Martin Wolf laments a series of stupid decisions
The FT's Martin Wolf today writes about the entrenchment of synchonized global stagnation and recaps how he got here. He outlines a series of 'stupid' decisions, policies and beliefs:
- Austerity and the unwillingness to use fiscal policy
- The trade war
- Brexit
- Japan-South Korea friction
Those aren't necessary problems alone but they come at a time when monetary policy is tapped out. The next slowdown (if it's not now) will be much worse:
We are collectively playing with fire. Worse, we are doing so while living in a flammable building. As Lawrence Summers tells us, the danger is not so much a global economic slowdown, as the difficulty of doing much in response.