Eurozone will collapse...

[danielf]

Originally Posted by danielf

The real issue here is Wilders. Not the cuts.

Well, well, well. Wilders pulled the plug on the coalition after 7 weeks of talks on cuts, and it takes two days of talks between remaining coalition parties and three centre left parties to reach an agreement on a package of cuts that will bring the deficit below the 3% threshold. Good to see parties working together constructively in the interest of the country, rather than their own electoral gain.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17859968

Dutch crisis: Parties 'close to deal' on budget cuts

Five Dutch political parties say they have come to an agreement in principle over budget cuts that led to the collapse of the government this week.

PM Mark Rutte called elections for 12 September after Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) refused to back billions of euros in cuts to the 2013 budget.

But ministers still have to meet an EU deadline for measures to reduce the country's budget deficit to 3% of GDP.

Good piece in yesterday's FT by the way:

The fall of the Netherlands' government over the weekend after budget-cut negotiations collapsed has been widely taken as a sign of a gathering revolt against European Union-imposed austerity measures.
In one sense this is on the mark: Geert Wilders, the anti-Muslim eurosceptic politician whose support had given the minority coalition its majority in parliament, pulled out of the talks because he could not have sold his voters on tax hikes and benefit cuts carried out at Brussels' behest.

But anyone expecting the Netherlands to turn towards the anti-austerity prescriptions of neo-Keynesian economists in London and New York has another thing coming. Across the political spectrum, every Dutch party in parliament – and there are 10 of them – agrees on the need for budget cuts and tax hikes to bring down the budget deficit. The disagreements are not over whether to cut, but how much, how soon, and who should pay.

[Osem]

Yes we need more of that sort of thing here. This crisis demands more than the usual point scoring and opportunism and denial so let's hope the agreement reached actually lasts.

In other, bad, Euro-news:

Unemployment in the eurozone reached a record high again in March as spending cuts continued to hit the working population. For all 17 nations in the eurozone, the jobless rate rose again to 10.9%, the highest since the euro was formed in 1999, Eurostat said

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17921071

[Osem]

Well the Greeks don't seem too keen on any more cuts:

tough austerity measures, have lost their parliamentary majority, throwing the country into political uncertainty.

Between them, Pasok and New Democracy attracted less than a third of the vote in elections on Sunday.

A radical left coalition (Syriza) came second after New Democracy, and a neo-Nazi party polled almost 7%

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17975370

... and the French electorate have made their views known too.

... push ahead with his pledge to refocus EU fiscal efforts from austerity to "growth".

"Europe is watching us, austerity can no longer be the only option," ...

Doesn't look like cuts are going to be the 'carte du jour' in France any time soon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17979913

Can't see how any of this is compatible with Merkel's existing plans for the EU. I wonder if the lady is for turning...

Re the Greeks don't seem too keen on any more cuts - their lack of fiscal rectitude, as a populace and as a Government, is why they are in the position they are in at the moment.

Are they hoping the Gods will descend from Olympus to shower their Treasury with gold, or just hoping if they ignore the deficit and its concomitant issues for long enough, it will go away?

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Re the Greeks don't seem too keen on any more cuts - their lack of fiscal rectitude, as a populace and as a Government, is why they are in the position they are in at the moment.

Are they hoping the Gods will descend from Olympus to shower their Treasury with gold, or just hoping if they ignore the deficit and it's concomitant issues for long enough, it will go away?

What worries me is that they're not doing anything that an alarming number of people here wouldn't vote for. People have got rather too used to living on tick and they don't like the taste of reality.

Originally Posted by Osem

What worries me is that they're not doing anything that an alarming number of people here wouldn't vote for. People have got rather too used to living on tick and they don't like the taste of reality.

Yup - the old "it's someone else's problem" viewpoint.

Now, I think we need more infrastructure investment, which will create jobs, but the money doesn't come from the magic money trees.....

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Re the Greeks don't seem too keen on any more cuts - their lack of fiscal rectitude, as a populace and as a Government, is why they are in the position they are in at the moment.

Are they hoping the Gods will descend from Olympus to shower their Treasury with gold, or just hoping if they ignore the deficit and its concomitant issues for long enough, it will go away?

For a minute there i was thinking you had Ed Balls and the Greeks mixed up

[mertle]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Yup - the old "it's someone else's problem" viewpoint.

Now, I think we need more infrastructure investment, which will create jobs, but the money doesn't come from the magic money trees.....

well if wages was there in first place maybe people would not need credit from government or credit cards. Too much greed in society people at top on way too much wage. Wages at the bottom not high enough to sustain a living in todays living standards.

You got double whammy wages crippled but standard living going up due to these cretins putting money into utilities/oil. Sending money like no tomorrow to tax havens.

House prices rental been artificially been proped high too.

These very rich tanking worlds economy dont know what there end game is.

Ok you say about credit but people not spending now the net result business cant create jobs. No jobs no economy.

The argument commoners should tighten belts this the result tightening belts economy in meltdown.

If those horrible top 1% paid there taxes like they should world would not be in mess. Too many involved in tax avoidance the rest cant be taxed enough.

Look this the common man exercised his voting right in france/greece those money crooks trashing there countries.

Talk about democracy IMF there puppets of austerity on the working man to send us right back to victorian ages.

Both will end up in civil war fear us too in 3 years as no doubt we will get the same atitude senseless atitude.

Austerity never going to work There plenty money for world to work if people was not so bloomin greedy.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Sirius

For a minute there i was thinking you had Ed Balls and the Greeks mixed up

I can just see the Balls the God of Hot Air descending from Mount Olympus just in time to solve the economic crisis without any pain....

---------- Post added at 11:30 ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 ----------

Originally Posted by Hugh

Yup - the old "it's someone else's problem" viewpoint.

Now, I think we need more infrastructure investment, which will create jobs, but the money doesn't come from the magic money trees.....

... and it can only be 'printed' for so long before the entire 'system' is undermined.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Osem

I can just see the Balls the God of Hot Air descending from Mount Olympus just in time to solve the economic crisis without any pain....

---------- Post added at 11:30 ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 ----------



... and it can only be 'printed' for so long before the entire 'system' is undermined.

Maybe they should use the leaf but even in the HHGTTU that was shown to be problematic

Since we decided a few weeks ago to adopt leaves as legal tender, we have, of course all become immensely rich.

But, we have also run into a small inflation problem on account of the high level of leaf availability. Which means that I gather the current going rate has something like three major deciduous forests buying one ship’s peanut. So, um, in order to obviate this problem and effectively revalue the leaf, we are about to embark on an extensive defoliation campaign, and um, burn down all the forests. I think that’s a sensible move don’t you?

I am sure the EU will have an answer to that.

[Osem]

I can see a whole lot of extremism brewing as people try to find someone else to blame for all their woes and opportunist politicians jump on the bandwagon. Funny how the Eurocrats always liked to claim that the EU would prevent that sort of thing...

[Osem]

The EU and Germany have stressed Greece must keep to the terms of the two EU/IMF bailouts, after a surge of voter support for anti-austerity parties.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17975370

That'll go down well...

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Osem

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17975370

That'll go down well...

ve haf vays of making you comply

Originally Posted by Osem

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17975370

That'll go down well...

"The EU and Germany ......"


I was under the impression that Germany where part of the EU

[Osem]

Economies fail, governments fall and markets are in turmoil yet have any of the architects of the Euro straightjacket disaster really been called to account for getting it so wrong? Have they even really acknowledged that anything is wrong with their grand scheme?