Passengers in a sinking ship are well advised to help the crew bail out water. Yet, thus far, countries that rely on US demand for their exports have stood and watched as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates and Congress prepares a fiscal stimulus package. Rather than relying on the US, however, trade surplus countries such as China and Germany should help to cushion the global economy by stimulating consumption at home.

A combination of massive fiscal and monetary easing may reignite US consumer spending. But even if it does so, it is likely to be at the cost of reinflating bubbles in the markets for housing and financial assets. That would solve the immediate economic problem, and allow the US to keep importing, but the fundamental imbalance would remain. It would doom the world to repeat today’s financial mess, but in a still more extreme form, a few years down the line.