Al-Jazeera English: conomists 'blind to reality'

[SealLion]

This is an interesting article, I thought

Why many economists failed to predict the financial crisis


The financial crisis has not only left economies and lives in a mess, it has also dealt the subject of economics a heavy blow.

After all, economics has claimed since the 18th century that it should be treated as "predictive science", and yet it failed to do just that. It didn't "predict" the crisis.

After all, economics has claimed since the 18th century that it should be treated as "predictive science", and yet it failed to do just that. ...........

Even the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, embarrassed an economist by asking at a recent party: "Why didn't you see the crisis coming?"

........ hundreds of thousand of mainstream economists, including Nobel Prize winning ones? Not a word, not a whimper, not a whisper about the looming crash ever parted their lips.

The article basically talks about how standard "economic theories inadequately explains how you and I behave".



Here's a sip:

Mainstream economics is so wedded to the principle of free markets - that mix of deregulation, free trade, trade liberalisation and small government which got us into this mess - it never allowed itself to consider it could all go wrong.

Here's the link:

Al Jazeera English - China Buys The World - Economists 'blind to reality'

It's a moderate read, too.

[slikrapid]

After all, economics has claimed since the 18th century that it should be treated as "predictive science", and yet it failed to do just that.

LOL, this can happen to any science, especially when dealing with complex systems

btw, many didn't predict, some did, so lets blame it on economy

Queen Elizabeth II, embarrassed an economist by asking at a recent party: "Why didn't you see the crisis coming?"

i bet it was just because of her bedazzling personality

economic theories inadequately explains how you and I behave

as said before, so does any other science - sometimes adequately, sometimes not

btw. there is a simple explanation why they were caught off-guard - because it could have been planned to happen by those in control of global resources - by the global trend setters

[SealLion]

well, maybe it was set. IDK...maybe not.

but there could have been speculators, as there are pretty much anywhere in any stock exchange organization, that do have influence on either national or global economics.

This is true and has been known to occur.

For example, there was discussion some years ago on the devalued quality of the Canuck dollar only to the US dollar. It remained competitive to other global currencies, though not to the dollar south of the border.

Speculators could have some effect on some nations economics to some degree and thus, if conditions are set to some kind of point for effect, have impacts on other economies around the world.

But on a world scale, well....IDK.

But let's just suppose that it was some planned event.
For what specific purposes??........to buy land when it's cheap at a time when the economy is in the dumps??....well, maybe. Real estate prices are still fairly cheap at this time, that's still true.
But I can't find any other reason, though. Other than to buy a car cheaply when dealerships are facing closure do to corporate bankruptcy and / or restructuring.
Non of those really make sense, though.

Maybe if someone was buying Junk Bonds or something.

Or wanted to buy Iceland since that country is in the midst of some serious bank / national debt repayment restructoring, etc...I hear you can buy the whole of Iceland for about 10 dollars now...LOL.


You know....going back to car manufacturers. I never once heard on the news about the Japanese car makers having to restructure like the north american manufactorers did.
I wonder why......maybe b/c they were, and probably still are, bloated.

Maybe b/c they don't know where to spend thier money in the right car research areas.

Maybe b/c they make better cars than the others do. Which is known to have some truth to it.

The big 3 in Detroit had to go through restructuring while other global car makers didn't.
Figure that out, eh??

Let's just take that into consideration with respect to a planned global event.

Would not the other car makers also have to have gone through some sort of bankruptcy protection and/ or restructuring??
I mean, if a number of large corporations and even countries like Iceland go through some troubling times and events, would not other large corporations in Japan and Korea go through similiar times??

I would tend to think so.

But I never heard of anything in the news on that front.

I remember when Japan's economic bubble burst a few years ago but this time, I think that things are different in Japan.

Anyways.....also, what about the Euro car makers???...........I didn't hear of anything there either.
I mean, your closer to the news in Euro than I am.
YOu might know more than I do on that front.
I"d like to know, though.

So anyways....Lets continue.
If Iceland is going through some serious tough times and is stating that they will not, or be limiting thier repayments to foriegn banking, would not other countries of similiar scaled economies, be doing something similiar or be facing similiar circumstances??

