Opinion: (John Kornblum, Senior Counselor, Noerr Stiefenhofer Lutz, Berlin and Former US Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany): “For the fathers of the euro, the end of the Cold War in 1990 was a time for worry as well as celebration. As they looked to the future, they were also obsessed with the continent’s bloody past. Would a new Europe, and especially a reunified Germany, reawaken old nationalist sentiments and lead again to the danger of war?

“Germany’s Helmut Kohl and France’s Francois Mitterrand—and just about every European leader since—saw a common currency as essentially a political project, meant to cement European unity and remove that danger. For them, a world without the euro would have been a world increasingly threatened by conflict and perhaps even war.

“Because of these fears, the euro project was rushed through without key agreement on the common political institutions that would have turned Europe into a truly unified economic zone. As a result, each country follows its own economic policy; Greece spends, while Germany saves. And markets have been quick to focus on the weakest links, threatening the entire euro by nearly driving countries such as Greece and Portugal to bankruptcy.

“Instead of acting decisively, … European governments feel limited by their commitment to ‘Europe’ to taking small steps that will not endanger the balance within the E.U. This overwhelming fear of internal conflict is the real legacy of World War II, one that has burdened the European Union since its birth in 1957. European politicians may not be experts on finance, but they do know their voters. Doing nothing is better than risking hard-won stability.

“Because in the end, such decisions are still about the war.”

My Comment: In any case, until people become aware of their total mutual dependence, the fear of war will not disappear from their consciousness. Only mutual guarantee will save the world from the fear of war and raise us to the sensation of eternity.
[59347]

Related Material:
The Crisis Is In Understanding What Is Happening
The EU In Decline, The World Heading Toward War
The European Union Has No Future In Its Present State

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, World - No Comments →

Opinion (David Galland, Casey Research): “Lost in all the noise, however, is any recognition that the US monetary system – and by extension, that of much of the developed world – may very well be on the verge of collapse. Falling back on metaphor, while the world’s many financial experts and economists sit around arguing about the direction of the ship of state, most are missing the point that the ship has already hit an iceberg and is taking on water fast.

“Honestly describing the current monetary system of the United States in just a few words, you could do far worse than stating that it is ‘money from nothing, cash ex nihilo.’

“That’s because for the last 40 years – since Nixon canceled the dollar’s gold convertibility in 1971 – the global monetary system has been based on nothing more tangible than politicians’ promises not to print too much.

“Unconstrained, the politicians used the gift of being able to create money out of nothing to launch a parade of politically popular programs, each employing fresh brigades of bureaucrats, with no regard to affordability…

“Given the role the US dollar plays as the world’s de facto reserve currency – with all major commodities priced in dollars, and dollars forming the bulk of reserves held by foreign central banks – the dismal shape of the US monetary system spells trouble for the global monetary system.

“It is worth noting that the dire condition of the United States now leaves it in the same muddy wallow as Europe’s desperate PIIGS.

“Desperate, debt-laden governments around the globe – the bulk of their reserves composed of fiat US dollars and euros at risk of going up in smoke – turn to the only thing they know, printing more money and issuing yet more debt. The global monetary system cracks and heads toward failure with no workable alternative on the horizon.

“Governments, corporations and investors alike are caught unprepared in the downward spiral of failing fiat currencies and are wiped out by a combination of frantic currency debasements, higher taxation, exchange controls and worse. Social unrest spreads, with the public paradoxically demanding that governments do more, not less.

“That’s because all the world’s major currencies are at risk, simultaneously, as the issuers engage in a dangerous race to the bottom. As the monetary system moves inexorably toward terminal debasement and collapse, the results will be catastrophic for the unprepared.

“Importantly, while the list of historical attempts to re-jigger the US monetary system have, to this point, more or less succeeded in kicking the can a bit further down the road, the sheer scale of today’s government obligations has driven us into a box canyon, with no way out. As the government’s debt and spending obligations are mathematically impossible to resolve, it is now a certainty that a lot of people are going to wake up one morning to the reality that they are a lot poorer than they thought.

