A couple of months ago we got CNN International back, after a couple of years away with satellite problems. Not that happy with it these days, but anyway ....
Yesterday evening we had one of those CNNI moments. One of their usually better presenters, Hala Gorani, informed us that they were going to have an interview with a Nobel Prize winning economist who allegedly claimed that everyone who wanted a job could have one - it was possible usw. Interesting? As it is the subject that I have rattling on about for years, of course it was interesting - at least in theory.
The build-up was better than the interview. That the interviewee was Paul Krugman meant that for me it was nothing really new. He did not actually seem to claim that "everyone who wanted a job could have one", his views I have read and mainly agreed with (but not always). The problem was that the terms of reference were almost exclusively the United States.
Where Europe is concerned he seemed reasonably informed upon the crisis (his note as to why Spain is in a mess was perceptive), but offered nowt more that caution where Europe was concerned. Yes, austerity is bad usw (don't we know that already?) - but anything that sounded like a solution?
Easy to say "bad", not easy to offer anything "good", and very difficult to propose "excellent".
Which unfortunately is what we need. No carping, just action. And quick!!!! We appear at the moment to be facing ruin and nobody seems to be doing owt except, to quote the American political phrase of the moment, "kicking the can down the road"!
In 2 years time usw ..... Sorry guys, the people being driven into poverty on a daily basis do not have two years to wait.
I often wonder why the EU, or individual EU countries (particularly the likes of Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal, though you should add the UK and France and could even add Germany!) do not get a high-ranking Nobel Prize winning economist to work for them for six months to a year to help turn things around.
The politicians do not seem to have a clue. Their financial advisers seem more interested in sticking to party lines than advocating practical solutions - it needs some fresh input.
I would last night to have preferred to have heard from Joseph Stiglitz (the man who put Friedmanism in its place) rather than Paul Krugman. Bringing him over to Madrid for 6 months though might have an interest impact upon the Spanish economy, bringing him over to Brussels might help kick the EU into action.
What we do not need though are advisers from the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - they have done enough damage already!
We need instead fresh thinking, fresh ideas, fresh motivation.
Before the continent as a whole descends into misery the like of which we have not seen since 1945 though, we definitely need someone who can bring about changes in thinking and action. It is not too late to act, but time is running short.
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