So when the IMF comes out and says workers need more bargaining power -- well, it's about time they came around to our viewpoint.
Economist Joseph Stiglitz is one of the IMF's many critics. In his book "Globalization and Its Discontents," Stiglitz wrote that
...IMF policies contributed to bringing about the East Asian financial crisis, as well as the Argentine economic crisis. Also noted was the failure of Russia's conversion to a market economy and low levels of development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specific policies criticised by Stiglitz include fiscal austerity, high interest rates, trade liberalization, and the liberalization of capital markets and insistence on the privatization of state assets.
Apparently the IMF has realized the error of its ways. The U.K. Telegraph reports that the IMF published a paper arguing that the extreme gap between rich and poor (similar to the U.S. in 1928) was the underlying reason for the Great Recession we're still suffering through. Writes the Telegraph:
The paper warned of "disastrous consequences" for the world economy unless workers regain their "bargaining power" against rentiers. ("Rentiers" are people who live off their property or investments.) It suggests radical changes to the tax system and debt relief for workers.Read the report here.
