Good news from Daniel Lacalle at dlacalle.com:
Politicians in Europe are using the JD Vance and Trump external enemy excuse to disguise the existential problem of a system that is crumbling. The statist nightmare built around what politicians call “welfare state” has proven to be a subterfuge to multiply bureaucracy and create a dependent subclass.
The welfare state was never sustainable but was created as an affordable luxury that rich economies could finance with strong economic growth and a solid productive sector. However, European governments overlooked the necessity of fostering economic growth and productivity to finance the welfare state. Furthermore, as left-wing populism permeated all segments of the European political landscape, politicians started to include more and more so-called “rights,” which became entitlement costs and subsidies, in a trend that led Europe to forget to create wealth and focus entirely on extractive and confiscatory policies.
We have seen a gradual destruction of the productive sector, asphyxiated by constantly raising taxes and bureaucratic and regulatory limitations, while government budgets expanded without control.
The economy of the European Union operates on an inverted economic model. It puts entitlement spending as its pillar, instead of seeing that the welfare state is, at best, a consequence of wealth creation, not a cause. Without a thriving private sector, there is no welfare. Politicians should understand that you cannot provide citizens with social programs if the productive economy is weakened by political design.
The comrades can’t Econ 101.
Someone has to pay for all the free stuff.
Dreams of John Lennon Imagine go up in smoke.
Happy saxophone is so happy!
Breaking from Misfits:
Wolfsblood