Circum Spective

 
it has begun

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- World leaders on Friday issued sweeping promises to fix a malfunctioning global economic system in hopes of heading off future financial meltdowns. President Barack Obama said actions taken so far "brought the global economy back from the brink. We leave here today confident and united".

The leaders agreed to keep stimulus plans, which include government spending and low interest rates, generally in place in their respective countries for now to avoid derailing still-fragile recoveries. Obama had pressed for just such a course and praised the decision.

"Our coordinated stimulus plans played an indispensable role in averting catastrophe. Now we must make sure that when growth returns, jobs do, too," he said at a wrap-up news conference. "That's why we will continue our stimulus efforts until our people are back to work and phase them out when our recovery is strong."

In a statement, all the G-20 leaders declared major progress from what they called their coordinated efforts and "forceful response. It worked," they said. [What a load of self-congratulatory b...]

Although many of the pronouncements and actions taken by the leaders lacked specifics or details on follow-through [Gee ... I wonder why], leaders were bold in pronouncing the gathering - the third G-20 summit in a year - as a big success.

"There was unanimity around the table that the errors of the past won't happen again," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy. 
[Here's the problem with that statement: The errors "of the past" are already happening again, you ridiculous liar.]

"The old system of international economic cooperation is over. The new system, as of today, has begun," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, referring to a decision to enhance the status for the Group of 20 to make it the lead group for dealing with future international economic issues, eclipsing the older, Western-dominated Group of Eight.  [A new world economic system. Hmmm? Any of this starting to sound familiar yet?]