Something that really irritates me is the acceptance of these credit rating agencies. They have been wrong for years. They gave banks and insurance agencies top ratings weeks before the went bankrupt. We know that the top players in the banking industry all know each other. It is very likely that these players dine with people from those credit rating agencies.
If you check the figures from different countries there is another strange thing going on. An important measure, which in 2001 used to be important for countries to be accepted in the Euro, is the percentage of total debt in one country against their GDP of one year. We all know the USA has a lot of debt. This is 15 trillion dollars, their GDP is almost equal. Bad. The EU, is a bit better and has 14 trillion debt with a higher GDP.
While the EU leaders struggle leading, American credit rating agencies are downgrading countries in Europe more than they have downgraded the USA. The USA has triple AAA status by 2 of the 3 main rating agencies. Iceland has an almost 'junk' status. Funny enough, Iceland has the same proportion of debt as the USA.
Even after these strange ratings and failures in the beginning of the crisis, the financial world still trust them and raise interest levels for countries that have been downgraded.
So, because in this financial world nothing is done without somebody being influenced by others having a particulair interest, what is there gain? Well, perhaps they are getting fancy cars from USA bankers who are giving loans to these countries? It gives them a 'legitimate' reason to raise the prices, interest, on their loans and earn money in the future when Germany has to bail those countries out. Is is an attempt explaining this. Big chance I am wrong, but there is something strange going on and I bet a lot of banks, ...uuhhhh CEO's, will eventually earn on this crisis.
We've all been asleep in the lap of luxury. As I read last week, we're now at the point where corporations can dictate the policies of western governments. We're in debt (or **** if you prefer) up to our eyeballs as we've spent with reckless abandon for years on end, and were never willing to take on the task of proper regulation.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenShort of the EU reverting back to national currencies and giving S&P and our creditors the finger, there's not much we can do.
Yes, companies have definitaly more power than most people think! Everybory thinks that there is one source of power in democracy and that's the people, but they forget the lobbying most companies do and those have quite a lot of influence.
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