The Swiss Make A Franc Decision: How Will It Affect The Global Poor?

The financial markets are in panic over the Swiss deciding to end its support for the Euro. What will happen to the world's poor?

The Swiss have decided to let the Euro float. The markets, globally, are shocked. The Swiss, preferring to track the dollar, are not longer prepared to save the Euro or be its save haven of last resort. This decision is big and scary. It will have an unpredictable effect on accounting balance sheets, especially for countries and institutions lending and trading the world's trillions and quadrillions (a number you seldom hear, but one significant in today's global markets). But what's the impact in the US? How will working families be affected? The global poor?

American economic policy makes a false equivalency: major Congressional leaders act as if increasing profit and wealth is the same as expanding prosperity and jobs. When the gap and distance between these very different objectives is revealed statistically and anecdotally, the leaders rely on a favorite canard: blame the victims, declare the fault as being theirs.

After the twin strategies of wealth and blame, the other technical aspects of the economy, especially those tied to money and banking and the effects on expansion for jobs and middle class income are ignored.

Brasil's strategy (closer to home!) of moving millions out of the ranks of its poor into the middle class, improving education, home and auto ownership is also ignored.

And despite the claims that corporations want the lowest wage costs and rock bottom production costs, Haiti (closer to home!) is ignored.

These three examples show that income by race, class, and ideology is carefully controlled by the managing coalition of America's political economy, for the same reasons Africa lacks drug manufacturers for its most common illnesses.

The fear that the Swiss decision will lead to deflation, a severe cycle of negative economic decline goes over the heads of the poor. For much of the world and many at home, deflation will have little effect on their short or long term outlook. Not much in the inner cities, under developed rural areas, and countries with large numbers of people of color who are poor (often with wealthy leaders controlling concessions of national resources) will change. They have been stuck, sinking, too long.