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View Full Version : IMF Chief: World Facing Possibly Worst Economic Insecurity Since Great Depression



Anarcho-Brocialist
29th May 2012, 19:18
First off, I don't know if this is the correct form to publish this thread, if need be, it can be move to a more appropriate one.


The head of the International Monetary Fund Wednesday told Harvard University graduates they faced one of the most challenging economic times since the 1930s.

"Your generation is facing probably the worst economic insecurity in decades, possibly ever since the Great Depression," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in her commencement speech to the John F. Kennedy School of Government graduates.

As the euro crisis threatens to spark another world-wide financial crisis, Lagarde pointed to "the inability of 75 million young people to find a decent job, rising inequalities that strains the compact holding our society together, [and] a fear that the global economic engine will no longer deliver as it did in the past."

"I really wish that our generation could instantly forge a better legacy for you. We will keep at it," she said. "But it is now going to be your turn to apply your talent, your determination and your idealism to help overcome those challenges and seize the opportunities created by this new world," the IMF chief said.

"You will need to connect the dots, to reconcile the high-intensity connections with a more cooperative governance," she told the graduates.

"This requires new ways of thinking, new ways of behaving...Your generation must become another 'greatest generation,'" Lagarde added.

Link is Here (http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120523-714482.html)

I must say that the whole notion that we'll look towards Ivy League graduates for guidance kind of angers me. Most of these graduates, if not all, have had silver spoons in their mouth, and believe what's best for rich people will inevitably be whats best for the rest of us. Secondly, the "greatest generation" did well economically because Japanese and German manufacturing were destroyed during WW2, which meant we had little global competition.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on this article, and what do you believe will happen if the Euro crises become worse?

Grenzer
29th May 2012, 19:31
I don't think anything of consequence will happen in terms of revolution if the crisis becomes worse. Genuine class consciousness is far worse than it was in the 30's, and the far-right is picking up the slack. I don't think it's defeatism, just realism.

I do get annoyed by the elitist paternalism of the Ivy League and assholes like Lagarde, but that's to be expected. Apparently my cousin got accepted to Harvard because of an ability to play baseball well! I just said, enjoy your ascent to bourgeois pigdom.

RebelDog
30th May 2012, 07:35
If you are head of the IMF I think it is the hight of cynicism to talk about inequality, youth unemployment and creating a better world. Disbanding the IMF would be a worthwhile first step.

jookyle
30th May 2012, 07:44
Considering how much economic disparity the IMF has contributed to under-developed nations, and the crises' they've cause(like the Asian Crisis) they're really just talking out of their ass. "The new generation needs to fix things...as long as we can force liberalism on to developed nations. These people need to be exploited and with the help of the younger generation, we can make sure the rich of the west stay rich!"

RadioRaheem84
30th May 2012, 18:21
Pretty much she is saying, "think innovative just not outside the box".

Vladimir Innit Lenin
30th May 2012, 22:28
To be fair to people like Lagarde, when you're bourgeois as fuck, have your head stuck up your arse, it's very difficult to look outside the policy parameters you work within. Essentially, they genuinely believe that deficit reduction can work. Genuinely. It's all in the theory. I've spent a year being fed this shit.

We've been learning about the medium run effects of deficit reduction: no negative effect on output, increases in investment offset ALL reduction in government spending and in the end you end up with normal levels of output, higher investment, lower interest rates and lower inflation. It'd actually be comic if it wasn't so tragic.:rolleyes: