Retry #2

Poor Shoichi Nakagawa!

Disembark from your government private jet at yet another exotic world location and your hosts whisk you, together with your entourage, away to the creme de la creme of upscale hotel or living quarters.

Have a sumptuous meal accompanied by copious flagons of wine; then retire to the drawing room with snifters of $1000 (US) brandy to divvy up the spoils for the politicos and elites.

Ah! The pampered life of a G7 or G20, or whatever the current number, finance minister or treasury secretary gathering to debate the fate of world trade and economic relationships.

And here I thought that it was perfectly rational to rectify world monetary problems and the course of trade whilst knocking back a few. But then occurs the disgrace of Shoichi mumbling and stumbling around the microphone, embarrassing his country and fellow participants; seemingly painting a less than favourable portrait of the wise money men of the world. Of course, his actions and poor judgment are censured, and his career shattered, while we are assured his behavior represents a complete anomaly at such conferences.

Now that I realize our ’public servants’ may not be falling down drunk on the job, I’m truly worried since I suspected that was the reason for their impaired outlook and hapless performance at anticipating future problems and global directions. How else to explain their delayed reaction to the worldwide economic recession and total incomprehension at the speed of the meltdown.

Maybe they are simply unable to see the forest for the trees.

Meanwhile, I can anticipate Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, or Mark Carney, Bank of Canada Governor, jiggling into another press conference letting us know how much things have worsened in the past 48 hours and the need to constantly revise their positions as they lead from the rear. Over the past three moths the duo have gone from ’the no need to panic and no deficits’ to all out ’ramp up the presses and throw money at the problem until it sinks’.

Oops! Time to grab a pitcher of wine.