Category: Economic Austerity
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Western Civilization and Classical Economics: The Immorality of Austerity / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: John_Kozy
When a civilization abandons its morality, no rationalization can be devised to justify its continued existence. It is likely that many reasons can be given for this abandonment in the Western world, although I am convinced that one predominates—the expansion of law. Law once governed various kinds of behavior. It has now encroached upon various kinds of speech and is even being applied to the realm of belief. When someone is accused of having done something wrong, the reply offered usually is something like, "What was done complied with all legal requirements." But "right" has never been defined as "conforms to law," because thoughtful people have long noticed that the law itself can be a great crime, and the worst criminals in a culture can be its lawgivers, as the people of Ireland, Portugal, France, Spain, Greece, and Great Britain are now finding out. Americans will soon find it out too.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
IMF and EU Hammer Ireland / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Mike_Whitney
The terms of the EU/IMF's €85 billion ($113 billion) bailout for Ireland are much worse than analysts had anticipated. Ireland will be required to use its National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) to shore up its insolvent banks and to maintain government operations. At the same time, senior debt-holders will not share any of the losses brought on by the banks reckless lending. According to Bloomberg News, "Prime Minister Brian Cowen told reporters there had been no support in talks to ask senior bondholders to lose part of their stake on loans made to Ireland's debt-crippled banks." Thus, 100 percent of the EU/IMF's €85 billion "Financial Rescue Package" will be paid for by Irish taxpayers.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Irish "get it" / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Michael_T_Bucci
The people of Ireland "get it". The people of Greece, Spain, and Portugal "get it". It's the American who doesn't. What do they "get"? They realize the austerities imposed upon them are to shield, protect and defend the profits of the bankers, the traders, the market speculators, hedge funds, bond holders and entire investment class who will suffer little if at all from their market loses - the people will bear their loses.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Memo to Ireland: "Tell the EU and the IMF to 'Shove It'" / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Mike_Whitney
Imagine that Yasser Arafat had succeeded in ending Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Now imagine that 10 or 15 years later, new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed to hand over control of his country's budget to the IMF so his people's future would be controlled by outsiders. Do you think Palestinians would praise Abbas as a patriot or denounce him as a traitor?
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Ireland's Brutal Four-Year Economic Austerity Plan / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Submissions
Rory Fitzgerald writes: The EU Commission has called the Irish government's Four Year Plan a "cornerstone" of the bailout package currently under discussion between Ireland, Europe and the IMF.
Market insiders have called the plan "staggeringly austere" and the proof of their scepticism lies in the fact that bond yields widened further still after the plan was announced. David Begg, head of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said: "It appears that the day of reckoning has arrived. The Barbarians are at the gates."
Friday, November 12, 2010
Deficit Reduction Plan Promises Painful Prescription For U.S. / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
A bipartisan White House commission this week announced a sweeping proposal to slash the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars a year by taking aim at virtually every sacrosanct area of U.S tax and spending policy, including Social Security and Medicare, middle-class tax breaks and defense spending.
Friday, November 12, 2010
U.S. Federal Budget Deficit Reduction Plan Analysis / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
The two leaders of U.S. President Barack Obama's Deficit Commission Wednesday produced a proposal for deficit cuts that slaughtered a lot of budgetary "sacred cows" and cut $3.8 trillion off the deficit over the next 10 years.
And the cuts were even made in just the right ratio – with $3 of spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Cutting the Welfare State, Paris Dithers While London Shows the Way / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: PARIS – Strikes, demonstrations, and blockages of fuel deliveries continue here in Paris, and across France. However, the protests and strikes this week are not as intense as the ones over past weeks. But are promised this month and until year end. More disruptions of ground, underground and air travel are threatened.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
U.S. Debt and Deficits, Learning from Canada's Experience / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: John_Mauldin
There are those who say the US is doomed, that there is no way out from our problems with deficits, future entitlement promises, and a dysfunctional political system. And in my darker moments I worry that they are right.
