Apparently you didn't watch the recent economic summit in Canada where ALL the leaders except Obama were admitting that their socialist policies not only weren't working but had led them to the brink of collapse. They ALL, except Obama, were calling for austerity measures. Apparently you didn't hear how profligate spending in Greece, Spain, and Portugal has many concerned that the European Union will collapse. Apparently you aren't aware that European socialist economies routinely run between 9 and 15% unemployment, including Germany. Come on man, before singing the praises find out what's currently happening! Sure, they all embraced socialism with the best of intentions. Sure, it worked for awhile. But sooner or later, as Margaret Thatcher famously pointed out, socialists run out of other peoples' money to spend. Capitalism works as long as those at the top don't try to hog it all. And I know it's not as pleasant as sitting with friends at sidewalk cafes in Paris, but life requires work, and some of us have to work harder than others. As Mark Twain once noted: "The world is full of willing people. Some are willing to work, and the rest are willing to let them!"
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Apparently you didn't watch the recent economic summit in Canada where ALL the leaders except Obama were admitting that their socialist policies not only weren't working but had led them to the brink of collapse. They ALL, except Obama, were calling for austerity measures. Apparently you didn't hear how profligate spending in Greece, Spain, and Portugal has many concerned that the European Union will collapse. Apparently you aren't aware that European socialist economies routinely run between 9 and 15% unemployment, including Germany. Come on man, before singing the praises find out what's currently happening! Sure, they all embraced socialism with the best of intentions. Sure, it worked for awhile. But sooner or later, as Margaret Thatcher famously pointed out, socialists run out of other peoples' money to spend. Capitalism works as long as those at the top don't try to hog it all. And I know it's not as pleasant as sitting with friends at sidewalk cafes in Paris, but life requires work, and some of us have to work harder than others. As Mark Twain once noted: "The world is full of willing people. Some are willing to work, and the rest are willing to let them!"
P.S. The Social Security trust fund will be depleted in 2037. At that point SS payroll taxes alone will still pay about 75% of promised payments. So it's not broke, and with some tweaking can be fully solvent.
As for the national debt, as I've noted elsewhere, Obama has already spent more than Bush did in 8 years, and his as yet not passed proposals such as cap-and-trade will greatly add to the debt. He could of been a hero by bravely fixing Social Security. But he's committed to completely reworking American society, and not for the better. Already insurance premiums are rapidly rising and his healthcare reform was supposed to control costs. We are going to get reamed if we don't reverse course. And sadly many will refuse to admit it was a mistake to try for so much so fast even when they're getting slammed too.
klein
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I am fully aware of Greece, the last country to join the EU, that shouldn't have been able to get in it, at the first place, but did so, by fixing, (falshifying), their financial books.
Spain & Portugal, oh well, they will need to tighten up a little. I believe their books still look better then Californians !
Sorry, I don't watch fox news, so I don't get that propaganda news that the EU is of the brinks of falling apart, and european style socialisum doesn't work.
Thats what they claim about their healthcare, too, which according to the UN, France has the best, and costs less then half of what Americans pay, and everyone is insured.
I lived and worked in Germany for 14 years (the old Germany before reunification). Jobs were plentyful, and unemployment maybe at 4% max.
Ofcourse, all that changed with reunification. They had to "adopt" over a quarter of their population, that had outdated factories (that needed to be shut down), including schools and hospitals, and so on.
Most of all of East Germany became unemployed almost overnight.
Besides, all that, pensions were being paid out to people that never paid a dime into the west german fund, as well as unemployment monies.
So, yes, Germany did take a beating, but still standing tall. Probably one of only a very few nations on earth that could accomplish that.
The most remarkable recovery since the recession comes from Austrailia, Canada on 2nd spot.
Mostly due to the strict bank regulations both countries have in place. - No money got lost there, and also no housing bubble.
You should really get out there, and travel more.
You won't see ghetto / slums in any European, Australien, or Canadian City.
Only place in the western developed world or G8 is in the US.
The other difference is, Europe will get out of this, and actually already has much more, then the US, because they tackle the problem.
Really, no slums? Did you miss the young muslims rioting in France a few years back because of poor living conditions, no work, and racism? Have you not kept up with German skinheads attacking Turks? And how did FOX News force European leaders to say such things about their economic problems on C-Span? Didn't realize they wielded that kind of power. You're convinced that life is so much better in Europe and wish we would emulate them. If Europe does come out of the mess they've created it will be because they've embraced capitalism. Hope I'm wrong and soon we can all enjoy 6 week vacations, 35 hr workweeks, and lowcost healthcare.
