France: Europe’s Next Fiscal Flashpoint
Anyone looking for a parody of fiscal policy needs to look no further than France. The French government has been in breach of the EU’s
Anyone looking for a parody of fiscal policy needs to look no further than France. The French government has been in breach of the EU’s
How did the EU Commission choose what states to target? There is no real reason for Hungary and Malta to be on the same list as France, and for Greece to not be on the list.
The timing of the decision raises questions in France.
The EU Commission wants to punish France for fiscal recklessness. But the EU is full of budget violators, so why France—and why now?
The European Commission has plans to go after Italy for its excessive budget deficit. There is no real reason for them to do this, and the timing is very bad.
The EU’s new fiscal rules are supposed to solve the problem with member state budget deficits. But so far, neither the European Parliament nor the European Council has addressed the two biggest problems with their reform efforts.
Europe’s economy is falling behind America, and the gap is getting big. The reason is obvious, and so is the solution.
With a welfare state that dominates their budgets, European governments are exceedingly vulnerable to a recession. When tax revenue declines and entitlements force governments to spend more, the inevitable result is larger budget deficits. What will the ECB do in response to that?
Given the high level of economic integration in Europe, it is unlikely that a recession will be confined to half the continent.
You don’t make promises you can’t keep. Nor do you keep an economic structure that can’t promise growth and prosperity.
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