“Fortunately for those now paying attention, the collapse of a monetary system doesn’t happen in a flash. It is a progression, like the spiral of water down a drain. Thus, while no one can predict exactly when the downward spiral will accelerate out of control, there is still time to prepare.”
[59013]

Related Material:
The World Of Fake Money
The Cost Of Euro Break Up
Gordon Brown: The World Is Drifting

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, World - No Comments →

Opinion (Francois Fillon, French Prime Minister, from itar-tass.com): “The summit in Brussels led to a compromise. The ultimate rejection of the possibility to exclude any country from the euro zone is among its achievements. But the acceptance of an anti-crisis plan is a step towards the unity of the EU, the first convergence of French and German economies.”
[59152]

Related Material:
Decisive Times For The Eurozone
The Lehman Brothers Effect
We Need Unity, And It Is Not There

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, World - No Comments →

Opinion: (Michael Khazin, an economist, from km.ru): “Modern political and economic life is largely determined by internal and external contradictions. The modern political class refuses to recognize the existence of the crisis. The politicians are ready for anything, but on condition that their position and profits are not hurt in any way.

“In the last ten years the politicians fought with courage against any personal responsibility, whereas a crisis is always a responsibility. The crisis brings about leadership changes, but in the last ten years all the leaders where appointed by financial magnates, thus there was no one to pass the reins of leadership on to… Financial magnates determine our politics…

“The demand to maintain the system in which the present financial and political sector are dominate doesn’t allow for exiting the crisis. It is forbidden for the elite to even talk about the existence of the crisis. Any economic advice must be coordinated with a large number of lobbyists organizations.

“In other words, the present situation of the economy and the financial system is simply not understood. But the fact that people in such responsible positions allow themselves to speak nonsense tells us about the situation in the world more than any numbers: “When the gods want to punish people, they take away their reason.”
[59000]

Related Material:
Global Economy: Is Anybody In Control?
There Won’t Be Any Changes For The Better
Austerity Sets In Motion A Downward Spiral

Filed under: Crisis, Economy - No Comments →

Opinion (from theeconomiccollapseblog.com): “George Soros: ‘Financial markets are driving the world towards another Great Depression with incalculable political consequences. The authorities, particularly in Europe, have lost control of the situation.’

“PIMCO CEO Mohammed El-Erian: ‘These are all signs of an institutional run on French banks. If it persists, the banks would have no choice but to delever their balance sheets in a very drastic and disorderly fashion. Retail depositors would get edgy and be tempted to follow trading and institutional clients through the exit doors. Europe would thus be thrown into a full-blown banking crisis that aggravates the sovereign debt trap, renders certain another economic recession, and significantly worsens the outlook for the global economy.’

“Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, global head of securities services at UniCredit SpA (Italy’s largest bank): ‘The only remaining question is how many days the hopeless rearguard action of European governments and the European Central Bank can keep up Greece’s spirits.’

“Stefan Homburg, the head of Germany’s Institute for Public Finance: ‘The euro is nearing its ugly end. A collapse of monetary union now appears unavoidable.’

“EU Parliament Member Nigel Farage: ‘I think the worst in the financial system is yet to come, a possible cataclysm and if that happens the gold price could go (higher) to a number that we simply cannot, at this moment, even imagine.’

“Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics: ‘At this point, our base case is that Greece will default within weeks.’

“Goldman Sachs strategist Alan Brazil: ‘Solving a debt problem with more debt has not solved the underlying problem. In the US, Treasury debt growth financed the US consumer but has not had enough of an impact on job growth. Can the US continue to depreciate the world’s base currency?’

“International Labour Organization director general Juan Somavia recently stated that total unemployment could ‘increase by some 20m to a total of 40m in G20 countries’ by the end of 2012.

“Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackerman : ‘It is an open secret that numerous European banks would not survive having to revalue sovereign debt held on the banking book at market levels.’

“Alastair Newton, a strategist for Nomura Securities in London: ‘We believe that we are just about to enter a critical period for the eurozone and that the threat of some sort of break-up between now and year-end is greater than it has been at any time since the start of the crisis.’

“Ann Barnhardt, head of Barnhardt Capital Management, Inc.: ‘It’s over. There is no coming back from this. The only thing that can happen is a total and complete collapse of EVERYTHING we now know, and humanity starts from scratch. And if you think that this collapse is going to play out without one hell of a big hot war, you are sadly, sadly mistaken.’

“Lakshman Achuthan of ECRI: ‘When I call a recession…that means that process is starting to feed on itself, which means that you can yell and scream and you can write a big check, but it’s not going to stop.’”
[59004]

Related Material:
The World Is One Step Away From A Full-Blown Crisis
The Opinions Of Scientists
20 Signs That The World Could Be Headed For An Economic Apocalypse In 2012

Filed under: Crisis, Economy - No Comments →

Opinion: (Barack Obama, the US President [my comments are in brackets]): “When leaders of the largest economies meet next week in France, our citizens will be watching for the same sense of common purpose that allowed us to rescue the global economy two years ago from a financial crisis that was sparked by years of irresponsibility.

