Punch in the Streets, Not in the Suites at G-20

The G20 summit wrapped up in Pittsburgh Friday with pledges but little punch. Except in the streets.

On climate change, world leaders vowed "strong action" and on the economy, "balanced economic growth." The summit endorsed granting more voting rights at the IMF and World Bank to ‘underrepresented' countries like CHINA. With a billion people and the world's second largest economy -- China may budge up from having 3.6% of all votes.

Underrepresented booming countries may get a bigger voice in global finance. Nice. But under-represented people? Well there's the rub.

Around 200 people were arrested during the two-day Pittsburgh summit.  Heavy policing seems to be the only plan world leaders have come up with for shutting reality out.

Reality, for those in the streets, not the suites, of the world, is a whole new economy -- way more than a downturn -- and the prospect of long-term, possibly permanent, unemployment.

Read the papers, and the stats are all there. In the US, job seekers now outnumber job openings six to one. Official unemployment stands at 9.7 percent, its highest level in 26 years. If you're a teenager, it's over 25 percent. No reason there to shun protest for fear of ruining your job prospects, they're grim and only getting grimmer. That's if radicals like Paul Craig Roberts, a former officer of the Reagan Administration, are to be believed.

If measured according to the methodology used when he was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Roberts says "the unemployment rate today in the US is above 20%. Moreover, there is no obvious way of reducing it."

Consumer spending -- the engine that drove 70 % of the US economy and by extension much of the world's -- isn't coming back. And that's just the way it's going to be, President Obama's chief economic adviser Larry Summers told the BBC (my sister, actually) in Pittsburgh.

"The US can't, shouldn't and won't continue to experience the consumption-led growth of the past few years." said Summers. And the world -- and we -- should just adjust...

The message is pledge-on! Endorse "strong action" on climate and "balanced growth." But all those poor people out of work? They'll just have to adjust.

While banks are doling out cash by the millions to kill any new regulation of Wall St. (which clearly has its heart set on making another buck off all that poverty...) There is one part of the economy that seems actually to be getting stimulated: Policing. If ever civil society finds a voice and decides actually to wield it, they'll be ready. How else to reign in reality, for lawd's sake?

Laura Flanders, is the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GritLaura on Twitter.com.

Comments (28)

1. ...but we have to be PATIENT...Obama will help right the ship EVENTUALLY!...right Mask?

   Posted by urmygyro at 09/29/2009 @ 09:26am

2. People are fed up of these 'summits' , which are eventually go waste.Nothing come from these so-called summits.The danger of Global warming is getting stronger and stronger day by day. Still the leaders are not serious to tackle this problem.Are they waiting to happen something more serious to take action? It is a pity, these leaders take some minutes to punish other nations, even attack a country.

   Posted by Dastu11 at 09/29/2009 @ 09:33am

3. how about the punches to that poor honor roll kid in south chicago?

   as a former teacher who taught kids like him in a similar situation, my heart breaks for him and his family.

   Posted by dexter666 at 09/29/2009 @ 10:57am

4. Not to go all "HonestLiberal" or nothing, but...

   This will probably quite useful today and into the future-

   "We won an election; we did not stage a coup. The left will get some, but not all of what it wants, and that is OK. It is better than OK, it is the heart of democracy. Winning does not give us a mandate to ignore the interests of those we defeated. It gives us the responsibility to try to build greater consensus for our viewpoint. "---Melissa Harris-Lacewell

   Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:30am

5. Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:30am

   One of the most elegant statements I have ever seen, and oh so rare.

   I am truly impressed.

   Posted by Benchrest at 09/29/2009 @ 11:36am

6. Posted by Benchrest at 09/29/2009 @ 11:36am

   I agree....but TOO rare, I'm afraid. Seems many on the Left want to take up Tom Delay's "permanent majority" mantle or childishly claim "payback" for Dubya and the GOP Congress.

   Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:56am

7. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ fdic-reportedly-to-press-prepayments -for-bank-fund-2009-09-29?siteId=mktw

   Spread the wealth/love y'all!

   Posted by snowball777 at 09/29/2009 @ 12:13pm

8. "Seems many on the Left want to take up Tom Delay's "permanent majority" mantle or childishly claim "payback" for Dubya and the GOP Congress"

   sure, if "payback" = holding bush officials accountable for torture, among other crimes.

