Mohamed El-Erian: Why I Won't Go To Davos

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in that intimate setting remains one of the year's hottest tickets, but its organizers want their event to be much more than what it currently is -- a big, prestigious talk-shop. They want it to influence policy at the national, regional, and global levels.

Yet, over the years, and in the context of an increasingly unsettled and uncertain world, Davos has not had much impact.

Read the whole story: Reuters

Comments

[Kenz300]

12:20 AM on 01/20/2012

Interesting -- I would have thought he would be attending.

[joebhed]

07:49 PM on 01/19/2012

Not much of an agenda from Mr. El-Erian.

If the Davos monied and powered elite will simply agree to change the nature of the discussions from "what can we do?" to a conducted and enforced "who's doing what?", with an accompanying sine quo non commitment to something called collaboration in doing whatever that is, then Mr El-Erian might attend his first session of the New Davos.

Mayhaps the problem is that the many years of discussions have not provided the necessary solutions because of the reality of the moment, which is that the monetary systems of the world's national economies are essentially insolvent.

And we do need a new way out.
Mr. El-Erian would like to do the job of the JP Morgan of today. Only much more sophisticated.

I somehow doubt that his solution will be much different than other investment bankers.

The problem is the money system.
It is based upon un-payable debt.
Were the money system not debt-based, then we could have more money, or a higher quantity of the national circulating media to provide exchange of commerce, without more debt.

Can we have money without debt?

http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/NEED_Act_FINAL_112th.pdf

Yes.

[altohone]

08:14 AM on 01/19/2012

He is too busy writing opinion pieces that blame the victims and shield the guilty.

[lvdragonlady]

07:13 AM on 01/19/2012

This guy and HIS company need to GO AWAY. He is anti America and no matter where his company stands in the world, has no clue most of the time when he speaks.

[Donatella]

08:18 PM on 01/18/2012

Davos is attended by the powerful elite (1%) and like Frederick Douglas said:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”

[rotorhead1871]

10:16 PM on 01/18/2012

gonna take way more than a demand.......

[Donatella]

11:31 AM on 01/19/2012

It worked when masses of demonstrators demanded we stop the Viet Nam war. "Demand" takes many forms, like OWS or voting out politicians. The substance of his quote is to take aggressive action and not expect the ones in power (1%) to give something up willingly.

[DelMarVa]

06:04 PM on 01/18/2012

Don't you just love it .. these Financial Big Shots and Media biggies meeting in winter wonderland Davos - with their huge expense accounts - for their annual R & R session while the world struggles in the wake of their "in your face" extravagance and excess?

Don't you think they could accomplish just as much (maybe even more) by meeting in more real world places ... Peoria, Calcutta, Lagos, Kiev, etc.?

[OldTulsan]

10:17 PM on 01/18/2012

East St. Louis.

[Linda from Deerfield]

06:02 PM on 01/18/2012

As much as I tend toward suspicion of most everyone in finance, I have to admit respecting Mr. El-Erian for his public criticism of Davos and refusal to attend. That alone is encouraging.