The G20 has reached its tipping point

It’s time to give up on the G20 as a decision-making forum – it really is a complete waste of time. It should go back to being a networking and social event for finance ministers, and leave it at that. Apparently the weekend meeting of G20 finance ministers in Paris involved tense, all-night negotiations with China over the wording of the communiqué, which was eventually signed off mid-morning on Saturday. They were arguing about the “indicative indicators” to use when evaluating economic imbalances that lay at the heart of the global financial crisis. They weren’t debating what to do about...