EU: The Destruction Of The Economic Hearr
353 sats \ 4 comments \ @TomK 17 Aug econ
The standstill of the engine of the European economy after the GFC, Germany, is still one of the most interesting and meaningful graphs in contemporary economic history. This is truly a remarkable achievement given the technological progress of the last two decades, an ideologically driven policy that has gotten completely out of hand.
And the persistent refusal of German politicians to initiate course corrections to eternal interventionism and the nonsensical green panic agenda is evidence of the decoupling of the political bubble from economic reality. This reality will strike when Germany can no longer meet its gigantic payment obligations from a social system and its pension system except with the money printer, by having the ECB print what it needs to fill the gaps that are opening up. This makes Germany even more politically dependent on the Brussels technocrats and it will continue on the path it has taken.
If you still can't believe what's happening here, you should take the geopolitical catchphrase of the British to heart: keep the Germans down and the Russians out of Europe. Perhaps that explains some of what is happening here.
https://m.stacker.news/46324
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27 sats \ 1 reply \ @0xIlmari 17 Aug
Any insight how this productivity on the graph is measured? Nominal GDP is, of course measured in a fraudulent unit. "Real" GDP is not much better either, because people cannot agree what the actual inflation, that you should adjust by, is. Besides, it's still measured in a fraudulent unit.
Either way, I'm not surprised. Germany is a pristine modern example of how socialism can turn around a perfectly good economy and run it into the ground. (Slightly older examples are all over the South America.)
And don't get me wrong, I think the EU (and ECSC before it) was successful in rebuilding a continent ravaged by war (and later to uplift some post-Soviet states) through a weird combo of free markets, free trade but also targetted welfare. It has succeeded on a scale that few international programs do, but it has since outlived its usefulness.
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47 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 17 Aug
What matters is that the productivity measure is a similarly good proxy for true productivity over time. If so, then the trend change is likely real.
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 17 Aug
The UK is also struggling, though. And if their allies are struggling, it makes their situation even worse. Rising tides lift all boats.
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @memeverse 17 Aug
I've always admired Germany's green policies, thinking of them as an example of progressivism and innovation.
In Italy, we are now accustomed to seeing politics managed with a certain degree of chaos and instability, in stark contrast to the German precision. Therefore, from my perspective, the intervention of the EU often helps us avoid the disasters caused by our incompetent or opportunistic governments.
That said, it's clear that Europe must address challenges to avoid being stuck in a state of stagnation. The diversity among member countries, with differing needs and priorities, has led to a European policy that sometimes seems uniform and poorly suited to individual national realities.
If the European Union fails to evolve and respond to current challenges, its future could be uncertain.
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