# The Black Death of financial collapse



## metric (13 April 2008)

by James Cumes

James Cumes is a former Australian ambassador to the European Union and Australian representative at the United Nations. He is the author of among other works The Human Mirror: The Narcissistic Imperative in Human Behaviour. 

Apr 10, 2008 

The Black Death of financial collapse
By James Cumes 

The financial and economic crisis now upon us is by far the most menacing of the past century - even more so than the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is not just a "subprime" crisis; it is systemic - affecting the entire financial system. It is also global, affecting various countries in various ways but affecting them all. In achieving a certain "globalization", we have been uniquely successful in globalizing collapse, chaos and misery. It is a globalization which, in our short-sighted negligence, we never envisaged. 

In this crisis, even a country such as Australia is no more than a subordinate, neo-colonial, financial and economic dependency. In essence, we have reverted to what we were before and during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when Whitehall, Westminster and the Bank of England played the tune to which we jigged. Then, from 1945 to 1969, for the first time, we played our own tune of full employment and stable economic growth. Wild radicals such as minister Eddie Ward in the governments of John Curtin (1941-45) and Ben Chifley (1945-49) warned us to be wary of Wall Street. 

The cynics might now say that Eddie, who died in 1963, was right. After 1969, we forgot his warning. Indeed, the Americans themselves forgot to guard against the chicaneries of Wall Street, where eternal vigilance should always be the watchword. They forgot what the mania of Wall Street can do to the reality of Main Street; and we shared their amnesia. 

From 1969 and especially from 1971, when the United States cut the dollar link with gold, Australia surrendered any worthwhile independence in its economic and financial thinking. We swallowed American financial and economic formulae, whether we were academics or policymakers, industrial entrepreneurs, banks or providers of "financial services." 

We did not entirely switch off tunes played by Britain, the more so as its prime minister Margaret Thatcher formed her slapstick band with US president Ronald Reagan to drum up support for "free" markets, "free" trade, privatization, globalization and the free flow of almost everything, including speculative capital in unqualified pursuit of private profit. Corporation and consumer greed marched in step towards global disaster. 

Rational economics based on real investment, productivity and production died in favor of speculative and often Ponzi 


to continue... http://atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JD10Dj03.html


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## Conza88 (15 April 2008)

The blame is placed squarely at the foot of the American Central bank...the FED... printing money out of thin air. Of course you're going to get inflation, albeit an inflationary depression - and when you are a debtor nation; fighting wars - and have to borrow from China to do so... tsk tsk, perfect storm brewing...

​
Try guess whats the political philosophy mentioned in the first 30 seconds? 

- US middle class is deteriorating.. when they stop importing from China, shiz is going to hit the fan basically. This thing is going/HAS gone worldwide. And is only going to get worse.


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## ithatheekret (16 April 2008)

Good read there Metric .

I'd find it hard not to agree with Cumes .

But it goes to show that the moves were not opportunities knocking , just temptation with its finger stuck on the doorbell again .

Free Trade , Free Markets ..... load of codswallop , no such thing anymore .

If there's one thing in this world we do know , it's that nothing is free , there used to be , but they were tempters anyway , the last thing I remember that was free was lunch , but then the boss always paid .  , ah those were the days .

Nowdays free means pay later ......... at a higher interest rate .


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## Kimosabi (16 April 2008)

Conza88 said:


> Try guess whats the political philosophy mentioned in the first 30 seconds?




This philosophy wouldn't be *Fascism* by any chance.

If anyone bothers to do any research they will find that the Bush's have a Family History of supporting Fascism and Fascist Regimes...

George W Bush's granddaddy, Prescott Bush was involved in a conspiracy to overthrough Franklin D. Roosevelt and set up a Fascist Regime in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

A little video on Prescott Bush..



Fascist symbols in Congress



Just the type of people you'd love to have over for dinner...


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## explod (16 April 2008)

Amen, but just another since 2002, of course it is now just pointing out the bleeding ovbious.    You there Whiskers ?


Problem will be withstanding the misery before and around us everywhere, if we open eyes a great deal of it is here.

Remember well, deregulate, business will regulate themselves, it is in thier interests.   And Little Johnny embraced and immortalised himself in it, and said the other day "we've done a great job"


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