I get the problems, probably more than most. But there is a way out. Hopefully, it does not entail collapse first, as some suggest. But it will require a lot of hard decisions. Some will be very hard.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Coalition Frankenstein Government Child Benefit Cut Middle Class Shocker / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The Conservative half of the frankenstein coalition government announced today that it will pull the plug on 1.2 million middle class families by withdrawing Child Benefit for all households (with children) where anyone's gross annual earnings are £44,000 or more (40% tax bracket) from April 2013, which amounts to an effective tax hike of as much as 7% for most of the 1.2 million families.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
U.S. Consumers Refusing to Debt Deleverage Will Be Dragged Kicking and Screaming into the Age of Austerity / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: James_Quinn
10% Savings Rate + Consumer Spending At 65% Of Gdp = Retail Disaster
Now that the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC and every other mainstream media outlet have figured out what some financial blogs had figured out months ago The Great Debt Deleveraging Lie , everyone knows that the American consumers have not yet begun to deleverage. Consumer credit outstanding peaked at $2.58 trillion in July 2008. It has plummeted all the way to $2.42 trillion today, a 6% reduction over two years. The full $160 billion reduction can be attributed to write-offs by the Wall Street, Ivy League MBA run, banks.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
UK Economy Hovers On The Edge As Scholars Debate War And Terrorism / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Danny_Schechter
LONDON: The British Capital pretty much looked like it did the last time I was here except for all the closed stores and businesses I passed on the way to the War and Media Conference that brought me here.
I am not sure what it will look like the next time I come because the new Tory government is preparing to slash 40% of public funding in an austerity move which is certain to destroy thousands of jobs and inflict pain on the poor and middle class.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, July 23, 2010
Europe Is Jumping the Gun By Removing Stimulus! / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Sy_Harding
Last winter, global central banks were in agreement, assuring markets that stimulative policies would remain in place until a durable global economic recovery is secured, that “pre-mature withdrawal of stimulus would be avoided, and when the time arrived the withdrawal will be globally co-operative and undertaken in a coordinated way.”Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Cutting the Budget Deficit Undermines Social Security, Medicare and Depresses Purchasing Power / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Global_Research
Kevin Zeese writes: The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is sounding the alarm around deficit spending. It is using exaggerated rhetoric to heighten deficit fear at a time when more spending is needed.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Britain’s Austerity Budget: A Declaration of Class War? / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Global_Research
Hugo Radice writes: The June Budget - Following the inconclusive outcome of the British general election on May 6th, the ‘centrist’ Liberal Democratic Party decided to turn sharply to the right by agreeing to join the Tories in a coalition government. In the run-up to the election, the Tories had argued strongly that Britain faced the prospect of a fiscal crisis unless the government's deficit was brought down further and faster than the outgoing Labour government intended (see The Bullet no.350).
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Trichet Reiterates Economic Austerity Message; Will the Treasury Bond Rally Last? / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Mike_Shedlock
Once again and with greater force, Europe has snubbed its nose (and rightfully so) the Keynesian clowns in US academia and the Obama administration.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Investor Silver Lining to the Age of Austerity / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Hans_Wagner
According to some analysts and David Cameron, the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, the “Age of Austerity” is upon us. If the cuts promised by many European countries actually take place, investors fear it will lead to another recession in several of those countries. The age of austerity is what has worried the markets in the last month causing anxiety as volatility ruled the days.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Forced Economic Austerity ill Timed / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Captain_Hook
Just listened to Jim Puplava over the weekend and there was no mention of such austerity related concerns amongst his listeners providing feedback, which I will take as a representation of the general investing public’s lack of awareness on the subject. The message I got from his listeners is increasing inflation possibly to the point of hyperinflation is guaranteed because it’s assumed politicians will not allow collapse. Apparently these people don’t read the news much, or perhaps they prefer not to think of their ill-timed investment decisions losing money. Something tells me it’s the later.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sovereign Crisis from Economic Stimulus to Debt Austerity Snowball Effect / Economics / Economic Austerity
By: Mike_Larson
A blockbuster draft report from the European Commission saw the light of day recently, thanks to some reporting from Bloomberg. It highlights an incredibly dangerous Catch-22 facing many sovereign nations — the “Snowball Scenario.”
Let me give you an example how this works …
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Ruthless Economic Austerity Measures, Crushing Exploitation of the European People / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Global_Research
Garda Ghista writes: In mid-May, 2010, European leaders met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) leaders and finally reached an agreement comprising a £750 billion rescue package for the euro. Since then, announcements have taken place every single day regarding ruthless, merciless new austerity measures which the common people of Europe will have to now face. Workers and non-workers alike will be paying heavily for the financial games of the bankers and speculators.