   Posted by darladoon at 09/29/2009 @ 1:05pm

9. Posted by darladoon at 09/29/2009 @ 1:05pm | Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:56am |

   Here's some 'payback' we can all agree on:

   Wells Fargo suspended remittances being charged on money being wired to the Phillipines (a popular way to get money from the US to family there) so that they can get funding to typhoon refugees. They also donated $100k to the American Red Cross.

   Your tax dollars at work, in a sense.

   Posted by snowball777 at 09/29/2009 @ 2:24pm

10. Posted by darladoon at 09/29/2009 @ 1:05pm

    No, "payback" as in "run roughshod over any and all Repubs like they did to us".

    Read Ms Harris-Lacewell's piece, DD.

    Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 2:31pm

11. sure, if "payback" = holding bush officials accountable for torture, among other crimes.

    Posted by darladoon at 09/29/2009 @ 1:05pm

    Now, now Darla. W and Cheney were only doing that to keep Amarika safe!!

    What people don't seem to realize is that the Iraq war and Afghanistan are bankrupting this nation. It's almost like it was in the master planand unfortunately, for us, our fearless leaders have lead the way in destroying this country.

    But, as a country, karma is coming back on us now. We've allowed corrupt officials to lead our nation for too many years. Graft is the name of the game in D.C. Keep in mind that our fearless leaders don't care where that money comes from, as long as it ends up in their wallets and keeps them in office and off mainstreet. Take care of old number one and screw everyone else....or put in a nicer way, the private enterprise system known as capitalism.

    The country is slowly closing down and the managers are getting ready for those liquidation sale profits.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 3:14pm

12. No, "payback" as in "run roughshod over any and all Repubs like they did to us".

    Read Ms Harris-Lacewell's piece, DD.

    Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 2:31pm

    Mask, I don't believe in paybacks as you would say. What I do believe in is the rule of law. The last administration in the White House thought that laws were more like guild lines than laws to follow.

    I also hold no false illusions about those on the left side of the isle being above being on the take either. Our blue dog dems, for example, are a perfect example as well as Max Baucus.

    Graft, which is illegal by the way, is the norm in D.C. these days. Nobody blinks an eye about it. Hell the supreme court would probably say that the business world has a right to influence politicians since they've already given businesses more rights than the people of this nation.....and yes, some of the businesses in question are international and in some circumstances, completely foreign owned and run.

    Didn't Cheney's old pals at Halliburton move their headquarters to Dubai? I'll bet they are heard loud and clear in the house and the senate.

    Personally, politicians on the take like this should be taken out, tarred, feathered and then thrown to the fish.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 4:02pm

13. Personally, politicians on the take like this should be taken out, tarred, feathered and then thrown to the fish.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 4:02pm

    I'll rephrase this. If they are found guilty by a court of graft, then they should be taken out, tarred, feathered and then thrown to the fish. As it stands, the old boy network lets business go on as usual, and of course no one calls anyone else on it, because everyone has their hands in the cookie jar.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 4:08pm

14. Not to go all "HonestLiberal" or nothing, but... This will probably quite useful today and into the future- "We won an election; we did not stage a coup. The left will get some, but not all of what it wants, and that is OK. It is better than OK, it is the heart of democracy. Winning does not give us a mandate to ignore the interests of those we defeated. It gives us the responsibility to try to build greater consensus for our viewpoint. "---Melissa Harris-Lacewell Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:30am | ignore this person |

    --so you're a proponent of consensus building now, huh? So why the constant effort to bring the right-wing media into it in attempts to discredit consrevative/republican commenters here?

    Posted by urmygyro at 09/29/2009 @ 4:21pm

15. Posted by Benchrest at 09/29/2009 @ 11:36am

    I agree....but TOO rare, I'm afraid. Seems many on the Left want to take up Tom Delay's "permanent majority" mantle or childishly claim "payback" for Dubya and the GOP Congress.---Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:56am | ignore this person |

    --notice Mask essentially agreeing with himself (since he copy-and-pasted a quote from Melissa's blog, then benchrest agreed with it...Mask then says "I agree"...well no kidding! Mask must have the loosest shoulder socket in the world!

    --and it's not just about a "permanent majority" or "payback" for Bush; you want to juxtapose those two as the only two options, but they're not...for me (and plenty others) it's about doing the right thing while one has the power to do it. Obama is squandering it big time.

    Posted by urmygyro at 09/29/2009 @ 4:24pm

16. "Personally, politicians on the take like this should be taken out, tarred, feathered and then thrown to the fish."

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 4:08pm

    ill-tempered fish...

    with large, razor sharp teeth...

    and frickin laser beams attatched to their heads...

    on unnecessarily slow dipping mechanisms...

