tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post2194054134592760400..comments2024-03-28T17:08:15.784-07:00Comments on Social Democracy for the 21st Century: A Realist Alternative to the Modern Left: Bad News for the EurozoneLord Keyneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-31758166948990070132015-06-21T00:47:23.928-07:002015-06-21T00:47:23.928-07:00"So the "austerity" of 2014 is to b...<i>"So the "austerity" of 2014 is to blame for the contraction in 2008-2010?</i><br /><br />????<br /><br />No. The austerity 2008-2015 is to blame for the poor performance of the economy 2008-2015. Even with the higher growth in 2014, GDP is still below its 2008 level.Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-26757338023682393112015-06-21T00:02:08.640-07:002015-06-21T00:02:08.640-07:00Agreed. The word austerity is thrown around in a v...Agreed. The word austerity is thrown around in a very indiscriminate way by the cattering classes. The result is that the word is now near meaningless.Ralph Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09443857766263185665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-18377857009151770842015-06-20T23:58:43.813-07:002015-06-20T23:58:43.813-07:00“The Eurozone is profoundly anti-democratic: it ro...“The Eurozone is profoundly anti-democratic: it robs governments of fiscal and monetary independence.” That’s not a brilliant objection to the EZ.<br /><br />Obviously the EZ “robs” members of independence. That INVARIABLY happens when you join any sort union. Scotland or Yorkshire lose independence in a hundred ways as a result of being part of the UK. But for most of the last century both have reckoned that the advantages of union out weigh the disadvantages.<br /><br />In contrast, if the EU/EZ authorities are ignoring the wishes of the people, as is possibly the case to judge from your points “1” and “2”, then certainly that’s undemocratic. <br />Ralph Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09443857766263185665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-38218666297221685012015-06-20T17:26:09.649-07:002015-06-20T17:26:09.649-07:00So the "austerity" of 2014 is to blame f...So the "austerity" of 2014 is to blame for the contraction in 2008-2010? That's what you need to argue that the "austerity" is to blame for the "disaster". Ken Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08207803092348071005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-90903290599995750572015-06-20T13:35:59.663-07:002015-06-20T13:35:59.663-07:00I wouldn't call that a disaster given the prop...I wouldn't call that a disaster given the property bubble and banking crisis that Ireland has had to recover from.<br />What happened in Greece was a disaster, but not Ireland. Aren't recessions unavoidable and indeed necessary to rectify major structural problem in an economy. You really think this was all avoidable?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-57677666573162267422015-06-20T10:08:26.886-07:002015-06-20T10:08:26.886-07:00What's more, Ireland's GDP today is still ...What's more, Ireland's GDP today is still lower than it was in 2008. That is a disaster.Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-37171988978796768322015-06-20T10:05:08.842-07:002015-06-20T10:05:08.842-07:00Ireland may have a high growth rate in 2014, but t...Ireland may have a high growth rate in 2014, but that ignores its wretched growth rates from 2008-2013:<br /><br />2008 | -2.6 <br />2009 | -6.4 <br />2010 | -0.3<br />2011 | 2.8<br />2012 | -0.3<br />2013 | 0.2 <br /><br />http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?page=1<br /><br />The fiscal contraction in Ireland was a disaster. <br /><br />Analysis of Ireland here:<br /><br />http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=28332Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-55632242365435809242015-06-20T09:50:51.190-07:002015-06-20T09:50:51.190-07:00I don't even know what "austerity" m...I don't even know what "austerity" means in the sense used by economists critical of government policies. It s meaningful to call policies consistent with economic growth and falling unemployment austerity? Why is seeking to limit public expenditure "austerity" if people's living standards are rising, on the whole? <br />Incidentally, Ireland has the fastest growing economy in the EU.<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/05/ireland-fastest-growing-eu-economy<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-84642905596525661812015-06-20T07:35:08.243-07:002015-06-20T07:35:08.243-07:00Anonymous,
There are important facts about the UK...Anonymous,<br /><br />There are important facts about the UK economy:<br /><br />(1) The UK avoided depression because of the large Keynesian stimulus and QE to save the banking sector implemented by Labour in 2008-2010.<br /><br />(2) the extent of Tory austerity from 2010 is actually grossly exaggerated:<br /><br />http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=29135<br /> <br />Tory austerity has basically been a weak form of fiscal stimulus, with budget deficits still remaining. The UK has also been lucky and obtained export led growth. <br /><br />(3) But the UK could have brought unemployment right down years ago through strong expansionary fiscal policy, as other countries have done.<br /><br />(4) If you think austerity works, have a close look at Ireland, Greece or the Baltic states where governments pursued contractionary fiscal policy far worse than the UK -- and the result was disaster.Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-61401398010847660072015-06-20T06:57:05.750-07:002015-06-20T06:57:05.750-07:00Does "expansionary austerity" mean falli...Does "expansionary austerity" mean falling unemployment and economic growth while the budget deficit and government spending are falling in relation to GDP? Because that's a pretty good description of what is happening in the UK right now.<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33162403<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33197650<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-25765664794835812232015-06-20T06:07:15.852-07:002015-06-20T06:07:15.852-07:00"The "neo-liberal" Tory business se...<i>"The "neo-liberal" Tory business secretary shares your objective of full-employment.</i><br /><br />You mean believes in full employment by means of expansionary austerity? You might as well believe in fairy tales or the Loch Ness monster. <br /><br />As for the EU and remaining in it, these are major issues in British politics:<br /><br />http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11590878/British-politics-is-now-about-two-existential-issues-Scotland-and-Europe.htmlLord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-72855429403801235952015-06-20T05:53:58.781-07:002015-06-20T05:53:58.781-07:00UKIP took more votes from the Conservatives than L...UKIP took more votes from the Conservatives than Labour. Without them, the Tories would have won by a greater margin.<br /><br />http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2014/03/vote-ukip-get/#more-5991<br /><br />UKIP won votes by being anti-immigration, not anti-Eurozone, which The UK is not a part of.<br /><br />The "neo-liberal" Tory business secretary shares your objective of full-employment.<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32701043Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-42058353696302550902015-06-19T23:32:46.669-07:002015-06-19T23:32:46.669-07:00Ken B,
The Eurozone is profoundly anti-democratic...Ken B,<br /><br />The Eurozone is profoundly anti-democratic: it robs governments of fiscal and monetary independence. This is why Austrians like Jesus Huerta de Soto love the euro:<br /><br />https://mises.org/library/austrian-defense-euro<br /><br />In fact, the EU and Eurozone have been rejected just as often as it has been accepted by the voting public:<br /><br />(1) Treaty of Lisbon referendum:<br />Ireland - 53.2% against (12 June 2008)<br /><br />(2) referenda on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE): <br />France - 54.9% against (29 May 2005)<br />Netherlands - 61.5% against (1 June 2005)Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-42336578173105838492015-06-19T18:41:09.629-07:002015-06-19T18:41:09.629-07:00What you object to and describe as anti democratic...What you object to and describe as anti democratic is in fact democracy in action, isn't it? Hasn't more than one country rejected tighter integration in referenda, only to have that rejection ignored? That is anti-democratic. Ken Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08207803092348071005noreply@blogger.com