William K. Black: "Third Way's" "Fresh Thinking": The EU Is Our Model for Austerity [View all]

[marmar]

from HuffPost:



William K. Black
Assoc. Professor, Univ. of Missouri, Kansas City; Sr. regulator during S&L debacle

"Third Way's" "Fresh Thinking": The EU Is Our Model for Austerity


On September 15, 2011, a Wall Street lobbying organization known as "Third Way" proposed that the congressional "super committee" adopt a stringent austerity program.

Third Way's tag line on its web site is "Fresh Thinking," but it simply a mouthpiece for Wall Street's curdled ideas.

Third Way's rationale for austerity is a marvel of duplicity or ineptitude so great that duplicity would do less damage to their reputation. Third Way warned: "Failure (of the super committee would have) high costs. A debt crisis is buffeting Europe and represents our future if we do not begin to act now."

So many errors and ironies packed into two sentences. Wall Street's love for debt is epic. Wall Street enriches its executives through debt. It crafted, sold, and purchased the bulk of corporate and governmental debt. Wall Street has decided that debt is the problem, but naturally it is everyone else's problem. Debt is also the neoliberal solution to financial crises. Instead of writing off debt, entities like the IMF prescribe more debt -- borrowed from them. Wall Street's hypocrisy about debt is not the focus of this column. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/third-way-austerity_b_2448823.html?utm_hp_ref=business