“Because of the co-ordinated action the Group of 20 took then, the global economy began to grow again. [The crisis was not overcome, it was only concealed. It continues to develop only to flare up even stronger.]

“Still, progress has not come fast enough and today the global recovery remains fragile. [It is not recovering, but falling apart—if we dare to face the truth.]

“Our challenge is clear. [It is not clear, judging by what the President says next.] We must stay focused on the strong, sustainable, and balanced growth that boosts global demand and creates jobs and opportunity for our people. [This can never happen; the bubbles have burst, and excess production will need to be stopped.] This requires action in several areas.

“First, as the world’s largest economy, the US will continue to lead. The single most effective thing we can do to get the global economy growing faster is to get the US economy growing faster. That’s why my highest priority is putting Americans back to work. It’s why I’ve proposed the American Jobs Act [a plan to increase the number of jobs]… It’s why I signed landmark trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama….

“At the same time, we’re building on the nearly $1,000bn in spending cuts agreed this summer.

“Second, the crisis in Europe must be resolved as quickly as possible. This week, our European allies made important progress on a strategy to restore confidence in European financial markets, laying a critical foundation on which to build.

“Given the scope of the challenge and the threat to the global economy, it is important for all of us that this strategy be implemented successfully – including building a credible firewall that prevents the crisis from spreading, strengthening European banks, charting a sustainable path for Greece and tackling the structural issues at the heart of the current crisis.

“Third, each nation must do its part to ensure that global growth is balanced and sustainable so we avoid slipping into old imbalances. For some countries, this means confronting their own fiscal challenges. For countries with large surpluses, it means taking additional steps to support growth. For export-oriented economies, it means working to boost domestic demand.

“Avoiding old imbalances also means moving ahead with financial reforms that can help prevent another financial crisis. In the US, we’re implementing the strongest reforms since the Great Depression. Across the G20, we need to make sure banks maintain the capital they need to withstand shocks, and there needs to be greater oversight and transparency to avoid excessive risks, especially with regard to derivatives.

“Finally, the G20 nations must deepen co-operation on the range of global challenges that affect our shared prosperity. We need to move ahead with our commitment to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels and transition to 21st-century clean-energy economies.” [It’s an old-fashioned approach that does not take into consideration the new integrated world and the fact that we can’t increase excessive and unnecessary production. It shows a lack of understanding of the need to study the new integrated, interconnected world and to restructure our life to suit its laws.]
[59155]

Related Material:
We Are Facing The G20 Again
IMF: Global Economy Needs Collective Action Now
Crisis And Resolution

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, World - No Comments →

Opinion: (Alexei Kudrin, Russia’s Finance Minister): “The world economy faces a lost decade of low growth even though it is still possible to stave off another global recession, Russia’s finance minister was quoted as saying on Saturday. ‘We are probably faced with a lost decade. It is already obvious that growth rates are going to be low,’ Alexei Kudrin told Russian reporters on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers meeting in Washington. ‘The fight with a fading of growth is going to take many years, most likely 5-10 years,’ added Kudrin.”

My Comment: If there are no extraordinary events, wars, or disasters, the economy will never grow again, and the world will gradually realize that man was created not for unrestrained pursuit of elusive happiness in wealth, power, and fame, but for reasonably limited consumption and unlimited spiritual growth.

In the name of what should we hope for the continuing growth? The rich get richer, the poor get poorer! The crisis is not financial, but of the world we have created. Either the Finance Minister does not understand it, or he is stretching the truth….
[59027]

Related Material:
The Financial Crisis Has Drained The World’s Strength
The World Is One Step Away From A Full-Blown Crisis
Economics Done By The Balance Formula

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, World - No Comments →

Opinion: (Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics at New York University): “This year has witnessed a global wave of social and political turmoil and instability…

“While these protests have no unified theme, they express in different ways the serious concerns of the world’s working and middle classes about their prospects in the face of the growing concentration of power among economic, financial, and political elites. The causes of their concern are clear enough: high unemployment and underemployment in advanced and emerging economies; inadequate skills and education for young people and workers to compete in a globalized world; resentment against corruption, including legalized forms like lobbying; and a sharp rise in income and wealth inequality in advanced and fast-growing emerging-market economies.

“The increase in private- and public-sector leverage and the related asset and credit bubbles are partly the result of inequality. Mediocre income growth for everyone but the rich in the last few decades opened a gap between incomes and spending aspirations. In Anglo-Saxon countries, the response was to democratize credit – via financial liberalization – thereby fueling a rise in private debt as households borrowed to make up the difference. In Europe, the gap was filled by public services – free education, health care, etc. – that were not fully financed by taxes, fueling public deficits and debt. In both cases, debt levels eventually became unsustainable.

