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European finance lessons by Thanos Kalamidas 2009-03-22 08:32:44 |
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So this is it, now we know that the European leaders didn’t really understand anything from the new air that blows from Washington and didn’t get anything from what Barack Obama said about economy, it is like an old record player that is stuck in the same place and they are playing the same song that with a lot of help from the Bush administration led to the recession and all that followed.
In the United States Barack Obama and his advisors realized early that the only way to help the economy is to help the middle class, the small businesses and the households. After all they know that these are the ones who really make the money go around and that for them money have a real mining and they are not just numbers in a virtual world. Mr. Obama’s anger with AIG might looked populist but he felt exactly the same the people feel and he saw behind their move to give high bonuses despite the fact that the very same company needed - I’m trying to avoid the word demanded because it makes me more angry – the help of the state to survive the damages; but the truth is that these money would be better invested in the people who urgently need them instead of companies that waste them.
The same time the leaders of the European countries meet and meet again and again with one and only result, to increase tax for the people, talking if they should increase VAT and let the ones who really hold the money free and untouched giving up in the blackmail, if you touch us then we will let more people unemployed which means political cost. I find many handicaps in the American democracy but this is a very serious handicap on our European democracies, the governments are prey of their own bulimia for power and a system that can drive a government out of the office far earlier before the end of their term.
This is good and has stopped a lot of times corruption and overpowered governors but this minute we see the negative side of the case, it looks like the banks and the industry has more power than the state to the stage that they can manipulate decisions, critical as those regarding the necessary measures to fight recession. Barack Obama gone one step further to stimulate the American economy and I’m going to say it very simply but the fact remains the same, he printed money! Yes that might cause a small raise of the inflation but isn’t that better than the bankruptcy? And this moment whole states endanger bankruptcy, don’t forget the example of Iceland that collapsed from one day to the other.
But the best came from Sweden, a country that one more time excuses very well that yes they are members of the European community but they don’t follow everything. Of course the American MG owners of the car industry SAAB did the usual trick demanding with their usual blackmail with the unemployment from the state to fund them and help them go out of the difficulties. The answer was that we were elected to build school, hospitals and take care of the people and not to fund failure car industries and greedy directors and share holders. I think this was the perfect answer and it should become a dogma in the EU in this fight for the recession. You see this is a very weird capitalism, when they make money they don’t want the state to touch them and check their profits but when they have damage they expect from the state to save them! In Greece we say they want the dog and the pie full, well it’s impossible!
The leadership of the European Union today is the shadow of all the hopes that built the idea and people like Barroso will stay in history as the example of the complete failure in every single level. He proved his inability during the Iraq crisis in foreign police, he did it again during the European constitution or treaty call it what you want crisis and he definitely has failed regarding the reputation and dignity of the Union out of the European borders. Actually during his time the EU has lost face, power and influence in every single situation and now when the European Union had the chance to prove that it is an institution that protects its citizens Mr. Barroso failed to coordinate and he is too small to deal with the situation. Of course he had a lot of help from Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and the European jester Berlusconi. That’s the reality of the European Union in front the crisis and these are the responsible not only for the failure to deal of the crisis but their failure to serve the people who elected them. Of course Mr. Barroso is not elected but appointive which makes him a danger failure!
The same time the number of unemployed in Europe continues to rise, the number of homeless continues to rise and the number of homes in danger of a bankruptcy reaching sky-high! But it seems that the only problem the European leaders have is the year of the Champagne, their personal political future and the only thing they want from the American president is a memoir photo!
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