A Dead Europe

I could not dig; I dared not rob:
Therefore I lied to please the mob.
Now all my lies are proved untrue
And I must face the men I slew.
What tale shall serve me here among
Mine angry and defrauded young?

- Rudyard Kipling, "A Dead Statesman"

This poem was meant as an attack on the European leaders who led their countries into WWI. But it works almost as well for the current European financial train wreck. While the cuts to government spending for countries like Greece are appropriate, the austerity measures also include tax increases that strangle those countries' economic growth. Who benefits from such insanity? Certainly not the Greeks themselves. The beneficiaries are the German and French bankers who were foolish enough to lend to those countries, are irresponsible enough to avoid admitting guilt, and are now wringing the necks of their debtors for every last euro. The great European project, meant to bring the continent together, is instead reviving ancient hatreds complete with vicious invocations of the memories of WWII between Germany and its debtors. Just like all other liberal fantasies, this one is going down in the worst way possible.

In related news, Spanish unemployment rate is at 22.8%.