A charter to stop the toxic chatter

Here is something that no politician fully wants to admit – the next three to four months is going to be terrible, because until the trillions of dollars of toxic derivatives that need to be parked are dealt with, confidence will not be restored. Instead of this being an open conversation, we have Rudd refusing to say the R word and talk about a recession and Turnbull telling Rudd he should be talking the economy up.

In fact everyone is terrified to admit how bad things are going to become, and what the impact on local businesses will be as the global financial crisis builds up its head of steam.

So to help prepare business owners, the Futurist offers the following charter for chatter:

(1) Big is no longer better, and globalisation is no longer a justification for gouging local economies using market power as a substitute for solid business development.

(2) The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and IMF will now be converted into the lenders of last resort to underpin the new toxic banks that will be used to bury trillions of derivatives.

(3) Performance contracts will replace salary formulations as the preferred stock in trade of enterprise as politicians fudge issues of executive salaries and massive increases in short term job creation.

(4) Ratings agencies will be required to take legal responsibility for their soothsaying capacities and be required to make a choice to divest themselves of lucrative fees for their role as insiders.

(5) Banks will begin to use their Government guaranteed status to lend to SMEs that have the capacity to take on new projects, additional staff and build consumer confidence.

(6) Household savings will rise and consumption will return to get markets going again, albeit at a sustainable level as family’s focus on fundamentals and firm’s focus on function over fashion to restore consumer confidence to its long-term balance point.

Dr Colin Benjamin is Entrepreneurship and Strategic Thinking Consultant atMarshall Place Associates, which offers a range of strategic thinking tools that open up possibilities for individuals and organisations committed to applying the processes of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Contact: CEO Dr Jane Shelton. 

For more Futurist blogs, click here.