[ed. note: unsigned editorial]The repercussions of a March 18 closed-door meeting at the White House raised questions about the stability of the capitalist economy. At the meeting were President Clinton, Chair of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan and some of Clinton's close economic advisers.
The Federal Reserve Board chair is supposed to stay away from all capitalist politicians unless he is called by a Congressional committee to testify. He is only supposed to meet with the president at scheduled meetings when the press and the appropriate Congressional committees are notified.
So when word got out that Greenspan snuck into a meeting though a side door, it sent a tremor through Wall Street.
A capitalist government serves the ruling class by anticipating dangers to the economy. It tries to divert the results of such developments so that they will not damage the administration and turn into an economic disaster. Does the March 18 meeting mean that the Clinton administration foresees such a crisis and is taking steps to avert it? Apparently many on Wall Street think so.
At the present time, the ruling class is pondering what will happen in the event the economy crashes. What political strategies should they use under the circumstances? Should they, under the circumstances, blame everything on the administration?
A close reading of the imperialist financial press both abroad and here shows that they see for the future negative economic developments. They are not expecting a big or bigger upturn than they have now. Their policy is to use preventive medicine in order to make whatever happens easier to cope with.
The majority of capitalist economists are saying prepare for a collapse, an economic disaster.
With the support of Congress, the Clinton administration might be capable of taking initiatives that could temporarily stave off an economic crisis. In that case it could continue to rule. But the Clinton administration does not have significant allies in Congress who will follow its lead, not even within the Democratic Party.
All this is an indication not only of nervousness in the upper echelons of the capitalist government, but also of turmoil based on the uncertain economic situation.