United States - Spend. Europe - Regulate

This is interesting, while the United States wants to pour money onto the economy (ahem, financial institutions), Europe wants to start global financial regulatory reform first.

Via the New York Times:

The major European nations, divided among themselves over the wisdom of taking on more debt to combat the global downturn, remain more interested in focusing on a new approach to financial regulation, the issue that they say sits at the heart of the crisis.

At its simplest, this is a philosophical divide about the European preference for more control over markets, even to the point of creating international regulators who can reach across national borders, and an American fear of gradually diminishing sovereignty over its own institutions.

While I can understand the issue of sovereignty, I cannot understand why the United States would want to delay regulatory reform. It's quite clear the derivatives market, the shadow banking system caused this crisis so why not stem the source of the trouble immediately?

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This is very troubling.

And the Administration is postponing releasing any details about a regulatory plan. There is nothing stopping at some level this bad behavior to continue. In the current situation this is extremely dangerous because we have financial conglomerates that are near death or "dead man walking" and can easily do some very risky things that are still legal.

Hell, Europe does not want our poison to continue to destroy its markets. It is a sign that Europe doesn't trust us that we will do anything significant to regulate markets.

Global Sheriff?

Gregman2

Can you please format your links and also quote or tell us something in the comment about it?

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http://www.weforum.org/en/knowledge/KN_SESS_SUMM_23393?url=/en/knowledge...

Relevance...Point: Global elites have taken far too long to
grasp the urgency of the problem facing soldier-like folks who are on the firing line, namely working families. Which explains Obama's election. Go back and review the recent history of commentary on this debacle and it's clear to see that ALL of the major policy makers basically under estimated and under calculated the depthful seriousness of what is now starting to cascade. I belive that much of this was avoidable...at the policy level. I hold all in charge to account. Sadly, many now in top Obama policy posts were also hovering during the Bush era. And while I'm not strongly advocating a "Truth & Reconciliation Commission,"
it is safe to say that, at the present moment I AM OUTRAGED AS HELL!! A gallon of vaseline is way too late! (How's that for context?)

EU spending triggers

Don't at least some nations in the EU have automatic triggers that kick in under predetermined conditions? I think Germany calls theirs Kurzarbeit, I think France has something similar. IOW, they already have a certain amount of stimulus planned for and structured. It would be short term, and if the depression continues, as it will, they'll have to address that, but it gives them breathing space to deal with the real problems, breathing space we don't have (It would be exquisitely funny if the chocolate eating socialists ride this out better than the macho free marketeers -- or would be if it weren't so desperately grim).

But since we're talking international, why would it not be possible for the G8 and anyone else interested to get together and deal with the problem holistically? E.g., someone has to be counterparty to all this debt, can we not net out what can be netted out, and for what remains agree that everyone take a haircut? Private equity can either come along or take an even bigger haircut, possibly amounting to decapitation. It's not like there are any good solutions at this point.

not heard of that

but you might research it out and post.

My understand is there was a coordinated "stimulus" previously but in a nutshell the EU is saying hey, let's regulate this right now and stop it right now and the United States is refusing.

i.e. those chocolate eating, shorter work week loving Socialists are dead on and as usual, America, at least those crafting "policy" are insane. ;)