G-8 Summit: Photo Op, Or Serious?
When leaders of the major industrial countries gather in Evian, France, this weekend, they'll face a stark choice.</br></br>The so-called G-8 leaders can continue their recent practice of avoiding self-criticism, patting themselves on the back for a few recent actions and declaring the economy is on the mend -- thereby confirming that these gatherings are just expensive photo ops.</br></br>Or they can acknowledge that the global economy is facing a real risk of slipping into recession-cum-deflation that can be avoided by taking bold, coordinated actions.</br></br>This isn't just a columnist's view or an American view, or one that reflects a particular ideology. With both Japan and Germany already in the soup, there is a growing sense of urgency among economists and policy experts about what many view as the most serious threat to global prosperity in 20 years.</br></br>"The G-8 has come to appear both ineffective and illegitimate," warns a blue-ribbon advisory group, the "Shadow G-8," that includes former foreign and finance ministers.