Wall Street 2008 comité

Wall Street 2008: The Meltdown

Wall Street Dull in Front of One of the Biggest Economic Crisis Ever Seen

By: Viviana Rodrigo

After a morning of stating positions, the representatives of some of the most importants companies and institutions of the financial world seem rather dull in front of the multiple crisis that have occurred during this time. Different actors of the private industry have made moves that benefit themselves, but no immediate reaction has been seen in the committee. It seems the participants are more interested in letting the crisis run its own curse without any action being taken other than sitting in a room to talk and write ideas on their computers.

The dispute between the private and public sector, expected to be one of the biggest controversies of the day, had a small quarrel during the early morning about the reduction of loans. Later on, they continued trying to find solutions that haven’t really ended on anything concrete. They keep mentioning how important it is to come to an agreement and find real solutions for the issue at hand, but in reality none of this has been accomplished.

Considering that in this room are reunited some of the main responsibles of the crisis, that now also have in their hands not only the future but the present life of people all around the globe, it is important to ask ourselves: Do we want in front of this particular discussion these people? Do we really believe that they are going to resolve the crisis we are facing? Why should we trust them when they seem to have no particular interest in representing and solving the actual concerns of the people?

As simple citizens there's not much to be done, but wait for the best and expect an increase on the interest of the institutions present in the discussion. The crisis the world is facing right now is moving fast and we require the same rhythm from the people solving the problem.

Public crisis distracting Wall Street's real issues

By: Viviana Rodrigo

We are waking up to a brand new day and with a new sunrise new rates from the financial world rise as well. In may 2008, we stumble upon a growth rate of 1.5%, an inflation rate of 1.3% and the unemployment rate has augmented to 5.2%. So, what can we understand from this changes? Clearly people are losing their purchasing power and as a consequence the economy is dropping with the continued decrease of demand. In simpler words, the economy is still facing a break down and there appears to be no improvement in the rates. Not only this but we keep seeing consequences of the crisis out on the street with even more unemployment and more families losing their houses.

Besides all of this, inside the discussions taking place in Wall Street the numerous crisis and scandals that have emerged have generated disputes between the participants. To begin with General Electrics sold MSNBC at 6 million dollars; Mister Bischoff the chairman of Citigroup was spotted in Amsterdam entering a bar located at the red district; and Mister Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, was accused of sexual harassment by an exotic dancer. All of this somehow affects the customers confidence on the system and institutions. It was only a month ago, in april, that hundreds of people tried to retrieve their savings from citibank after losing confidence on their household market actions.

Despite the public and social crisis arising in the media, people solving this crisis shouldn't be focusing in this but rather on how to undo the financial mess they constructed. Efforts should be directed to the implementation of actions towards the economy and discussions shouldn't be a pointing fingers competition about who committed the most awful moral crime. People out on the street are begging for a solution and for a stop to the crisis that is making their lives fall apart. The urgency of this crisis calls for the right answers from both the public and private sector that are reunited today on secret locations.