Except you want to lay everything at Bush's feet. Sorry, you can't push banks to make bad loans to millions and not have a day of reckoning eventually. Just like Katrina in that regard. It was up to Louisiana's governor to request federal assistance before Bush could send help in. That's the legal protocol. But she didn't immediately, and the liberal media spun it that Bush was incompetent. And of course did the same when the economy finally blew up in 2008 to assist Obama. Now we've got a president with no management experience but does have a lot of theories about how things should work. If given free rein he will destroy our economy, which may be the goal. And $7 a gallon gas isn't some FOX News conspiracy theory. It's what Harvard University analysts figured gas would go to if Obama's cap-and-trade legislation becomes law. And cap-and-trade doesn't even solve the environmental issues it's supposed to address. What it really does is distribute wealth from producers to non producers. FedEx would be greatly affected seeing as how with our jets and vehicle fleet we are a huge emitter of carbon. Everyone here wants better pay and benefits. Think that'll happen if FedEx is shelling out hundreds of millions annually for carbon credits? See, we'll still pollute as much, so no saving the environment there. But we will have the satisfaction of knowing that our hard work will buy credits from little companies in Africa or Latin America who aren't emitting much of anything. Bet you didn't know buying credits wasn't limited to here in the States! Al Gore estimates it'll become a $10 trillion dollar market worldwide annually!! It's not about saving the planet at all, but redistributing wealth, only they couldn't come right out and say that we'll all work very hard to give away our earnings because that's social justice. We in the West, especially the U.S., have been living the good life for far too long, now it's time to give it away to folks in Haiti, Uganda, wherever. That's the far left fantasy that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are trying to create.
klein
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Germany drives four-year high Euro economic revival
Fri Aug 13, 6:05 AM
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Germany posted Friday its best quarterly growth since reunification, driving Europe past the US in the recovery stakes as the continent recorded its best economic performance in four years.
Accelerating recoveries in Britain, France and even Spain also helped nudge Europe's main stock markets upwards, with only debt-laden Greece slipping deeper into recession as savage cuts scythe through spending.
However, with a growth rate of 2.2 percent between April and June, Germany was "playing in a league of its own," said senior ING economist Carsten Brzeski.
Jennifer McKeown of London-based Capital Economics noted that the 1.0 percent expansion across the 16 eurozone nations and the 27-member European Union as a whole was "the sharpest in four years."
It beat a 0.7-percent forecast and outpaced that of the US, which posted a quarterly gain of 0.6 percent -- down from 0.9 percent between January and March.
Europe had barely managed 0.2 percent growth up to March, but Britain also posted 1.1 percent growth with France holding at 0.6 percent -- providing welcome relief across the world's biggest open market as fears grow that the economies of the United States and China are running out of steam.
After implementing draconian spending cuts in order to grasp its own 20-billion-euro lifeline from the EU and International Monetary Fund, Romania posted a quarterly growth rate of 0.3 percent.
The Baltic nations of Estonia and Lithuania also returned to positive growth, according to the official EU data, with only Sweden's recovery slowing, although it still logged a 1.2 percent improvement.
With a 4.1-percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2009, "such quarter-on-quarter growth has never been recorded before in reunified Germany," the national Destatis office said.
After suffering its worst post-war recession in 2009, "we are now experiencing XL growth," Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle added.
The news was warmly welcomed by investors at the start of trading on Europe's stock markets.
Other countries to fuel the sense of optimism included the Netherlands where GDP grew 0.9 percent in the second quarter.
Spain, which only came out of recession in the first quarter with a 0.1 percent spurt, saw its economy grow by 0.2 percent in the second quarter.
The EU also released data showing the eurozone's global trade balance powering back into the black in June, with a 2.4-billion-euro surplus after a heavy deficit in May.
All that being reported today, when has the US reported it's last trade surplus ?
I believe 10 - 12 years ago !
And you know as well as myself, we won't see 6 weeks vacation or a 35hr work week here.
That's the price to pay for having the highest paid CEO's, & the most billionaires and millionaires on the planet.
Commercials that cost 500 Million during superbowl, and many millions for lobbying politicians.
And ofcourse, like UPS, please shareholders, too.
Lowcost healthcare can never be available in the US, until you have a non per profit public option in place, that most americans do not want.
Good for them, bet it's due to them restoring confidence by enacting austerity measures. Read a good write-up on Canada today too. As long as America is the world's policeman, and we are a service based economy, I don't see much of a future for the average American. And as Europe's population ages, and they import more and more Muslims to do the work, I doubt their future will be much better. Hope I'm wrong.
Nope. Not blaming Bush. Blaming America as a whole. We made this bed and loved the cheap money, historically low taxes, and huge profits while running up the "credit card". Why blame anyone. Fact is when it comes time to reign it all in, taxes will go up and services will get cut no matter who is in office.
klein
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+1 (mostly because american elected parties didn't want to lose votes and become unpopular, by attacking the deficit, and making rather hard decisions).
That's another thing that Europe has an advantage on.
Because countries on their own have very little to say when it comes to fiscal responsibilty.
It's mostly dictated right out of Brussels, in a combined vote from all EU members.
(Interest rates, mortgage rates, even GDP to debt ratio, and much more).
