Colapsul Europei? Le Monde diplomatique

Colapsul Europei?  Le Monde diplomatique – 30 ianuarie 2015

Prospectiv A-z

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"Perhaps the primary social challenge facing Europe at the moment, however, is the surging popularity of Islamophobia, the latest 'socialism of fools.'"
Asta la vest, caci la est avem alte probleme, multe din ele oarecum (gresit) indicate de autor...

The collapse of Europe? - Le Monde diplomatique - English edition

Europe won the Cold War. Not long after the Berlin Wall fell a quarter of a century ago, the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States squandered its peace dividend in an attempt to maintain global...

mondediplo.com

  P.A-z .
Iata si viziunea cauboiului de pe ualstrit

Europe’s Anti-Business Stance

The debate over stimulus vs. austerity misses the point.

nytimes.com|De Steven Rattner

  P.A-z  .
Noroc de faptul ca SUA e o tzara mare si diversa si se mai aud si altii decat cauboii...


Meredith
NYC 16 hours ago
Rattner must explain how this has come about .... Income inequality has soared in the US, but in EU, the gap between haves/have nots has widened only modestly.

In the US we have been creating new have nots. In the EU, even if the gap is large re income, the mass of average earners are more secure with truly universal health insurance, child care subsidies, and low cost college. And wider union membership. And how does their publicly financed elections with no privately paid political ads figure into the equation?

Rattner’s previous op ed had graphs showing the difference public spending makes in the well being of average people in various countries. The US is low ranking in the list.

What is the true effect of rules that strictly regulate hiring/firing and hours of workers? They protect workers from being throw aways on the 1 hand, yet restrict business and thus job creation on the other? Please explain that.
Here workers have been kept part time so businesses don’t have to pay them benefits. Underpaid full timers get state aid, to preserve billions in profits of the Walmarts, etc. Also states can keep Medicaid out of Obamacare. This creates more have nots. Contrast this with EU.

Rattner's chart shows “GDP--the US soars ahead.” But for which groups? It's widely reported the recovery has gone to the 1 %. Are we still being counseled to wait for trickle down---maybe in the next life? While the US boasts?


Cravebd
Boston 14 hours ago
Someday, I pray, Mr. Ratner will propose a path to prosperity that did not depend upon the impoverishment of the working class. This thesis - that all a laid off manufacturing worker at an Ohio machine tool company (or a Carolina textile mill, or a Belgian auto plant) need do is retrain themselves as an computer engineer and six figure salaries await them once they relocate to Silicon Valley - is getting really tired. The fantasy of it is insulting. The callous disregard of the suffering visited upon entire towns and regions as the hopes of a generation is lost is simply stunning.


Rich888
is a trusted commenter DC 14 hours ago
Wow what a lot of words to prove once again that Wall Street titans make terrible economists. Financial capitalism as practiced since the 1980's and advocated by the likes of Mr. Rattner has led to soaring profits but failed to deliver to society as a whole. It has led to stagnating real incomes for the vast majority of people while our public infrastructure crumbles. The idea that we should double down with supply-side "reforms" is a farce. The only response to the bind we are in comes from an idea much older than capitalism - democracy. Let's all cheer on the new government in Greece, and once again let it be a model for the rest of the world.

  P.A-z  .

Michael
is a trusted commenter North Carolina 14 hours ago
You are kidding, right? Supply side solutions to a problem of slack demand? In a nutshell, you propose that Europe's problems can in part be solved by allowing businesses to more easily fire people? Be-u-tee-ful.


M Reltz
Oakland Ca 13 hours ago
"Among major countries, France and Italy have these problems most acutely, with wages continuing to rise even as the efficiency of workers has stagnated."

Please ! This statement and graphic plainly suggest that "competitiveness" is the ratio of productivity growth over wage growth. By definition, reducing wages to zero (slavery) would give us infinite competitiveness.

France has GDP growth.... it mostly goes to workers. The USA has had slightly more GDP growth over the same period but it all goes to corporation and stock owners. This article makes me want to move to France.


The Green Spaceship
athens, greece 16 hours ago
We are not going to become slaves just to make the 1% richer. If anything we should be fighting for a 30 hour work week. Enough is enough.


GioMio
Illinois 14 hours ago
Where is Saudi Arabia on your charts? I lived there for a few years and let me tell you if you want to see what a world without labor laws is like, where cheap labor is imported from Pakistan, Sudan, and other largely destitute places, where the Saudi masters hold their passports, can fire and deport them at will, where there are no worker rights to speak of, where the low skilled are virtual slaves you'll see what a country dominated by the 'job creators' looks like.


Gfagan
PA 12 hours ago
Ah yes, the mournful wail of "anti-business" goes up when the ruling elite (in this case, a Wall Street financier) regard places that favor labor interests. The graphs alone say all you need to know.

Under "Losing Competitiveness" we see a graph in which compensation and productivity track each other pretty well over 14 years, except for Portugal, Greece, and Italy. The US is not in the graph, because that would show a soaring increase in productivity matched by a drop in compensation. That is what "pro-business" looks like.

