The global problem of debt can only be solved globally. Once it is solved, the individual recipients can and should look at the whole. Right now, we should look at the debt (the numbers) and what they are and what they are not. For to overcome a problem, one must admit there is a problem. And the problem is not just debt, or deficits, it is a problem with an exponentially expanding series of numbers which do not reflect reality. They must be put back into perspective.
The numbers are just too large for normal austerity programs to work without harming nations and peoples - globally. There is a better way. The world economy must be rebooted. To reboot the global economy we have to accomplish Global Debt Realignment.
The world’s countries influence each other financially. The are interrelated. Presently, each country of the world suffering from financial instability has similar problems with housing price decreases, loans that are defaulting, lending institutions failing, and a crisis of confidence among the institutions themselves Addressing each country's financial crisis separately, or even regionally, will not suffice. It will not work.
Debt realignment is distinguished from debt relief and debt forgiveness in that with debt realignment no entity loses. This is the core of the concept. In fact each participant gains. Debt realignment does not burden the taxpayer with sovereign debt or the debt of the “too big to fail” institutions. It alleviates the debt from both the countries and their peoples by realigning debits to credits. Instead of transferring the debt to someone else, the debt is realigned. Instead of governments being burdened with the debt, the debt is realigned. This can be done with all debt. There is no reason it cannot be done except ignorance of the possibilities and ignorance regarding numbers, what they are and what they represent - or are supposed to represent.
It is not a good idea to assume we must experience a recession, that it is inevitable, or that there is nothing we can do. The current thinking that "austerity programs" will provide the solutions is not the right idea, and will only make matters worse, while we think we are doing something. Sometimes austerity works. Not now. There would be too much to cut. Sometimes stimulus works. Not now. The problems are too deep and too broad. And they are global. Now the world needs global debt realignment. If we just proceed as we have been globally we will see more banks fail. We still will see further credit problems. Housing prices will still drop. Businesses will still have difficulty getting loans. Jobs will dry up further. We still will have problems, because the core problem will not be solved. It would take years to overcome if it worked. But it cannot work. Debt realignment is the better idea.
We must get out in front of the problem and solve it -- nationally and globally. The bailouts did not work. Austerity will not work. Taxation will not work. With many countries the debt is too large to pay off. That is the reality. Debt realignment solves the problem, symptomatically and causally. The world markets will rally beyond imagination. It may be that controls will be necessary to keep things from overheating in the months following global debt realignment.
Sometimes we have an opportunity to do something, to turn it all upside-down, and create a new beginning. Such out-of-the-box thinking is difficult for most people, particularly for people who have rigid ideas about how things should work. It may be that it is particularly difficult for financial types. Balance sheets, "rules," and regulations -- many bent or discarded anyway -- are always popping up in a person's mind. But when things are not working the way they should and an expedient means is at hand, an innovative idea, a bold move into the future, we should take it to put things back in order. All should reflect and ask: "What if we did this, what would be the results?"
Debt realignment frees up resources, reestablishes credit and liquidity, and provides the means for vast global job creation
Debt realignment does more than any other idea because it solves several problems at once. And it not only addresses the current crisis, it does it quickly. The world has the opportunity for a financial footing that can propel humankind forward in ways we presently do not imagine. We just need to think things through and utilize the tools we have at hand. The “innovative” financial instruments that were causal to the present difficulties must be met with an equally innovative idea. We must put out the smoldering fires around the world quickly and we must rebuild better, stronger, surer.
sj@thedebtrealignmentinitiative.com