French socialists' electoral victories are giving top cover for other nations to ditch the whole austerity thing, not that there was ever much of it anyway.The "growth" policies they're endorsing are just more money for social programs and public employee unions. If that was going to work, it would have worked by now. As a side effect, the most productive citizens are fleeing*.
The new French Prime Minister, Messr Hollande, is pressuring Germany to participate in Euro bonds where Germany would be one of the countries (read: only country) backing the loans the bonds represent. Meanwhile, Europeans across the continent are still in deep, progressive denial about the situation and refuse to make sacrifices or free their imprisoned economies by removing their layers and layers of regulatory shackles.
They are all going down. Well, all but one.
In the long run, German help won't do anything other than prolong the crash and impoverish Germany. If I were them, I'd be getting out now.
* - If you're a Californian, don't let this bother you. Punishing productive people didn't work in France, but it's going to work wonders in California. Right?
One thing that has occurred to me, is that if Germany is canny enough about the whole deal, they could get the rest of Europe so deeply in hock to them that they could eventually turn around and foreclose on practically the whole continent. Thereby accomplishing their long-term dream of conquering Europe, only this time without firing a shot. They'd obviously have to do this with a great show of reluctance (like they have been), to keep everyone else from twigging to their real goals too soon.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this leaves the question of whether Germany should *want* to own the rest of Europe, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
I have failed to understand for more than a year now, why Germany would want to be in the EU.
ReplyDeleteI see no benefit at all for them.