Dear Friends,
It seems to me that Europe is in grave peril. The threat comes from many fronts. Not the least of which is their economic situation.
While the rest of the world is coming out of the recession Europe trails behind. Germany and France are doing most of the heavy lifting but they cannot sustain the social welfare loads of the whole of Europe. The communists and socialists that run Europe will not stand for any diminishments. (Of their power).
Social welfare spending is directly correlated with the power of the State. State power rises as social welfare spending rises. Because as people move from self sufficiency to government dependence they loose their autonomy to make decisions effecting the State. As I have stated many times, in many ways, a dependant has no effective voice. Dependants necessarily take what they are given.
But being a dependant of the State has no upside. There is no long term payoff. Except more dependency. The threat of hunger is always at the door if the State stops providing. There is no way to move up in the social hierarchy. And people who are dependant on the State feel low class. This opens society for many of the ills it has today.
Like crime. When a person has his or her ego damaged they lash out. Making a person a dependant on the State is a slap, followed by spittle, in their face. Regardless of the intentions of the person handing out the largess. Insults are never taken well… even when they are unintended… or are they?
The social welfare state that the European socialists have built is crushing their economies. The weight is a millstone around their necks. The European recovery is thus dragged down by the weight of government taxing and spending.
Germany and France make up for this loss in productivity by subsidizing investment in the means of production. But as in all government subsidies the lion’s share goes to large well established companies at cost to smaller more innovative companies. Hewing the smaller trees to let the big ones grow bigger. But eventually all trees die. With no small trees what will fill the canopy?
Government taxation sops up available capital that could be better used to improve productivity. There are many ways to improve productivity but government has only one avenue.
Open up transportation infrastructure. The mass transit system in Europe is a girdling root. It locks the European economy into the train schedule. This may seem on the outside to be a minor nuisance but it’s effects are pernicious.
If a business can work most efficiently at a schedule that does no coincide with the train it must put it’s workers at a disadvantage to get to work or it must work in a time frame that is not as efficient. In a global marketplace that company is now at a disadvantage to other companies in other nations that are not hamstrung by mass transit schedules.
It is a feature of people who live close together that they are willing to give up more of their liberties to protect themselves from other people. Some cities have ordinances against owning dogs. Some dogs bark incessantly and infringe on the rights of adjacent people. They argue that dogs are a nuisance and cannot be tolerated in such close quarters. Etc…
This is acceptable on a local level because conditions may make such an ordinance acceptable to the people in that locality. But when people from this locality become the national government they will bring their anti dog prejudice to the national stage. The rest of the country may love and revere dogs. But the Elite will none the less ban them. In doing so feel that they are doing a great service to the nation. This local prejudice on a national stage has the effect of creating more friction for the economy to push against.
Europe suffers under this type of pressure as well. The people who run the national governments are from the large metropolitan areas. They have the mindset of people who are used to living in close quarters. This mindset is displayed in their actions in the various parliaments and houses by their tight grip on control.
These are only a few of the burdens that Europe is suffering from. Europeans should read the history of the ancient Egyptians and the Hyksos… It may be enlightening.