“Firms in advanced economies are now cutting jobs, owing to inadequate final demand, which has led to excess capacity, and to uncertainty about future demand. But cutting jobs weakens final demand further, because it reduces labor income and increases inequality. Because a firm’s labor costs are someone else’s labor income and demand, what is individually rational for one firm is destructive in the aggregate.

“The result is that free markets don’t generate enough final demand. In the US, for example, slashing labor costs has sharply reduced the share of labor income in GDP. With credit exhausted, the effects on aggregate demand of decades of redistribution of income and wealth – from labor to capital, from wages to profits, from poor to rich, and from households to corporate firms – have become severe, owing to the lower marginal propensity of firms/capital owners/rich households to spend.

“The problem is not new. Karl Marx oversold socialism, but he was right in claiming that globalization, unfettered financial capitalism, and redistribution of income and wealth from labor to capital could lead capitalism to self-destruct. As he argued, unregulated capitalism can lead to regular bouts of over-capacity, under-consumption, and the recurrence of destructive financial crises, fueled by credit bubbles and asset-price booms and busts.

“To stabilize market-oriented economies requires a return to the right balance between markets and provision of public goods.

“Any economic model that does not properly address inequality will eventually face a crisis of legitimacy. Unless the relative economic roles of the market and the state are rebalanced, the protests of 2011 will become more severe, with social and political instability eventually harming long-term economic growth and welfare.”

My Comment: Like all economists, Roubini tries to save the economy, meaning the connections between different parts of society in their mutual exchange of valuables, without considering that the structure of society has changed, and from egoistic connections between everybody, there emerged new connections of complete mutual dependence between all countries, organizations, and people.

None of today’s economists is able to consider such mutual dependence because no one has this model of the world within himself. For this, a person has to be at the level of “love thy neighbor.” Only then, sensing this system within, he or she will be able to understand, simply and naturally, how to trade, communicate, connect, distribute, exchange goods, and so on, which is what the world economy has to describe.

Therefore, Marx warned that the transition to the new economy must go hand in hand with raising the moral level of people, who will be able to implement this. Baal HaSulam wrote that we should sit on a school bench and study. And only to the extent of our inner transformation, we will be able to understand the state we find ourselves in and see the degree of our interconnection. Then we will be able to act in concord with these natural relationships revealed between us.
[59038]

Related Material:
Success Is Not In The Growth Of Wealth But In Its Distribution
About Capitalism Today
Global Economy: Is Anybody In Control?

Filed under: Crisis, Economy - No Comments →

In the last couple of days our daughter organization ARI Research Institute sent out letters to all decision makers dealing with pressing economic problems of the crisis. The intention of the ARI Institute was to remind that the crisis and its resolution do not root in financial and economic policy but rather in an increasingly stronger interdependence of the entire humanity. We are unable to influence this growing interconnection. The only solution is to educate people, to support this “involuntary” network of connection, to see it as an opportunity for our future prosperity, and to teach the public about integral behavior.

The letter is presented below.

Dear Sirs,

The ramifications of the escalating global financial crisis undermine the economic and social stability, and even question the sustainability of the government in many countries. Many who have lost their jobs and/or their life savings are beginning to lose faith in your ability as leaders to provide them with financial security or even viable solutions for the future. In the midst of global uncertainty, the bonding exemplified by the various protest movements temporarily consoles the dissatisfied. At the same time, it creates a perilous dynamic which unabated will lead to expanding and intensifying unrest.

Moreover, the global interdependence and decades of economic excess has rendered conventional fiscal and monetary solutions ineffective. As a result, the national debt is relentlessly inflating, hampering your ability to continually offer meaningful solutions to the social and economic challenges we face.

In such a reality, unemployment rates will rise drastically, leading to more social unrest and protests, which will in turn present a real threat to the stability of countries, and of the entire international social, economic, and political systems.

To maintain the government’s stability, we believe that unemployment should be treated as an issue that requires immediate and specific attention. We respectively suggest that bold action is now required to stem the cycle of decline in which we find ourselves. To achieve this, we propose that a national emergency mechanism be established, with the following goals:

• Integrating unemployed people in an ongoing study framework (to be detailed below), which will be regarded as “employment”;
• Preventing publicly displayed idleness, bitterness, and mass demonstrations and protests;
• Providing unemployed individuals with tools for rejoining the workforce;
• Providing scholarships that cover basic needs and a dignified life, subject to participation in the study framework;
• Repairing the dignity of the unemployed by “upgrading” the social status of the unemployed from that of “outcasts” to that of persons pursuing “enhancement” of their social and professional skills;
• Enhancing empathy with the state and social cohesion, especially now in times of crisis.

