Please write and send praise, critique, interesting links or random musings to touchthehandthatfeedsyou@yahoo.com

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Austerity Movement

Sept. 27th, 2010


From the Financial Times comes coverage of the current European economic crisis and how the E.U. is handling it.


"In a letter to all 27 EU finance ministers, Wolfgang Schäuble (the German Finance Minister) said he “chiefly supports” the stringent proposals to be unveiled Wednesday by José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, which include millions of euros in fines for countries that fail to cut sovereign debt levels.


But the letter and a position paper, obtained by the Financial Times, also goes further, suggesting EU development and agricultural funding should be suspended for repeated violators. It also proposes that voting rights in the powerful Council of Ministers be suspended for countries that fail to meet fiscal benchmarks."


One has to wonder if the punishments being proposed for failing to meet bureaucratic targets might actually aggravate the disparities in financial strength or industrial stability amongst E.U. members. Could the strictures of the sort suggested lead to unfinished infrastructure or even diminished programs to prevent famine and combat drought? 


Time will tell.

No comments:

Post a Comment