    Posted by Benchrest at 09/29/2009 @ 4:26pm

17. ill-tempered fish...

    with large, razor sharp teeth...

    and frickin laser beams attatched to their heads...

    on unnecessarily slow dipping mechanisms...

    Posted by Benchrest at 09/29/2009 @ 4:26pm

    Ya, what he said! :)

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 8:22pm

18. What a disappointment, only 200 loons netted and hauled off! Better use big nets next time and bigger nightsticks.

    Posted by BigPasture at 09/29/2009 @ 11:14pm

19. Just to prove that the stupidity of the Obamanation that make desolation administration knows no ends gitmo islamic terrorist have achieved a new statust to this perverted administration!

    Yesterday State Department spokesman assistant Sec. of State P.J. Crowley referred to Gitmo terrorists as "REFUGEES" ! The Obamanation Pres. thinks they are "persons persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country and may be protected by another."

    Talk about your sheer idiocy! I would expect a leftist nutbag like darlaloon to come up with that..But wait, maybe as "refugees" they can get political asylum in N. Korea , and I think they would know how to handle them!

    Posted by BigPasture at 09/30/2009 @ 12:32am

20. What a disappointment, only 200 loons netted and hauled off! Better use big nets next time and bigger nightsticks. Posted by BigPasture at 09/29/2009 @ 11:14pm |

    I thought you said it was millions...or was it 70,000?

    Posted by snowball777 at 09/30/2009 @ 07:33am

21. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/29/2009 @ 4:02pm

    For two years, I told HSUBFOOLS I would happily see Dubya and Dick impeached....but knew it wasn't going to happen, despite his and John Nichols' endless predictions.

    Their punishment will be (and only be) in the annals of history, where, despite the faith of guys like Larry, SJCHER, RIO, etc., they will NOT be "redeemed and proven right by history".

    And it seems to me that politicians, egotists mostly, and especially those who achieve the Presidency, that going down for all time as "the worst or one of the worst" the country ever had, is worse than a 100 years in the slammer.

    As for "bad precedents for future Presidents"...name the last "innocent President"?

    Posted by Mask at 09/30/2009 @ 07:40am

22. Posted by snowball777 at 09/30/2009 @ 07:33am

    LOL....even Fox News couldn't bring themselves to say the "Tea Party" in DC last week was more than 70,000.

    Posted by Mask at 09/30/2009 @ 07:41am

23. s for "bad precedents for future Presidents"...name the last "innocent President"?

    Posted by Mask at 09/30/2009 @ 07:40am

    Mask, you got me on that one to be sure

    However, it would have been nice to see W and Cheney do time and go down in history as the horrible leaders they were and be someone's bitches prison....especially Cheney.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/30/2009 @ 11:28am

24. .....bitches prison....whoops, should be prison bitches.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/30/2009 @ 11:29am

25. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/30/2009 @ 11:28am

    They surpassed Nixon in public loathing. And he was able to create some level of "redemption" as an advisor on foreign policy.

    GOPac interns will throw their bodies in the line of Secret Service guns to prevent Dubya from even getting CLOSE to a Republican Convention from now until the end of time.

    Posted by Mask at 09/30/2009 @ 11:53am

26. especially Cheney.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/30/2009 @ 11:28am | ignore this person | warn this person

    I'm not sure Dick could hack it in prison. But I understand these prep courses for the white-collar types have become popular.

    Maybe Larouche is giving a seminar?

    Posted by schnellerheinz at 09/30/2009 @ 12:09pm

27. I'm not sure Dick could hack it in prison. But I understand these prep courses for the white-collar types have become popular.

    Maybe Larouche is giving a seminar?

    Posted by schnellerheinz at 09/30/2009 @ 12:09pm

    I can hear it now. OK now Dick, the first lesson to be learned here in the big house is never, and I repeat never drop the soap in the shower.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/30/2009 @ 3:52pm

28. I agree....but TOO rare, I'm afraid. Seems many on the Left want to take up Tom Delay's "permanent majority" mantle or childishly claim "payback" for Dubya and the GOP Congress. Posted by Mask at 09/29/2009 @ 11:56am | +++

    No, we just want some CHANGE. You know, like before it's too late.

    In about six months, the GOP and their colleagues in the press will be calling the Obama admin over, ineffective, kaput, Carteresque. So it's time to see some action and not nicey-nice wordage.

    And please don't equate the Left with the criminal Tom Delay.

    (heh heh)

    Posted by Citizen54 at 10/01/2009 @ 11:44am