Where are the markets?

[Admiral Yi]

Conservative fiscal populism and dogma 

[Sheilbh]

Conservative fiscal populism and dogma 

Seems a fair description of Germany 2010-20.

His book Crashed is excellent - the best book I've read about the financial crises.

[Admiral Yi]

Seems a fair description of Germany 2010-20.

It certainly does if your the Syriza finance minister demanding more free money.

[The Minsky Moment]

But as it turned out Syriza was a more responsible steward of the Greek economy then the genial and well-credentialed kleptocrats that came before them.

It's hard in retrospect to argue that the hardline German position on Greece was justified. It was pretty clearly a mistake.

[Admiral Yi]

It's trivially easy.  German taxpayers have other things they'd prefer to spend their money on.

[Sheilbh]

It's worth reading his book - it is far from an anti-German diatribe. Which is what you'd expect, he has very good experience and knowledge of Germany.

And I think it's a fair point and goes beyond Greece. The politics of schwarze null are unique, and I can't think of another country where central bank decisions tend to be tabloid fodder.

[mongers]

Faith in markets is misplaced.

[Admiral Yi]

It's worth reading his book - it is far from an anti-German diatribe. Which is what you'd expect, he has very good experience and knowledge of Germany.

And I think it's a fair point and goes beyond Greece. The politics of schwarze null are unique, and I can't think of another country where central bank decisions tend to be tabloid fodder.

I don't think an author who uses "conservative fiscal populism and dogma" is going to shoot to the top of my reading list.

[crazy canuck]

And it shows

[Valmy]

Faith in markets is misplaced.

I guess that depends on what exactly it is you are putting your faith in them doing.

[Sheilbh]

I don't think an author who uses "conservative fiscal populism and dogma" is going to shoot to the top of my reading list.

You're so sensitive

It's your loss. It's a really excellent book.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm easily triggered.

[The Minsky Moment]

It's trivially easy.  German taxpayers have other things they'd prefer to spend their money on.

Well they ended up spending on them on hedge fund investors and banks with sharp trading desks and good lobbyists.  They might have preferred such recipients to their follow Greek speaking EU citizens, but one of the jobs of political leaders is to disabuse people of such folly.

[Admiral Yi]

Well they ended up spending on them on hedge fund investors and banks with sharp trading desks and good lobbyists.  They might have preferred such recipients to their follow Greek speaking EU citizens, but one of the jobs of political leaders is to disabuse people of such folly.

And this whole time I thought Greek speaking EU citizens got money too.

[Sheilbh]

Not for Yi, given it's a piece by Tooze - but very interesting piece on the role of central banks (and with them, the markets):
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/13/european-central-bank-myth-monetary-policy-german-court-ruling/

As a total aside because it's not really on topic in the article but I found kind of striking how the debate in Germany about all of this, seems a bit like 90s British Euroscepticism. In the UK there were sort-of legitimate sovereignty issues after court cases where the courts over-ruled Parliament to enforce the supremacy of European law, which obviously went agains the whole idea of Parliamentary sovereignty. It was a big change to a part of the UK constitution and how the UK understood power (interestingly UK Eurosceptics often used to refer to the German Constitutional Court as a more robust national legal system because, unlike UK courts, they always reserved a right to review European decisions for conformity with their constitution). Running alongside that you had tabloids outraged at the Commission (focused on a French arch-Federalist, "Up Yours Delors!"). It doesn't seem a million miles from the legitimate issues/concerns in Germany about European economic and monetary decisions (reinforced by the courts) that are cashing with sort-of traditional German attitudes and policies, and running alongside it is tabloid outrage (focused on Draghi this time).