Under "US Zooms Ahead" we see GDP figrues in isolation. Omitted from the graph -- or the text of the article -- is any discussion of the state of the American worker, whose compensation has remained stagnant for decades and actually dropped in recent years, who have difficulty getting health benefits and meeting health care costs in our privatized scam of a system; who are entitled to no maternity leave; who have minimal, if any, vacation days annually; who are not represented by unions; whose rights are protected by fewer and fewer laws; and who has seen 95% of the profits since 2009 go to 1% of the population. That, too, is what "pro-business" looks like.

Rattner's program has been implemented here, in the USA. It has led to economic ruin for millions, a shrinking middle class, and the rise of the new feudalism.

If "anti-business" is about combating that constellation of misery, I am all for it.

  P.A-z  .

Stephan Marcus
South Africa 14 hours ago
And where has this worked? Since 1980 in Britain and the US regulations have been slashed, labor markets liberalized, monopolies and oligopolies allowed to dominate sectors of the economy and the tax burden shifted from the investment class to white and blue collar workers. Where is the explosion of growth that neo-liberals have been promising would follow these measures? (You're starting to sound like die-hard Marxists: It didn't work because it wasn't completely implemented!)

All that has happened is that manufacturing jobs has been exported to China where workers are mercilessly exploited, the environment is being destroyed, corruption is rife and the government shoots anyone that complains in the head.

If you want to compete with China you're going to have to become China. I'm starting to think that is precisely want right winger and the investment class want.


Lars
Winder, GA 14 hours ago
Mr. Rattner, your charts mean nothing. The US may be shown to "zoom ahead," but what exactly do you mean by the "US?" If you mean the owners of capital, then I guess we are zooming ahead; if you mean the working people, I don't guess we are. What are national economies for? Enriching the former group only?

As far as regulation is concerned, the question of an efficient and effective system without "senseless" regulation is a separate question from whether we should have it. We certainly got a lesson in the effects of deregulation in 2008. Could we see some charts showing how much more the banks were "made whole" while home owners never regained their lost equity? While we're on charts, let's show one with worker productivity in the US going up with worker pay flat-lining. Where are those added profits going?

As for the Germans backing off from nuclear energy: doesn't it strike you as odd that this ultra-efficient nation may have considered factors other than cost in its decision? Like the safety and well-being of its people? Therein lies the difference between Europe and the US.


Ann
Brookline, MA 11 hours ago
You've got to admire the folks on Wall Street: Never let a recession go to waste when you can use it to argue for deregulation. Since Rattner cited only the more outlandish regulations, it's hard to know just how significant red tape is in holding back European growth. We only have to look at the lessons of 2007 and the tens of thousands of Americans tossed out of work by outsourced work and mergers to see the benefits of unfettered capitalism. But does Rattner really believe that putting European workers at the complete mercy of market fluctuations beyond their control is the answer to their stagnant economy? Nothing in his column refutes the fact that inflexible austerity policies have made it nearly impossible for countries like Greece and Spain to climb out of their economic canyons. Ultimately, businesses aren't going to hire people unless there's a demand for their goods. That's not going to happen until governments are freed to pump up their economies rather than being forced to drain them.


Michael Cullen
Berlin Germany 11 hours ago
There should be only one indicator of economic well-being, and that is the level of employment, of full employment. People who work produce goods and services; they eat, drink, wear clothes, live in houses, drive cars and buses; they provide for their old age, for their parents and children, pay taxes, have a sense of well-being, of living a worthwhile life. Take away the job, everything breaks down: no new shoes for the kids at school time, no trips to Disneyland or to the movies. Get people working and 99% of all the ills of society are history.
The GDP is a lousy indicator. Economists should dump it.
Michael S. Cullen, Berlin, Germany

 P.A-z  .
Si as putea continua cu comentarii ca cele de mai sus, preluate in ordinea popularitatii cu cititorii cotidianului american cu cea mai mare audienta printre cei educati.

Oricum, sper sa fi retinut si faptul ca Obama l-a angajat pe Rattner, asa ca data viitoare cand veti auzi 'Obama socialist' sa va mirati!

  Mihai Ion Turcu Europa (centrala si de vest) si Federatia Rusa, nu-si pot permite un razboi rece.

  P.A-z  .
Si cum transmit asta partenerului? Sigur, nu cu pupinbasisti, genul de 'prieteni' ai Americii care-si scot castanele proprii din foc vanzand Washingtonului cai verzi pe pereti--o meteahna indelung observabila, in locuri atat de diverse si indepartate cum a fost Vietnamul si Iraqul.

