Something's gotta give...

Axis of Depression

"What do the government of China, the government of Germany and the Republican Party have in common? They’re all trying to bully the Federal Reserve into calling off its efforts to create jobs. And the motives of all three are highly suspect.(...)

The Fed is trying to reduce interest rates, as it always does when unemployment is high and inflation is low.(...)

It’s no mystery why China and Germany are on the warpath against the Fed. Both nations are accustomed to running huge trade surpluses. But for some countries to run trade surpluses, others must run trade deficits — and, for years, that has meant us. The Fed’s expansionary policies, however, have the side effect of somewhat weakening the dollar, making U.S. goods more competitive, and paving the way for a smaller U.S. deficit. And the Chinese and Germans don’t want to see that happen.(...)

Hence the axis of depression. No doubt some of Mr. Bernanke’s critics are motivated by sincere intellectual conviction, but the core reason for the attack on the Fed is self-interest, pure and simple. China and Germany want America to stay uncompetitive; Republicans want the economy to stay weak as long as there’s a Democrat in the White House.(...)"

Paul Krugman, in The New York Times, 18 de Novembro de 2010

Depois de ler o último artigo de Paul Krugman; perguntei-me o seguinte: 

Num tempo onde a liquidez escasseia e a dívida abunda, será que estamos perante um renascimento das antigas teorias mercantilistas?  Um neo-mercantilismo?

Uma coisa é certa, os interesses das economias superavitárias são claramente distintos dos das economias deficitárias, para a resolução desta crise mundial. Isto explicará, certamente, a dificuldade sentida em adoptar medidas anti-crise mais eficazes, ao nível do G8 ou da União Europeia...

Disto, resulta a seguinte conclusão: "something's gotta give..."