“It’s hard to be optimistic,” says NYU professor and Nobel laureate Michael Spence. “There’s huge disagreements. Important policy issues are being held hostage to other things.” – Yahoo Finance from September 23, 2011.
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One man’s “Good Policy” is the next man’s “political ideology”. We know how we got into this mess. We know how to prevent it happening again. ‘The difficult we can do immediately’.
Replacing trillions in savings destroyed by irresponsible speculation “will take a little longer” ie it is impossible, at least within the ambit of political policy. Polititions (and academics) who propose that lost wealth can be voted back into existance are deluding the electorate (after first having deluded themselves). Wealth will be restored as it was created: higher productivity, lower living standards (for now).
The place of policy makers is to ensure that pain is shared justly and that the rewards go to the productive. This has never been an easy job. But turning wishes into horses has not yet become possible. Lets not be distracted from a difficult responsibility by an impossible non-responsibility.