The contents in the study framework[1] for the unemployed will include, among other topics:

• Personal finance. This will allow for dignified subsistence under the possibilities that the scholarship for the unemployed permits.
• Learning to live in conditions of uncertainty. This will include maintaining the solidity of the family unit, with a special emphasis on parenthood, enhancing and maintaining mental and emotional soundness, and the development and improvement of social skills.
• Educating people about the consequences of the tightening connections among individuals, firms, and countries, how they affect people’s basic needs, and our daily reality on the national and international levels. Each person will be expected to realize that in the global era, all of us—ordinary citizens, the wealthy and powerful, and policy makers—are in the same boat.
• Providing the necessary social skills for a sustainable existence in an interconnected world: social solidarity, consideration of others and of the environment, and balanced and reasonable consumption.

Such a crisis-borne education mechanism will ease people’s minds, thus providing the government with the necessary timeframe for coping with the global challenges, and will secure national and international stability.

As an educational organization that cooperates with organizations at the highest level, we would welcome an opportunity to consult with you and to provide the required tools and expertise to implement our plan.

Sincerely,

The ARI Institute
www.ariresearch.org

[1] All contents will be taught in an engaging manner, through a virtual environment, using games, quizzes, social activities, and so forth.
[58960]

Related Material:
The ARI Institute At ICSSPE’s Conference On Sport
ARI Institute Establishes Contact At The Highest Level Of The UN Headquarters
ARI Strengthens The Connection With UNESCO

Filed under: Crisis, Economy - 1 Comment →

The world is standing at the threshold of a dramatic rise in unemployment. Millions will be thrown to the curb without the slightest opportunity to find a job so they could put bread on the table. A new source of income has to be made available to them—integral study.

We must understand that by attracting the Light that reforms, by acting for the sake of common unity, by studying the laws of the new world and the principles of life in it, a person deserves to have the minimum conditions for a respectable existence provided for him. This enables him to become a positive and necessary part of society.

We have already contacted people who make decisions, offering them this path. A person who was laid off cannot be left to his own devices at home or thrown to the whim of fate. This will make him cruel, besides turning him into a bum who will never be able to go back to work. Having no other choice, he will resort to drugs, criminal activity, and so on. If we don’t keep people busy, things will escalate to a social collapse.

In this regard we have to understand that the new activity, studying, will be the correction. It is simply necessary for us to have people sit down at the desk to study. This is not a pittance by any means nor a chance to “kill time,” but a social function that is necessary to all. In essence, the people who are studying will already begin working on society’s rehabilitation, and that is exactly how we will treat them as well.

And those who keep their jobs should also be involved in the study. Maybe they will split their working hours with the people who were laid off, and then everyone will be able to study for half a day. This routine has to be instituted lawfully. After all, we are all a single society and we all want social justice. That means we have to distribute our time justly: Work is divided among everyone, and so is the study, and on average, everyone receives similar salaries.

Life itself is dictating this approach to us. It is impossible to continue chasing the “American dream.” It has already come crashing down and it’s time for us to wake up.

Question: Is this kind of study enough to solve all the problems?

Answer: Yes. After all, it’s not simply a study, but various types of training, as well as a connection to the current events and phenomena, an explanation of the single world and the need for a good interconnection. A person learns to unite with others and starts to understand that by virtue of that, we awaken the forces concealed within us. They are already contained in the integral society and they will bring the necessary order to it. With their help, we will obtain the same qualities as nature and will stop being a faulty, antagonistic appendage in it. We will go from being a cancerous tumor to an integral part, thereby attaining unity and rehabilitation of the whole world.

Unity is our salvation. Only by uniting will we attain results. Today we are discovering the fact that human society is a single whole, and we must consciously go along with this tendency from our own desire. It’s time to understand that there is no other way to go.

Baal HaSulam says that this does not involve anything more than a psychological difficulty. A person is unable to change himself from within: It’s easy to turn this lever, but hard to reach it. However, as soon as he grabs hold of it, the world will change to the opposite with one movement.
[59209]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

Related Material:
ARI Research Institute Addresses Decision Makers
Playing A Game Of Bestowal
Attuning Yourselves To The Convention Wave

Filed under: Crisis, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Economy, Education, Q&A, Society, Unity - 2 Comments →