Finance Ministers Point Fingers, Throw Stones

Most observers think that the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank exposed the simmering disagreements among the finance ministers of large nations about how the world’s weakening economy can be bolstered. Most of the ministers lectured Europe’s leaders about their lack of resolve to bail out weak nations in the region, and bail them out quickly before the global financial markets make sovereign debt yields unsustainable.

Another frequent lecture was aimed at the U.S. Congress and the White House, which are looked at as irresponsible as they let the issues of taxes and a national budget slip to the end of the year, and perhaps beyond. The fiscal cliff, these critics reason, is real and will wreck financial confidence and economic activity.

The ministers of developing markets may find that throwing stones at the developed world is a misplaced activity. Whether or not the West is the cause of growth within their own economies, their growth is still slowing, and this needs a solution very soon.

Douglas A. McIntyre