Readers discuss influence of financial markets

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Opinion: Markets, not politicians, run the world

The various markets of money and the monetizing and speculation of commodities have grown to enormous proportions in a short time. Governments now can only influence markets - not direct them. Welcome to the age of capitalism - but I doubt it will be much of a golden age. -- Pat, Dominican Republic

Policymakers, including the US president, have been known to control the US Treasury in order to create a short-term favorable market condition to get re-elected. This condition existed under the former US President G.W. Bush, who allegedly overruled Alan Greenspan from increasing interest rates to cool down a hot US economy, which ended in 2008 with one of the worst US stock market crashes in history. So it seems both institutions are able to influence the market to the advantage or detriment of a whole nation. -- G., Canada

It angers me daily to read that "the markets are nervous because ..." The markets seem to be permanently nervous but it's even more annoying to see politicians reacting to this nervousness. But then so much is at stake; no one is immune to "the markets." Every single European who contributes to a pension scheme is completely at the mercy of the stock markets, and the influence of brokers has become too strong. The answer is the same as with issues of general economic policy: Take control; tighter regulation; no more borrowing to bridge budgetary gaps; no more lending to wrecked economies. Europe and the West need to break their reliance on nervous investors. -- Paul, Germany

Yes, the corporate sector, not the politicians, runs the global economy. Politicians are helpless to do anything. Rating agencies, the stock market and money markets control economic activity rather than legislators. -- Stuart, Australia

The downgrade has affected the view of the US as a global leader, since it simply underscores the reality that the US is led by those who condemn reality as an inconvenient line of Tea Party ideology. The US must massively reduce its debt, as quickly as possible, without resorting to destroying the purchasing power of the dollar via another round of printing money, as proposed by Alan Greenspan. -- Charles, UK

The downfall of the US credit rating and status as a pre-eminent world economy was only a matter of time. We consistently elect to positions of power career politicians who have little real world experience and give them carte blanche power with our financial system to spend as they see fit, which usually involves wasteful spending on programs designed to buy loyalty and ensure future votes. In just a few generations, we have gone from a nation of innovative, industry-inventing entrepreneurs to a complacent people of poor work ethic - content to rely more and more on government entitlements. Perhaps we have lived too well for too long and have forsaken the principles that made our nation great. I don't know. But, whether it is an individual engaged in irresponsible spending on a credit card, or a government engaged in irresponsible spending by way of a central banking system, there is always a day of reckoning. Ours appears to be coming quickly. I will make a prediction though for those throughout the world who will find joy in witnessing the demise of the US. I predict that when the next great powers assume the mantle of "superpower" vacated by the US (likely eastern nations like China and Russia) you just might be nostalgic for the days when the US was dominant on the world stage. -- Jeff, US

What worries me the most is that we have people in government who have very little knowledge of the departments they run. Merkel, Sarkozy, Zapatero, Barroso, Rösler ... have these people studied economics? I don't think so. -- Vera, Germany

Compiled by Petra Kusserow and Stuart Tiffen
Editor: Nancy Isenson