  Octavian Lupu Spargerea structurilor neocoloniale, UE si NATO nu poate însemna decât creșterea semnificativa a șanselor pentru ca Europa sa repete istoria sa nefericita (ma refer la cele doua razboaie mondiale). De aceea politicienii nostrii trebuie sa sa se straduie sa valorifice cat mai mult avantajele apartenentei noastre la aceste structuri si sa diminueze pe cat posibil dezavantajele statutului nostru de neocolonie. De fapt lucrul acesta l-am facut, mai mult sau mai putin, sub toate regimurile asa ca nu se poate spune ca nu exista experienta acumulata.

  M.I.T   Revin la termenu "burgezie compradora" fara complicitatea tembela a scroafei care se vrea in copac nu ajungeam "colonie".Sa urmarim defilarea "marilor" utimilor 25 de ani si cam cum si din ce surse s-au facut averea si cum n-au intreprins nimic cu averea acvirata. Mai grav au facut si pui.

  P.A-z  .
Domnule Turcu, a trebuit sa folosesc dictionarul pentru a afla ce inseamna 'compradora'. Ca urmare, gasind propozitia dvs. foarte graitoare,
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'Revin la termenu "burgezie compradora" fara complicitatea tembela a scroafei care se vrea in copac nu ajungeam "colonie".'
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includ aici detaliile despre termenul 'compradora'

Etymology[edit]
Portuguese comprador (“buyer”), from comprar (“to buy”) + -dor (“(agent)”), from Latin comparō (“I buy”).
In Far East, originally applied to native servants in European households, later to native managers in European businesses.[1]
Noun[edit]
comprador (plural compradors)
An intermediary.
A native of a colonised country who acts as the agent of the coloniser.
(nautical) A ship's chandler in the Far East.
Derived terms[edit]
comprador bourgeoisie

  O.L  Cand am vorbit de colonie nu m-am referit la "vanzatorii de tara" pentru bunul si simplul motiv ca intreg poporul si-a dorit acest lucru dar facandu-se a nu observa ca trebuie platit un pret pentru asta. Exact ca cei care sustineau acum 20 de ani privatizarea rapida si atotcuprinzatoare pentru ca astazi sa se intrebe elegiac unde este inustria tarisoarei noastre. Ca sa revin, sensul postarii mele este acela ca Romania nu poate fi independenta in acest colt de lume si mai ales in contextul crizei ucrainene. Vom putea incepe sa ne aratam putin coltii doar dupa ce contextul general in care traim si situatia tarii se va fi stabilizat cat de cat. Pana atunci prefer sa fiu subiectul imperialismului europeano-american decat cel rusesc. Pentru ca indepenedenta nu ar fi decat o autoamagire paguboasa.

  M.I T   Octavian Lupu, experiena noastra istorica ne-a unit in a accepta o conditie geopoitica cu pretul ei. Am fi avut spatiu de manevra. De ce in 25 de ani n-am manevrat ? Propun o varianta de raspuns posibil.La conducerea statuui si in administratie am avut nomenklatura PCR. Nomenklatura PCR resapata liberal-democrat si "capitaist" ambigua in esenta, si in secret resentimentala, a plantat puterea si administratia hotarand sa actioneze pentru bneficul ei ca grup complet fara interes pentru statusul natiunii si statului (resimtit ca nemaifiind a lor). Sa ne amintim fugareala din 1990, scoaterea inafara legii a PCR, priectee de lustreatie. Au suferit moral, aistand la demolarea economiei,a corpul tehnic si angajatii, in timp ce la varf se excuta frenetic o "to du list", un fe de epcoa stalinista pe dos dictata de interese straine, si aceea foarte mioape, contraproductive, conducand la momentu actual de criza al UE si chiar la criza din Ucraina. "Grabestete incet" si "pas cu pas" n-a stat pe undeva scris nici in cabinetele politicienilor UE care au deconstruit fortat state, fdara sa aiba un plan gandit si cacuat de reconstructie. Exemplar este ce s-a intimplat cu DDR dupa reunificarea germana.

  O.L  D-le Turcu nu am inteles daca postarea dvs este un statement sau un raspuns la postarea mea. Vorba fratilor nostrii anglo-saxoni: can you be more specific?

  M.I.T  Octavian Lupu, este o continuare a discutiei. Cu siguranta am socotit necesara plasarea Romaniei in sfera occidentala pentru incetarea conditiei noastre de spatiu "intre" peste care granita sferelor de influenta est-vest trece cand cum. Pe fondul acestei decizii nationale, guvernele puteau negocia termenii si termenele in mod realist minimizand pierderile. N-au negociat ceva, posibi din incompetenta sau din mefienta, puterile statului fiind populate cu nomenclatura comunista de rang 2 si 3, in fapt furioasa pentru pierderea puterii totalitare a sistemului din care faceau parte, dar observand beneficiul persona, de grup, unit prin vechile relatii, ca participanti la demolarea economiei nationale si praduirea acumularilor. (Ex. Bancorex) si tot aghregatul "baietior destepti" toti invautiti din praduirea statului, ex unic capitaist si antreprenor, condamnat prin formua politica dictata prin insasi aderarea a sistemul capitaist occidental la destructurare, plus interese capitaiste pe piata romaneasca.