See above.
Re: Non-Americans: Who should win the US presidential elect…
Probably the wrong place for this argument, but, austerity measures *are* the wrong response for most economies. Case in point, Australian economy.
The simple fact is that stimulus works. Europe's problems are due to the fact that extending your currency union beyond the largest of the European economies was a dumb idea and your banking system is a medieval mess and not regulated properly.
Obama would be a moderate right winger in most other countries; a Sarkosy. The Republicans are off the scale extremists.
The problems aren't due the fact that our currency union is extended or our 'medieval' banking system (this absolutely isn't true for the Netherlands).
The fact is that due to the economic crisis of 2008 the States in Europe had to Nationalize (is that correct English? -> buy) system banks. Because if they didn't, the economy would collapse. And in Greece there where problems they didn't report. Result of these both combined with the currency link between the countries had as result that we needed to (temporary) save Greece and Ireland.
The European crisis nowadays isn't only Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are also in big problems. Ireland is out of problems now. Italy, Spain and Portugal are doing good (yes, they'll need help) (1)
but they will survive.
Concluding, the crisis is the result of the problems due to the economic crisis of 2008. And because our bad currency system, it drove the Eurozone in the problems.
We will come out of this (when we finally dump Greece) :) (2/2)
I am aware that the banks of the Netherlands are mostly in good shape but they are the exception. I'm talking about systems of regulation. The French banking system is antiquated and creaking. Nationalisation just changed the owners. The Swiss banking system ought to destroyed utterly, the place is tax-avoidance wasteland (but its outside European institutions, of course). Look at British banks. Money laundering enablers.
It's the way the banking system was not regulated in a modern way before 2008 that meant they had to be propped up by the taxpayer because of their Greek bond exposure and other toxic debt.
If the Greeks still had their own currency their solution was easy - devaluation. But as they don't, they are royally screwed (as opposed to just impoverished). Well, actually, the way they can be slightly less screwed is by taxing the richest half of their society properly, not by cutting spending on the poorest half.
Stimulus spending works to rescue economies from financial shocks. It worked excellently in Australia. No recession.
I'll start at the end. Of course stimulus would work, but we just can't pay it. The exchanges are still seeing us as small countries and not one county so they won't let us have much more debt.
I indeed forgot the state of the French system, and that that's typical for southern-Europe. We don't really mind about the UK and Swiss as they don't directly get us in to trouble and they can devaluate.
So I guess you where right about the banking statement.
Side note: I think that there are two ways to save Greece, 1: buy all there debt (will not happen (in one time)) and 2: kick them out of the Euro-zone (will probably not happen, or if it will happen, it will happen in a few months). And yes, they need to raise taxes for the wealthy, (1)
some people I know in Athens are just really rich and they just don't have much impact of the cuts. (2/2)
