BUY-IN NOT BAILOUT - GLOBAL PUBLIC RESCUE

[Michel Bauwens]

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Thanks for buying in, not bailing out

Thank you for adding your voice to the campaign for buy-ins and a global public rescue plan, instead of bailouts which benefit reckless financiers most. The petition will be delivered to Finance Ministers of the G7 countries in Washington by the end of the week, and to a Global Crisis Summit including many heads of state in November.

We do need as many people as possible to join our call, so that we can be sure it'll be heard. So please - if you haven't already - forward the message below to anyone you think might share our concerns.

Thanks for all you do!
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Isn't the financial crisis worrying - and they're making it worse by bailing out the bankers, instead of intervening in the public interest to sort it all out. I just signed this petition supporting a "buy-in" rescue package instead -- it'll be delivered to the world's top finance ministers at the end of the week, so you might want to do the same: http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_public_rescue/98.php

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Dear friends,

From New York to Berlin, Indonesia to Iceland, a global meltdown is menacing the world we knew. Markets are in freefall, banks have cut off lending and jobs are threatened, with many warning of a new Global Depression.[1] The response from leaders has been sluggish, even dangerous -- take the Bush administration's bailout, a hugely ineffective hand-out to reckless financiers. But economists and citizens everywhere have put them to shame with our response -- and our calls for a better way are finally starting to be heard.[2]

Our campaign for regulating global finance was waved in the European Parliament by Denmark's former prime minister, helping to win the vote for a raft of progressive reforms.[3] Our US members bombarded Congress with phone calls calling for the public to take a stake in the banks for its money and start to fix the system -- a buy-in, instead of a bailout. While the US bill was a mess, it left the door open -- and yesterday, as Britain launched its own bold buy-in plan, the word is the United States too may give the public a stake.[4]

Only concerted action by the global community now can stop the rot and build a better system, and we can't leave it to the financiers -- so today, we're launching an emergency campaign calling on leaders for a coordinated public buy-in to rescue the world economy. We'll deliver our call for a Global Public Rescue in 48 hours to G7 finance ministers and again to a bigger Global Crisis Summit planned for November -- so please sign the petition at the link below, and forward this email to everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_public_rescue/98.php

Leading economists now agree that citizens and our governments are the only force powerful enough to solve this crisis -- only the public can mobilise the investment and oversight needed to fix the financiers’ failings, get the economy moving and revive things on a sounder basis. The Great Depression of the 1930s teaches us that we cannot address this crisis with each acting alone -- only by acting together can countries head off disaster.

How we respond to this crisis will shape our lives for years to come. We're still a long way from tackling the fundamental problems of the global economy, but the tide is moving in our direction. So let's take control of our future in the interests of people not financiers, and raise a worldwide voice across borders for a global public rescue. 3.4 million of us in every nation of the world are getting this email -- that's a start. Click below to sign, forward this email to all your friends and family, and let's raise a voice our leaders can't ignore:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_public_rescue/98.php

With hope and determination,

Paul, Ricken, Graziela, Pascal, Veronique, Iain, Brett, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

PS Congratulations to all those who supported our phone and email campaign on Europe’s climate and energy package this week -- it was a stunning victory, we won 95% of what we wanted and our sources say we made a big difference.

Sources:

1. Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, China and Korea have all suspended markets after heavy falls; global commodities, including oil, are also now falling on the expectation of recession; markets in the West have been diving. As the global meltdown accelerates, banks reliant on money markets have stopped almost all lending to companies big and small, putting many in danger of bankruptcy and job losses – see "Financial and Economic System is in Cardiac Arrest":
http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor/253853/

Rich Iceland and poor Pakistan both in danger of going bust:
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/market-movers/2008/10/08/the-sovereign-default-race-heats-up

2. Economists' consensus on the need for a global public rescue:

Financial Times chief economist Martin Wolf: "It is time for comprehensive rescues of financial systems"
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3dc401f8-949a-11dd-953e-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

University of Columbia economics professor Nouriel Roubini: "Policy recommendations to avoid the meltdown":
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/253933/revisiting_my_february_paper_the_risk_of_a_systemic_financial_meltdown_the_12_steps_to_financial_disasterand_some_new_policy_recommendations_to_avoid_the_meltdown

"New IMF study of banking crises contradicts bailout", Yves Klein:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/09/new-imf-study-of-banking-crises.html

3. Winning the vote on financial oversight and regulation in the European Parliament with Denmark's Poul Rasmussen:
http://www.pes.org/content/view/1401/1700098

4. New York Times and NYU economist Paul Krugman on the UK plan and US shift:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/doing-the-right-thing/

"This would essentially be the plan supported by most economists":
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/10/ny-times-recapitalization-plan-being.html

ABOUT AVAAZ


Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Sydney and Geneva.