I forgot to push the send button.
444444444444444444444444444
-
Is Europe Sliding Into a Double-Dip Recession? - Room for Debate
As European leaders urge banks to shore up their finances, what signs are most worrying? Are there any indicators that are reassuring?http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/wise-words-on-europe/
"Wise Words On Europe
Kash Mansori has a very good piece on the eurozone crisis, making some points I’ve also tried to hit. Basically, he sees the peripheral countries mainly as victims of an overwhelming tide of cheap money from the core, who are now suffering whiplash when that inflow came to a sudden stop:
THE IMPLICATION IS that the very creation of the common currency area sowed the seeds for this crisis, not the behavior of the periphery countries. While these countries didn’t necessarily do everything right, they were playing against a stacked deck. But if the easy explanation for this crisis—namely, that it was due to the irresponsible behavior of the periphery countries—is not the right answer, then we need to reevaluate how it has been handled.
A small niggle: does nobody in the modern era understand the difference between principle and principal? Or, for that matter, between periphery and peripheral?"
To start with, if the crisis is the result of inexorable forces beyond the control of the periphery countries, it’s not appropriate to wag fingers or punish those countries through the bitter medicine of insufficient assistance. This crisis should not be turned into a morality story.
But more importantly, since the periphery of the eurozone bore the bulk of the systemic risks inherent to the common currency area, while the benefits were shared by both the core and the periphery, it’s deeply unfair that the burden of solving the crisis has been placed so overwhelmingly on the periphery countries through the debilitating austerity measures demanded by the core countries. The core eurozone countries like France and Germany were in the driver’s seat when it came to setting up this system, and they were happy to take advantage of the common currency when it was to their benefit. They now need to recognize that the responsibility for fixing this mess should really rest largely with them.
There is no recommend button.
The link:http://www.tnr.com/article/economy/95989/eurozone-crisis-debt-dont-blame-greece
Krugman has abstracted it properly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/business/global/europe-finds-slope-ahead-is-growingever-steeper.html
"Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are already in downturns or fighting to avoid them, as high unemployment and austerity belt-tightening take their toll. But in the last few weeks, even prosperous Germany and France, the Continent’s powerhouses, have started to be dragged down, hurt by the ebbing of business orders from indebted countries in the rest of Europe."
Simple answer: Yes.
-
pat f
-
Does IMF Stand for Impressive Macroeconomic Flexibility?
So the IMF is holding a meeting on rethinking macroeconomic policy (I was invited but couldn’t make the timing work.) And the Fund’s chief economist has already made it clear that he’s open to some serious revision of the prevailing paradigm.They make nice noises.
-
-
What Happened to the American Work Ethic? - Room for Debate
Millions of people are looking for jobs, but aren’t jumping to be seasonal farm laborers. Why is that?To make a life of agricultural labor one must follow the crops. By the time the costs of that are paid there is little money for family support. -
Bernanke’s Darkest Fears
There is no sign of that inflation. Wages are not pushing up prices.
Wages are flat to falling but prices are up.
Fuel prices are marginally down but the producers have large sunk costs. -
Putting a Face on What’s at Stake in a Clash Over the Minimum Wage
This is going to take a bit of an essay.
Market theory says that the proper wage is that at which there is just one qualified applicant for the position. It says the proper rent for a space is that at which there is just one tenant willing to pay it.
Any slack comes at the expense of the owner and must be resisted with the cry of "Socialism".
The right has bought this.
Any lower bound on wages prevents the self selection process, robs the employer and enriches the landlord and the grocer.
It does not benefit the worker.
Such is the procrustean bargain when labor is in surplus.
Workers benefit when there is a dearth of labor or of skill. Employers must bid more for services. Rents and groceries tend to rise.
If there is a skill that is in short supply those with it may get out of the bare survival trap. Thus we have vices and public education. The one to adsorb the surpluses and keep the beneficiaries of scarcity working and the other to see that there is plenty of competition for entry level positions.Government has been tasked with preventing the return of these Dickensian conditions. The right feels they are its due.This is what has become of "The American Work Ethic". -
The Two Europes Diverge - Room for Debate
There are only two paths for the European economy in the short run – two-speed or no-speed.-
The Two Europes Diverge
Vanessa Rossi, Oxford Analytica
We seem to be looking at different worlds.
In Europe, Signs of 2nd Recession With Wide Reach
By LIZ ALDERMAN AND JACK EWING
Published: October 4, 2011
"Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are already in downturns or fighting to avoid them, as high unemployment and austerity belt-tightening take their toll. But in the last few weeks, even prosperous Germany and France, the Continent’s powerhouses, have started to be dragged down, hurt by the ebbing of business orders from indebted countries in the rest of Europe." -
-
Europe's Double Dip May Be Unavoidable - Room for Debate
Everybody sees the iceberg looming ahead, but leaders can’t agree which way to turn to avoid it.
They have not turned at all. The band is still playing.
No comments:
Post a Comment