Jonathan Hopkin argues that austerity has failed to produce results in Southern Europe and calls for European leaders to reconsider their approach:
…..perhaps the most important result of the election is that it will likely prove to be a turning point in the way in which the European Union deals with the debt crisis in the South. As was the case in Greece, the attempt to impose technocratic rule on a debtor nation to implement austerity and reform has been a political and economic disaster…… The Monti experiment produced no clear economic gains and has been decisively rejected at the polls. It would be reckless in the extreme of Europe’s leaders not to reconsider their approach.
A disaster for the people – absolutely – but when were crisis and solutions ever about the ordinary people. It seems Aussieland was the odd (western) one out putting money into the pockets of workers building education facilities, reducing costs for energy hungry homes with insulation – etc even if some schemes was squandered on rubbish imports – but in other places the banks were spoon fed and they haven’t used that wisely – instead pushing up stock and commodity prices the world over. Nothing much has changed and we are set to repeat the same problems again – in fact its happening right now. Dodgy financials and regulators, revolving doors in centres of power – best exemplified by Obama – foxes in the hen house and all that, wars of empire in Syria, Mali and Libya and Iran building. Arming the very same terrorists that they claim to be fighting in Afghanistan and previously in Iraq – all lies. Its the same old same old failures. Spin over substance. You can be certain that when a political leader appreciates the big picture they will be shot down and blown up in a mist of so called ‘depleted’ uranium bombs. Its madness and they are still running the show.
“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” ~ P. J. O’Rourke