the republican deregulating of the banking industry is what caused this On Oct 1, 6:02 am, Cold Water <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > US 'casino' mentality blamed for planet's meltdown > By ALAN CLENDENNING – 12 hours ago > > SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Astounded by the U.S. government's failure to > resolve the financial crisis threatening the foundations of the global free > market, fingers of blame are pointing at America from around the planet. > > Latin American leaders say the U.S. must quickly fix the financial crisis it > created before the rest of the world's hard-won economic gains are lost. > > "The managers of big business took huge risks out of greed," said President > Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, whose economy is highly dependent on U.S. trade. > "What happens in the United States will affect the entire world and, above > all, small countries like ours." > > In Europe, where some blame a phenomenon of "casino capitalism" that has > become deeply engrained from New York to London to Moscow, there is more of a > sense of shared responsibility. But Europeans also blame the U.S. government > for letting things get out of hand. > > Amid harsh criticism is a growing consensus that stricter financial > regulation is needed to prevent unfettered capitalism from destroying > economies around the globe. > > And leaders of developing nations that kept spending tight and opened their > economies in response to American demands are warning of other consequences — > a loss of U.S. influence globally and the likelihood that the world's poor > will suffer the most from greed by the biggest players in global finance. > > "They spent the last three decades saying we needed to do our chores. They > didn't," a grim-faced Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said > Tuesday. > > Even staunch U.S. allies like Colombian President Alvaro Uribe blasted the > world's most powerful country for egging on uncontrolled financial > speculation that he compared to a wild horse with no reins. > > "The whole world has financed the United States, and I believe that they have > a reciprocal debt with the planet," he said. > > It's harder for European leaders to point the finger directly at the United > States since many of their financiers participated in the recklessness. > London was home to the division of failed insurer AIG that racked up huge > losses on credit-default swaps, and many reputable European banks disregarded > risk to load up on higher yielding subprime assets. > > But the House's rejection Monday of the U.S. bank bailout proposed by > Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson provoked a sharper tone and warnings that > America must act. Though global markets on Tuesday recovered some of the > ground they lost in a worldwide slide the day before, politicians from Europe > to South America insisted the risk of a further plunge remains high. > > German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on U.S. lawmakers to pass a package > this week, saying it was the "precondition for creating new confidence on the > markets — and that is of incredibly great significance." > > In an unusually blunt statement from the 27-country European Union, EU > Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said: "The United States must take > its responsibility in this situation, must show statesmanship for the sake of > their own country, and for the sake of the world." > > The crisis also has strengthened voices in France and Germany calling for EU > regulations to eliminate highly deregulated financial markets, despite > objections from Britain, which along with the U.S. is considered by some to > practice a freer form of "Anglo-Saxon" capitalism. > > "This crisis underlines the excesses and uncertainties of a casino capitalism > that has only one logic — lining your pockets," said German lawmaker Martin > Schulz, chairman of the Socialists in the EU assembly. "It also shows the > bankruptcy of 'law of the jungle' capitalism that no longer invests in > companies and job creation, but instead makes money out of money in a totally > uncontrolled way." > > The U.S. government's failure to apply rules that might have prevented the > crisis is seen as a betrayal in many developing countries that faced intense > U.S. pressures to liberalize their economies. In some developing nations, > state enterprises were privatized, currencies were allowed to float against > the U.S. dollar and painful measures were taken to bring down debts. > > These advances are at risk now that credit is drying up. Countries with > commodities-based economies are particularly vulnerable since more > industrialized nations could reduce their demand for everything from soy to > iron ore. > > "It doesn't seem fair to me that those of us who endured so much hunger in > the 20th century, who began to improve in the 21st century, should have to > suffer due to the international financial system," Silva said. "There are > going to be a lot of people going hungry in the world." > > Just before meeting with Silva on Tuesday, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said > he believes a new economic order is in store for the planet. > > "What's to blame? Imperialism, the United States, the irresponsibility of the > United States government," said the self-avowed socialist and frequent U.S. > critic. "From this crisis, a new world has to emerge, and it's a multi-polar > world." > > China's influence in the outcome of all this could be profound because it is > a huge investor in U.S. debt. It is already calling for strict new > international regulatory systems to apply to globalized financial markets. > > Liu Mingkang, chairman of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission, said > Saturday before a weeklong bank holiday in China that debt in the United > States and elsewhere has risen to dangerous and indefensible levels. > > The rest of the world is taking notice. Many newspapers made references > Tuesday to China's increasing importance in global finance. In Algeria, a > large cartoon on the front page of the newspaper El-Watan showed Uncle Sam at > prayer: "Save us!" he says, kneeling before a portrait of China's Mao Zedong. > > In London, Jane Ayerson, a 20-year-old Irish exchange student, said Europeans > share the blame. > > "The problem started with America, but banks here have been greedy, too," she > said. > > Associated Press writers Michelle Faul in Johannesburg, South Africa; Alfred > de Montesquiou in Algiers, Algeria; Raf Cassert in Brussels, Belgium; Jane > Wardell and David McHugh in London; and Marco Sibaja in Manaus, Brazil, > contributed to this report. > > http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gOZTtahVNy4kICgeQueTNyWQybJAD93H9HL80 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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