Economic crisis – Fair-weather finance

ENAR

In mid-November, with the US presidential election settled, congressional Democrats tried to push their advantage. They proposed massive government intervention to bail out the ailing American auto industry. Senate Republicans and outgoing President George W. Bush said no, the proposal was shelved. However, come January, Democrats will control both houses of Congress, allowing them to again table what is arguably the most burning global issue today: Is the global capitalist system working, or are we entering a period when massive government interference in the markets is inevitable? The financial crisis, which is segueing into a global recession, has provoked heated discussion over the free market. As powerful financial institutions began to totter, defenders of state intervention said massive injections of government funds alone could halt the meltdown of the world’s financial order. They provided as evidence the panic that overcame stock markets when Lehman Brothers was allowed to go under,