Zmanjšanje odvisnosti ameriškega gospodarstva od proizvodnje in povečanje odvisnosti od storitvenega sektorja (vključno s finančnimi storitvami) je dolgo zgledalo kot hiša iz kart, v članku Padec piše ameriški Nobelov nagrajenec Joseph Stiglitz. Ali niso navsezadnje “trdne stvari” - hrana, ki jo jemo, hiše, v katerih živimo, letala in avtomobili, ki jih uporabljamo za transport, plin in nafta, ki nam zagotavljata toploto in energijo - “jedro” gospodarstva? Če je temu tako, ali ne bi morale predstavljati večji del našega nacionalne proizvodnje?

Enostaven odgovor je ne. Živimo v ekonomiji znanja, inovacijski ekonomiji. Zaradi idej, lahko pridelamo vso hrano, ki jo pojemo - in več, kot naj bi pojedli - samo z 2 odstotkoma delovne sile zaposlene v kmetijstvu. Čeprav v ameriški industriji dela le 9 odstotkov zaposlenih, so ZDA še zmeraj največji proizvajalec industrijskih izdelkov na svetu. Bolje je delati pametno, kot garati in naše investicije v izobraževanje in tehnologijo so nam omogočile boljši življenjski standard - in daljšo življenjsko dobo -, kot smo ga kdaj koli imeli, piše Stiglitz.

America’s dominance in so many aspects of high-tech is testimony to the real returns to these soft expenditures. Indeed, I would argue that we would do even better if we had more resources in these sectors.

Toda tudi ugotovitev, da je ameriško gospodarstvo hiša iz kart, ima več kot le zrno resnice. V zadnjih letih so namreč finančni trgi vzpostavili velikanski kazino za premožne, kjer so igralci stavili biljone (milijone milijonov) dolarjev. Toda ti ljudje niso igrali samo z lastnim denarjem. Na kocko so postavili celoten finančni sistem, dejansko celoten ameriški gospodarski sistem. In zdaj vsi plačujemo ceno za to, piše Stiglitz.

In short, the problem with the U.S. economy is not that we have allocated too many resources to the “soft” areas and too few to the “hard.” It is not necessarily that we have allocated too many resources to the financial sector and rewarded it too generously–though a strong argument could be put forward to that effect. It is that too little effort was devoted to managing real risks that are important–enabling ordinary Americans to stay in their homes in the face of economic vicissitudes–and that too much effort went into creating financial products that enhanced risk. Too much energy has been spent trying to make an easy buck; too much effort has been devoted to increasing profits and not enough to increasing real wealth, whether that wealth comes from manufacturing or new ideas. We have learned a painful lesson, both in the 1930s and today: The invisible hand often seems invisible because it’s not there. At best, it’s more than a little palsied. At worst, the pursuit of self-interest–corporate greed–can lead to the kind of predicament confronting the country today.

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