish. Many of those who don't deserve these particular adjectives are self-centered or protectionist. This is particularly true of governments.

The US Congress and Executive branch has an excuse, a weak one, but an excuse. Elections are in the air and too many of the electorate either lack the background, or education to parse the realities, or are members of the venal and selfish groups who just don't give a damn about anyone else. That's politics and the same in any democratic system. Now, Germany is a democracy also, however the dynamics are different. Very.

Somebody has to lead the way here. The crisis may well have been started by the sub-prime meltdown in the US, however the Eurozone was ill-conceived from the start and Germany, with France, was the prime driver of its creation. The Greek crisis, closely followed by Italy, has to be resolved. There is a mechanism in place to achieve this goal: The European Community Bank. However the ECB's hands are tied and only Germany can remove the cuffs. What is more, Germany is not subject to the US system's restrictions placed upon its leader. Unlike Obama in the US, Angela Merkel has the power to act. It is probable that she will. It is equally probable that this will be too little and much, much too late.

There is only one way to get back on track and feed the mechanism that drives the global economy. We have to print money to cover the doubtful sovereign debt. Yes it will drive up inflation. However, today we have management tools that were not available in past decades. Yes it will enrich many of the '1%'; just read or re-read Orwell's 'Animal Farm'. However strong governments can use this crisis to push through equitable taxation reforms that, although taxing the wealthy at a higher rate, can make allowances for real job-creating investment. The alternative, continuing to turn a blind eye and reacting with 'too little too late', is the path to civil insurrection and revolutionary witch hunts. These results will make the #Occupy and #OWS movements look like a Summer Camp.