Today I heard on my morning drive news interviews with the frustrated people in France and Greece who elected a new batch of politicians to attempt to try anew to bail them out of an economic crisis. I'm not sure what this means for Germany who seems to be standing alone for the austerity approach (which I believe to be a bit wrong headed).
Many of them predicted the failure of the Euro, the exit of Greece from the EU, and described the unrealistic expectations of the people who are dependent on their governments.
Specifically from France, they've promised to undo the austerity measures they've already imposed, and added more promises of spending. From what I heard, Greece is already borked beyond easy repair. The imposition of rules by the IMF over the past two years has required tax levies into the past (back to 2007 profits), and has forced thousands of businesses to shutter resulting in massive unemployment and economic turmoil.
I've discussed this here before; I believe some thoughtful government investment is helpful when done for the short term. Few large scale projects would be done in time to have a realistic impact on current economic issues, but they may be worth doing regardless if they offer "hope" of better times to come ( an offering to the animal spirits). A better recourse I think would be for the government to focus on freeing up the money supply, helping to back low interest loans for businesses who expand hiring, and to focus on things that fuel growth.
I believe what has happened in Greece is an example of what not to do. I don't understand how people cannot predict this as an outcome. This is not economics, Austrian or otherwise, but rather the foolhardiness of international bankers who are unwilling to admit they've invested poorly in risky ventures and have lost their money. We'd all be better off if they just told Greece they don't need to worry about their debts for 5 years, and give them time to recover their economy. It does no one any good to have their low productivity go to zero (or negative).
In the US, we are not treated to much European news. What are your impressions? I think the chances are good that the issues of today may escalate and destabilize a tentative economic recovery in the US and elsewhere over the summer months.
P.S. A controversial article by free marketeer Doug Casey that I read today... I don't agree with much of it, but his assertion that all nation states have trended towards fascism is interesting. One of the ideas I've been pondering lately has been the notion that a sound morality ( why we do what we do ) predicates "a prosperous" nation. There are some big questions then about what do we mean by societal morality, and by what success or prosperity mean to us as individuals (aggregated ostensibly into a national prosperity). I'm not talking wealth here, but more the idea that people live the meaningful lives they hope and strive for.
Many of them predicted the failure of the Euro, the exit of Greece from the EU, and described the unrealistic expectations of the people who are dependent on their governments.
Specifically from France, they've promised to undo the austerity measures they've already imposed, and added more promises of spending. From what I heard, Greece is already borked beyond easy repair. The imposition of rules by the IMF over the past two years has required tax levies into the past (back to 2007 profits), and has forced thousands of businesses to shutter resulting in massive unemployment and economic turmoil.
I've discussed this here before; I believe some thoughtful government investment is helpful when done for the short term. Few large scale projects would be done in time to have a realistic impact on current economic issues, but they may be worth doing regardless if they offer "hope" of better times to come ( an offering to the animal spirits). A better recourse I think would be for the government to focus on freeing up the money supply, helping to back low interest loans for businesses who expand hiring, and to focus on things that fuel growth.
I believe what has happened in Greece is an example of what not to do. I don't understand how people cannot predict this as an outcome. This is not economics, Austrian or otherwise, but rather the foolhardiness of international bankers who are unwilling to admit they've invested poorly in risky ventures and have lost their money. We'd all be better off if they just told Greece they don't need to worry about their debts for 5 years, and give them time to recover their economy. It does no one any good to have their low productivity go to zero (or negative).
In the US, we are not treated to much European news. What are your impressions? I think the chances are good that the issues of today may escalate and destabilize a tentative economic recovery in the US and elsewhere over the summer months.
P.S. A controversial article by free marketeer Doug Casey that I read today... I don't agree with much of it, but his assertion that all nation states have trended towards fascism is interesting. One of the ideas I've been pondering lately has been the notion that a sound morality ( why we do what we do ) predicates "a prosperous" nation. There are some big questions then about what do we mean by societal morality, and by what success or prosperity mean to us as individuals (aggregated ostensibly into a national prosperity). I'm not talking wealth here, but more the idea that people live the meaningful lives they hope and strive for.
”There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio.
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