Since crisis economic conditions erupted in fall 2007, resolution has been sorely lacking.
US corporations and America's super-rich benefitted from over $3 trillion in tax cuts. Anywhere from $9 trillion to double or triple that amount went to bankers that caused the crisis.
Ordinary Citizens have been largely left out. In the US that nation's economic engine stalled. Recovery is more illusion than reality. Increasingly it looks dangerously troubled.
Financial analyst Martin Weiss said he's "never seen anything like the whirlwinds and dark clouds now encircling the so-called advanced economies of the world."
Since crisis conditions erupted, one fourth of developed countries' workers are unemployed or underemployed. Debt levels too onerous to repay were incurred. Solutions proposed involve piling on more. Troubled countries include the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain) making headlines. Vulnerable also include America, Britain, France, Belgium, Canada, and Japan.
Even China's vaunted economic growth is weakening. Brazil and India are also affected. It's not an encouraging sign. In a recent Bloomberg interview, economist Nouriel Roubini warned of a 2013 meltdown worse than 2008.
Banks are operating illegally, he said. The only way to stop it is "break up these financial supermarkets" and hold responsible officials accountable. Bankers are greedy, he said. Massive conflicts of interest exist. Firms on both sides of major deals. Without substantive change, crises will continue and worsen. Political will is lacking. Policy measures so far resolved nothing.
A fundamentally corrupt system festers. Nothing changed. Too-big-to-fail banks get bigger. No one high up faced prosecution. Things don't look promising ahead.
Progressive Radio News Hour regular Jack Rasmus says when economists resort to metaphors, they have little idea about root causes or won't say. Blaming poor results on weather or seasonality doesn't wash.
Evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr (1904 - 2005) expressed concern. He said human intelligence doesn't guarantee survival. He believed beetles and bacteria stand a better chance.
Market analyst Byron Wien calls the smartest man he knows in Europe a "firedancer."
Read more: World Economies on Life Support : Indybay
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