Het Neoliberale Geloof 402

I fear global collapse: Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is secretary general of the United Nations
The Guardian, Thursday 2 April 2009
There is a thin line between failing banks and failing countries. We cross
it at our peril

Today's G20 meeting can make the difference between human hope and despair,
between economic recovery and a plunge into deepening recession. We have
seen the frightening velocity of change. What began as a financial crisis
has become a global economic crisis. I fear worse to come: a full-blown
political crisis defined by growing social unrest, weakened governments and
angry publics who have lost all faith in their leaders and their own
future.

We must stop the slide. The recession hurts everyone, but those hurt worst
are the poor - people with no homes or savings to lose, who in some
countries spend as much as 80% of their income on food, and often lack the
basics of healthcare, water and sanitation. They are the majority of the
world's people - and they have no safety net.

In good times, economic and social development comes slowly. In bad times,
things fall apart alarmingly fast. It is a short step from hunger to
starvation, from disease to death, from peace and stability to conflict and
wars that spill across borders and affect us all, near and far. Unless we
can build a worldwide recovery we face a looming catastrophe in human
development.

This is what I will tell world leaders at the G20 summit in London. That is
why I will press for urgent collective action to bolster global development
and allow people to keep faith in their future.

We must recognise our interdependence. No single nation can hope to find
economic security without taking into account the wellbeing of others. We
therefore need a truly global stimulus. Between now and the end of next
year, at least $1tn will be needed to provide liquidity, longer-term
resources for productive investment and a safety net for the poorest and
most vulnerable.

The G20 looks likely to take steps that ensure developing countries have
access to liquidity through the IMF. This is important because developing
countries are experiencing a credit crunch that has devastated trade and
slowed growth. There is a thin line between failing banks and failing
countries, and we cross it at our peril.'
Lees verder: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/02/g20-recession-ban-ki-moon