Khori Walker-John

European leaders completely bought into the notion that the economic crisis was brought on by too much spending, by nations living beyond their means. The way forward, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany insisted, was a return to frugality. Europe, she declared, should emulate the famously thrifty Swabian housewife. This was a prescription for slow-motion disaster. European debtors did, in fact, need to tighten their belts — but the austerity they were actually forced to impose was incredibly savage. Meanwhile, Germany and other core economies — which needed to spend more, to offset belt-tightening in the periphery — also tried to spend less. The result was to create an environment in which reducing debt ratios was impossible: Real growth slowed to a crawl, inflation fell to almost nothing and outright deflation has taken hold in the worst-hit nations.

When the euro crisis began a half-decade ago, Keynesian economists predicted that the austerity that was being imposed on Greece and the other crisis countries would fail. It would stifle growth and increase unemployment – and even fail to decrease the debt-to-GDP ratio. Greece largely succeeded in following the dictate set by the “troika” (the European Commission the ECB, and the IMF): it converted a primary budget deficit into a primary surplus. But the contraction in government spending has been predictably devastating: 25% unemployment, a 22% fall in GDP since 2009, and a 35% increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio. And now, with the anti-austerity Syriza party’s overwhelming election victory, Greek voters have declared that they have had enough. This is sheer nonsense. Does anyone in their right mind think that any country would willingly put itself through what Greece has gone through, just to get a free ride from its creditors? If there is a moral hazard, it is on the part of the lenders – especially in the private sector – who have been bailed out repeatedly. If Europe has allowed these debts to move from the private sector to the public sector – a well-established pattern over the past half-century – it is Europe, not Greece, that should bear the consequences. Indeed, Greece’s current plight, including the massive run-up in the debt ratio, is largely the fault of the misguided troika programs foisted on it. Every (advanced) country has realized that making capitalism work requires giving individuals a fresh start. At the international level, we have not yet created an orderly process for giving countries a fresh start. Since even before the 2008 crisis, the United Nations, with the support of almost all of the developing and emerging countries, has been seeking to create such a framework. But the US has been adamantly opposed. There is a fear that if Greece is allowed to restructure its debt, it will simply get itself into trouble again, as will others.

Faris Yakob, co-founder, Genius Steals

What are ads for? It’s not a trick question. Ads are designed to make people do something, usually by changing their mind. What’s the best way to change someone’s mind? By getting them to do something.

Our actions change our ideas because cognitive dissonance is uncomfortable. That’s why I love interactive ideas, which were in short supply this year, at least as represented at awards shows like the Cyber Category at Cannes, which has been colonized by films (probably because ad folk really love films).

Films are great, but they don’t require actions, only audiences. So one of my favorite advertising ideas this year is a lovely digital billboard you can swipe with a credit card. The Social Swipe lets passers by interact directly, donating money, seeing the impact it can have.

The future of what we do, I maintain, is in creating ideas that are worth interacting with.

Been reading a lot about these dudes today.