Obama held hostage by *PPPIP*

President Obama's destiny - more than his foreign policy decisions - will be sealed by how he deals with the US financial crisis, argues Pepe Escobar. The verdict of top economists on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's new PPPIP has not been auspicious. Some speak of taxpayer rip-off while Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman foresees a "lost decade of zombie banks". The President has been trying to appease Wall Street while at the same time appeasing America's anger directed at anything bank bailout-related. On a global level the Chinese have made it known their patience with America's addiction to debt has limits. The upcoming G-20 meeting in London is bound to discuss more radical steps, while back in the US some already dream of a new saviour, post-Geithner.

PPPIP = "Public Private Partnership Investment Program"
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