I would tend to think so.

Right now, Iceland has got a lot of eyes on it b/c it just might set a precedent. If that country can get away without paying back it's many international debtors, so can other country's.

[slikrapid]

But on a world scale, well....IDK.

ever heard of the Bilderberg Group? thats 'secret' global influence

For what specific purposes??

real estates are one possibility, stocks are other (where even minor percentages are carefully monitored), lets not forget that any country/company in debt has to get a credit for restructuring or sell cheaply asap - wherever money/financial necessity exists - it creates a fruitful field for those with good financial background (or foreknowledge) for easy acquiring moves

The big 3 in Detroit had to go through restructuring while other global car makers didn't. Figure that out, eh?

restructuring may be viewed as positive or as an easy excuse to get rid of workers - who knows, maybe others have better methods or were prepared afterall (even if with a security monetary margin in case of unforeseen problems), not sure though - their stability could depend on how willing are companies to take risks and so on

also, what about the Euro car makers???...........I didn't hear of anything there either.

there are a few threads about that in the german sbi section, so usa car manufacturers aren't the only ones

http://www.sb-innovation.de/f25/abwrackpr-mie-das-ende-ist-nah-15239/

90 000 jobs in danger...

If that country can get away without paying back it's many international debtors, so can other country's.

rest assured, some long term credit (aka probably un-payable as they come) solution will be mustered

as for other country's problems like Iceland there was an article about a former russian republic but the name escapes me (bordering on europe)

[SealLion]

OH, yes. I've heard of the Bilderberg group. I recall that there was something on Wikileaks site about Bilderberg.
A bunch of rich people that live in city-wide long mansions probably walled off with the most expensive rock one could purchase to build a wall with.

Maybe your right re: Bilderberg influence

Maybe people in such groups have the ears of some people in some country's goverment where they hold large amounts of land or even stock of some sort.

They lease the land for what-ever purposes and get $$$ for it.

Maybe they hold such large numbers of stock that they're able to have a controlling interest, which may be hidden in the form of ownership of a company that someone in the BilderBerg group owns, to be able to purchase enough stock of another company.

This would not be new, actually.

There are many instances of people, having ownership of some company and making some design to purchase stock of another company to make eventual ownership of it.

And as time goes on, more and more purchases are made until the company is so big and owns so much stock of all these different companies making all these different products, that they pretty much have diversified to such an extent that even if there's a global recession, they can still make money from thier diversified stock of companies.
Yes.
That would make sense.

And it most likely is plausible for many, many companies around the world that are owned by families, individuals, etc...etc....

who knows....maybe one of the Bilderberg family groups have a controlling interest in some car manufacturing company in NA or elsewhere, that they felt the need to get restructoring financing from a goverment b/c they felt a need to control the amount of $$$ leaving thier own pockets to prop up a failing company.


Which brings me to another point.

I don't believe that any of the north american auto makers should have recieved financing to begin with.
IT's free enterprise. If a company can't make it, so be it.
There's lots and lots of company's throughout north america that fail and get little to no financing.

I understand that there's 1000's of 1000's of people's jobs at stake when job losses occur due to an auto maker failing due to not getting money from the government.

Firstly, the government saves money b/c it doesn't have to spend billions of dollars to prop up a company.
sEcondly, retraining is available.
thirdly, if one company gets money from the government and another doesn't and it fails b/c of no $$$.........is that fair?? Nope.
I realize that with the 3rd point I"v made, one has to consider comparing the number of people being laid off.


Maybe this is where the unpayable credit comes in.
Or maybe only a portion of it will ever be paid back.

It's like national debt.

My country is in debt about 600 + billion dollars. There's no way money like that could ever be paid of.
NOt in a lifetime.
Not in 100 years.
Not ever.
Debt is made to remain at a stable point so that banking or monetary-related organizations have a continual influx of money.

And going back to Iceland.

In all honestly,that's probably what will happen to Iceland.

This'll actually be interesting to watch, I think.
For a country to renege or making refusals on re-paying it's international obligations.
'Wow, is all I can think of saying.