Hubris

Hubris (also Hybris): over-whelming pride, arrogance or confidence.

noun

From the Greek: to express excessive pride or wanton violence.

Indo-european roots

2008:

American lawmakers "have taken leave of their senses," European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said late on Monday evening in an interview with the BBC. "I hope that in Europe we will not see politicians and parliamentarians replicating the sort of irresponsibility and political partisanship that we have seen in Washington."

The European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told reporters on Tuesday that "the turmoil we are facing has originated in the United States. It has become a global problem. The US has a special responsibility in this situation."

"The German government expects, as do I, that the United States of America will pass a bailout package this week, because that is a precondition for restoring trust in the markets," Merkel said. "That is of incredible importance."

"The idea of an all-powerful market which must not be constrained by any rules, by any political intervention, was mad," Sarkozy said. "The idea that markets were always right was mad." He also said that self-regulation and laissez-faire capitalism "were finished."

Europe did nothing to reign in their own debt or their financial institutions.

2011 :

"What started as a sovereign debt crisis in smaller countries in Europe has now spread, causing extreme stress in the European financial sector and threatening global growth. Unfortunately, this time, the policy response to our shared challenges has not been as strong and co-ordinated as it needs to be. This slow response has resulted in missed opportunities, with each missed opportunity increasing the cost and difficulty of resolving the crisis. " Steven Harper October 2011

" A definitive solution that could have been delivered before the G20 meeting this weekend in Paris has been promised by the Cannes summit. Quite frankly, Europe's response over the past year has been disappointing. To be clear, this crisis could have been contained. Instead, it was allowed to grow." Jim Flaherty October 2011.

Carney warned that the world’s advanced economies, especially the Europeans, have spent a generation accumulating a “mountain of debt,” with global public debt to global GDP reaching a ratio of almost 80 per cent, a level that has “historically been associated with widespread sovereign defaults.”

We now have a higher per capita consumer debt than the US did before their collapse. We have higher price/rent ratios is many markets than the bubbliest markets in the US did at the height of their property bubble.

We have the same risk-enabling structures in place (CMHC) that the US did (Freddie and Fannie). Our per capita exposure to this debt-at-risk is higher than the US. BTW- Mr Carney- Our largest province is on credit watch as it's debt spirals out of control, and the BC and the Federal Debts are becoming structural according to the Auditor General.

In the words of the finance Minister: To be clear, this crisis could have been contained. Instead, it was allowed to grow.