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The Crash of September 2011

Who needs to be bailed out anyway?

The usual rhetoric on the radio from the managing director of the EU Central Bank. "Banks balance sheets are weak and they need to be bailed out so that they can lend to business which keeps the economy going." The only true bit here is that business keeps the economy going.

The USA, with its QE1 and QE2 bailout programs has pumped TRILLIONS ($1.7 per annum) into banks over the past 3 years. Most of that money went into the stock market pushing up market prices. Now the market crashes because there is no QE3 which means the US$ increases in value and becomes worth something again.

So now the banks have weak balance sheets again because their stock market investments have just crashed.

If the USA and EUCB really want to help, they should lend the money that they want to give to banks directly to the people who create the jobs and make the world a better place - sustainably.

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