Crisis Imperils Liberal Benefits Long Expected by Europeans

With articles like this I could almost believe that the MSM is waking up.  The Progressive agenda of the last 100 years has been that global economic policy and redistributive, social justice will raise all boats.  Instead Europe has provided a stark example of how a globally linked economy can become ‘too big to fail’.

So what is the solution to this problem?  Don’t conjoin the currencies.  If currencies and economies are left separated, then if one economic experiment fails you can look to other economic models to right your ship without bringing down the fleet.  The same can be said for the United States of America.  By not nationalizing everything, we have unique ways to test new ideas and models without sinking the Country.

So break up the Federal grab for power, stop the global ‘one size fits all’ agenda, because that is a recipe for disaster for All of us.

Yours in Truth  ;-)

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Crisis Imperils Liberal Benefits Long Expected by Europeans

By STEVEN ERLANGER

Published: May 22, 2010

PARIS — Across Western Europe, the “lifestyle superpower,” the assumptions and gains of a lifetime are suddenly in doubt. The deficit crisis that threatens the euro has also undermined the sustainability of the European standard of social welfare, built by left-leaning governments since the end of World War II.

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Articles in this series are examining the consequences of, and efforts to deal with, growing public and private debts.

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Europeans have boasted about their social model, with its generous vacations and early retirements, its national health care systems and extensive welfare benefits, contrasting it with the comparative harshness of American capitalism.
Europeans have benefited from low military spending, protected by NATO and the American nuclear umbrella. They have also translated higher taxes into a cradle-to-grave safety net. “The Europe that protects” is a slogan of the European Union.
But all over Europe governments with big budgets, falling tax revenues and aging populations are experiencing rising deficits, with more bad news ahead.
With low growth, low birthrates and longer life expectancies, Europe can no longer afford its comfortable lifestyle, at least not without a period of austerity and significant changes. The countries are trying to reassure investors by cutting salaries, raising legal retirement ages, increasing work hours and reducing health benefits and pensions.
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LiveJournal Tags: Economy,Bail Outs,Euro