17 Comments

Europe is run by Woke commie loons in Brussels & has become a nannystate hell bent on regulating themselves into oblivion.

And in the rampant flood of immigration of welfare seeking types with incompatible cultural & ethical motives & it's a recipe for a bleak future indeed.... Nice for a holiday... For now at least... But on the slow march down...

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It seems the "slow march" is accelerating.

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Jesus....*rolls eyes"....

There's more than one kind of loon

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Got something enlightening to add Erik? Or just some name calling because of hurty feelings?

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Your petty, gross generations are a bigger problem for the country than anything you have an opinion on. Get a grip, champ

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Which country pal? What's your substantive reply? Sounds like u have a grip on it for sure... Maybe give it some relief perhaps

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I’m of the opinion The West as a whole needs a brand new system — made in the 21st century for the 21st century using the following themes:

- simplicity

- standardization (silly humanity tries to accomplish the same goals a million different ways — pick the best and use it until a better option comes down the pipe)

- economies of scale

- free and open data for circular accountability

- basic income (AI and technology is going to create massive gains in economic output so can easily afford this)

I believe a federal - municipal system would be best. Mayors can be elected by their local constituents; then the mayors can elect a leader/dictator who has a great deal of power to push forward their agenda, with a veto mechanism to prevent them going off the rails (mayors have the vote for the veto, but make it high like 75% for example so you need a strong consensus to veto the leader).

Create a constitution made in the 21st century for the 21st century.

Create a system so good that everyone wants in as the benefits will be so immense that only fools will stay out (a better quality of life and economic outcomes). Could likely start this system in Canada and go after the low hanging fruit that is The Commonwealth.

The arc of humanity and civilization is unification — I believe we are seeing the late stages of nationalism (which is fragmentation and wars). I believe we must live through this chaotic WW3 era before my grand plan door opens.

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Eur-Oh! and as, at least as I recall, quipped many years ago "Europe is the world's largest outdoor museum." Just one more quote, Oscar Wilde said "The youth of America is their oldest tradition." Sadly now, debt is becoming America's oldest tradition...

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Good frame work for Europe. But US comparing of debt and gdp is off the mark. Cumulative 7trillion in debt since 2020 can't be compared with 6trillion annual gdp. That cumulative gdp growth is more like 23 trillion. Even so, it's not a 1 to 1 relationship but much more complex. Needs deeper analysis.

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Inflation in Europe is more than the official 2.5 % which your chart is showing. If ECB further lowers rates the inflation will shoot back up. Also, European bureaucrats are not known for investing into productive initiatives. Instead they invest into woke agenda.

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My sister and her husband just came back from vacation in Italy. She said the country was uncomfortably packed with tourists, and Naples was filthy. She said that some locals told her that low-cost Chinese cars are now being manufactured in Italy and being passed off as Italian cars. I had read that Italy's economy had rebounded, but it appears that it's rebounding into a different kind of economy.

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GDP is annual. Spending $7T to get $6T more productivity ever year for the next 50 years sounds like a bargain. It's much more complicated than that, but I'm not sure comparing the two tells us much

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As Poland’s economy closes in on England’s, the EU will see more growth in Central Europe. And more protection for the Christian values, traditional, which have combined with private property & markets to encourage growth.

The Muslim immigration mess needs to be solved before Europe will grow faster.

Fear of US debt remains overblown until Japan, with over 250% debt/gdp ratio, has a big problem. Seems like aging is a worse problem than bonds.

The key remains the investment value of the debt, Return on Investment. Higher for tech & mfg, than govt welfare to make poverty drug addiction less uncomfortable, and thus have more of it.

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The growing government debt is a symptom of income and wealth inequality - as the wealthy steal from the rest of the population, their income falls and they need government assistance to survive and prevent a recession. The wealth use their income to buy assets so we have the real estate and stock market bubbles. An unequal society is a bubble society.

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Europe really does seem like it’s going extinct.

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It’s about the US current account deficit.

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Always thought-provoking, Alf!

I think AI-fulled productivity is not showing up or captured well in productivity growth, so we can wait and see! Thank you!

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