Is The World Broke?’

[Mr Lee]

So is the world going broke? and I am wondering how bad all this will hurt the Philippines in the future? Less OFW and less people able to send money home has to hurt the Philippines which is so dependent on other countries.  It isn't just a European problem. Spending in the U.S. threatens to leverage the domestic economy so much that it faces, within just a few years, a debt level that represents the country's entire gross domestic product. And, since the U.S. is a relatively strong world economy, even with unemployment near 10% and uneven signs of recovery, American taxpayers have been forced to dig deep to help out the rest of the world. Add to that worries about corruption, entitlements, over-regulation and over-taxation and you potentially have a world teetering on the brink.So how did we get here? And are we and the rest of the globe headed for broke? Here is what some business and global leaders had to say about the topic:Ron Paul: When you spend TARP funds and the Fed creates $2 trillion and they … don’t create jobs … they sort of …waste the money … It is still good for people to save and preserve capital and that’s what I think people want to do … they are recognizing that the usual investments don’t protect them, so they are trying to save capital and overcome this notion that capitalism is moved by the Fed creating money out of thin air and getting consumers to spend money.The market [is] saying that you should save and preserve your capital for another day ... when you can do something productive [with it].Warren Buffett: No, the world is not broke. No. The world is going to do fine over time. I’m not worried.Tony Blair: No. I think what is happening is that after the financial crisis and the knock-on effects, there is an unraveling of debt that has to happen. And that has to happen for consumers, for businesses, for the banking sector, of course, and for government. But some of what has happened in Europe simply exposes the need to reform, [which is] a need that was there in any event.So as our societies change, as our economies change, as the demography of our countries changes with the population aging, there are inevitable reforms of public services and welfare and pensions [that] will have to take place.I personally believe that the political will is there in the end to make these changes. And what we’ve got to hope is that if the will is summoned and those changes begin to take place then that stabilizes the economic situation, gives confidence to people -- not just in Europe but outside Europe -- and then our economies will move forward and then of course this is an independent world -- we depend on [u.S.] economic views we depend on the views from China, [and] from elsewhere in the emerging markets.Steve Case: I think it is hard to generalize. Obviously there are some countries -- Greece being the most recent example -- that have pretty serious problems. Other countries are doing quite well. So I think it is hard to cast a grade on the entire globe, it’s a pretty big amount of space … a lot of different dynamics happening. But I do think in the U.S., and just in consumer businesses – where you can … empower consumers -- in those businesses we’re starting to see a little bit of improvement.Martha Stewart: Well, it’s still skittish. It’s funny: It gets better and then there’s a drawback. But we’re suffering so many crises right now, with the gulf, the oil spill, the war, and I think until some of these big issues – giant issues – are rectified or done away with, we’re not going to see consumer confidence as we were hoping by now … Every day, another piece of bad news, is not good for our economic future.Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs: I don’t think the world’s broke. I’d give the U.S. about a 6 ½. But if you go to places like Europe, obviously they’re having trouble, maybe a 3 kind of range. But then you look at places like China and India: 8, 8 1/2., something like that. So, you know, it’s very mixed around the world and that’s what we’re seeing.I think we’re on our way up right now. It feels that way. Obviously, there are still other things out there, a question over whether some of these problems in Europe will spread. But right now, things look like they’re on their way up.EBay CEO John Donahoe: I would say [the economy has] gone from a 4 to a 5. And I think it’s been a steady progression over the last … really, a year. We began to see a bit of a turn about a year ago in steady progression, and we anticipate [more of] the same. I’d say Europe is lagging behind on that. Now in our particular market -- e-commerce -- e-commerce growth is actually quite rapid in the UK and in Germany, interestingly, as more of mainstream comes online looking for deals. So our business is strong in those two markets, but the European economy, I would say is probably stalling out at a 4 at the moment.General Mills CEO Ken Powell: Fundamentally our view is, global economic development is here, it’s positive, it’s creating opportunities all around the world. You really have to focus on the long-term…We see [the world] as continuing to grow. Now, we think it is going to grow more slowly, because of the economic crisis. But, fundamentally, we see opportunities for us to grow all over the world. Our kind of business, the food business, is very resilient. I mean, people are eating every day. They’re going to be in the grocery store every day. And so we’re planning for very, very steady growth globally.Check out Fox on is the world going broke Europe's Debt Crisis Taking Toll on Manufacturing