G-7 to the Rescue? Don't Bet on It

The news that the G-7 is meeting is not great news. The G-7 is Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States of America. With the exception of Canada, Japan, and possibly Germany, none of the other countries' consumers can pull us out of this morass. For example, the average British consumer is more in debt than the American consumer, and even the German consumer is barely keeping his head above water (or did you forget all those formerly East Germans needing jobs?).

We need normally isolationist China and Russia to step in, and it's insulting to them that the G-7 is not already the G-9. WWII is long over, but the financial and political paradigms are all based on a post-WWII world. It's time to grow up and get the players with the most cash reserves and natural resources into the game. This crisis won't be over till China and Russia get officially invited to the club. Personally, I would invite Singapore and make it the G-10. With those three new players, the G-7 can exchange political capital for hard cash. Then, we can show them the advantages of being part of the club. Perhaps then, Russia might feel less inclined to continue to occupy Georgian soil and will avoid establishing a consortium of natural gas producers, which would include Iran.