Europe's Populist Left

[Ideologue]

In related news, I will cease paying taxes in Spain as of this midnight.

As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Mutti.

Welcome! Where will you go?

Galt's Gulch.

[The Larch]

And also because 26 thousand million euros from the different bailouts were ponied up by the Spanish government.

That's like five hundred Eurobucks for every unemployed person.  What a theft.

It's apparently what Spain spends anually on unemployment benefits nowadays, according to our gubmint.

[Ed Anger]

In related news, I will cease paying taxes in Spain as of this midnight.

As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Mutti.

Welcome! Where will you go?

Galt's Gulch.

we might get some decent Spanish food now.

[alfred russel]

According to our papers, the harder resistance against the Greek plans amongst EU governments comes mostly from Ireland, Spain and Portugal, in some kind of "If we had to suck it you have to suck it as well" argument.

I suspect if you are a government that has accepted austerity, and another government shows there is a better path, that is bad for your re election prospects.

[Iormlund]

Welcome! Where will you go?

To the headquarters of my previous employer, in Kassel. 

I've stayed there for a couple months already and know both the town and my new colleagues - so I'm not making much of leap. I had something like this in mind when I joined the spanish division and so far the Plan™ is coming together rather nicely ... or at least half of it.
I had some trouble back when I became unemployed, and I thought it was in part because my experience, though extensive, lacked focus. Mostly because for some reason my previous bosses always tended to assign me those tasks that fell outside of the ordinary, which made me well versed in many areas but an expert in none. So when I got a job that promised the opportunity to focus in pure PLC development I was fairly happy. The idea was to use this job to plug said gap and gain a foothold in Germany at the same time. I'm in Germany indeed, but instead of programming, my new bosses have decided there was a good reason for my CV to lack focus. So I've been put in charge of software, robotics and electrical engineering for a project for one of the big auto makers.

I don't think I'll spend much more time in Kassel in any case, at least until summer. I'll probably spend the next few months flying between our client and subcontractors (in Poland and Spain). After that, there is a very juicy project overseas. I might spend anything from a few weeks to a year or so in the Americas in 2016. Or I might use my new and improved language skills, CV and Anmeldung to jump ship to another company in the Fatherland. That really depends on how my work is valued in the coming months.

[Admiral Yi]

I suspect if you are a government that has accepted austerity, and another government shows there is a better path, that is bad for your re election prospects.

It's more a case of countries which have accepted austerity* being upset by another country being offered free money they were not.

*My inner George Orwell continues to be distressed by the use of "austerity" to describe 6% budget deficits.

[Iormlund]

Your inner George Orwell should read up on positive feedback loops.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't understand.

[alfred russel]

I don't understand.

Have a deficit, cut government spending to close the deficit, harm the economy, see tax revenues fall and social spending (unemployment etc) increase, have a bigger deficit, cut government spending to close the bigger deficit, etc.

[Admiral Yi]

Sure, but how does that make a 6% deficit "austere?"

[alfred russel]

Sure, but how does that make a 6% deficit "austere?"

If you accept that there is a feedback loop, then why would the % of deficit be relevant in determining how austere a budget is? Whether the budget is lavish or austere, it is going to be in deficit.

[Admiral Yi]

If you accept that there is a feedback loop, then why would the % of deficit be relevant in determining how austere a budget is? Whether the budget is lavish or austere, it is going to be in deficit.

The % is relevant because it shows how much more you are consuming than you are producing.

[alfred russel]

If you accept that there is a feedback loop, then why would the % of deficit be relevant in determining how austere a budget is? Whether the budget is lavish or austere, it is going to be in deficit.

The % is relevant because it shows how much more you are consuming than you are producing.

If you are caught in the feedback loop Iormlund was discussing, what do you want to see before "austerity" is used to describe government policies?

[Admiral Yi]

If you are caught in the feedback loop Iormlund was discussing, what do you want to see before "austerity" is used to describe government policies?

"Deficit reduction."

[Ideologue]

"Slow genocide."