The latest warning on sovereign debt is Hungary.
The European Commission on Thursday urged Hungary to cut its budget deficit faster, even as government officials reiterated the 2010 fiscal gap may reach almost twice the target agreed with lenders including the EU.
Notice the center right, infamous tax cut philosophy of Hungary. That didn't stop contagion or budget deficits. Of course they are blaming the ghosts of those who enact policies which favor a middle class.
The vice chairman of the ruling Fidesz party, Lajos Kosa, said the government would launch a crisis management plan soon.
Public finances were in much worse shape than previously expected and there was only a slim chance of avoiding a Greek-style scenario.
This statement drove their currency down 2.4%.
The cost of protecting Hungarian debt against default jumped to a 10-month high. Credit-default swaps increased 31 basis points, the most in a month, to 290 as of 4:40 p.m. in London, according to CMA DataVision prices. The default swaps gain as perceptions of credit quality deteriorate.
It might be even worse for Hungary
This is a scary statement.
what's the truth?
Because they are of the infamous "deregulation/cut taxes/cut spending neo-con" mentality, they are blaming the past. But how much of these sovereign defaults can be directly attributed, by percentage to bailing out the banksters plus "Stimulus" that doesn't "Stimulate" and instead does things like try to reinflate a housing bubble or take the trash off of the private books?
The U.S. deficit numbers were released today and deserve their own post. It's mind boggling.
The role Of Neo-Liberalism,
The role Of Neo-Liberalism, in widening the income gap between the rich and the poor.
June 5, 2010 by politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
The role of Neo-Liberalism, in widening the income gap between the rich and the poor.
“One of the most pronounced effects of Neo liberalism is to create wealth inequality within national borders and between states. Within a decade of adopting free market policies, the class divide in the US and UK became significant.” Professor G. William Domhoff. UC @ Santa Cruz.
It is just another indictment of Neo liberalism and its multi-faceted destructive policies encumbered upon people of the world. It is very fascinating to note, that the income gap between the poor and the rich has more pronouncedly been evident in the US and UK, the joint creators of Neo liberalism.
This enormous income gap between the rich and the poor in the US has concentrated more power in the hands of the rich and has created a feeling of helplessness on the majority of American citizens who have been marginalized by Neo liberal policies.
Consequently, sooner or later, the question will arise, whose country is it anyway? It is obvious that the widening of the income gap in the US is close to the breaking point. It is not if, but when it breaks, no one can forecast how it might end. It is just that the Corporations are blinded by greed, and our representatives are muzzled by big business.
Writing on the subject of Neo liberalism’s impact on social cohesion, David Coburn, from the University of Toronto writes: “While it has been asserted that neo-liberalism produces a lowered sense of community it might also be argued that the rise of neo-liberalism is itself a signifier of the decline of more widespread feelings of social solidarity. The political rise of neo-liberalism is freighted with a more individualistic view of society and, perhaps, itself reflects a decline in the notion of we are all in the same boat. Not only do neo-liberal policies undermine the social infrastructure underlying social cohesion but neo-liberal movements themselves are partial causes of the decline of a sense of social cohesion.”
It is absolutely frightening, what Neo liberalism is doing to societies. It is corroding the very fiber that societies are built upon. Neo liberalism is cancerous. It is undermining our Democratic system. When a government becomes a by stander when millions are practically becoming paupers, while the few are amassing billions, then, the people have no protector. Laws, Rules and Regulations are in the books only to protect the interest of the rich.
In a wonderful article entitled, “Skewed Wealth Distribution and the Roots of the Economic Crisis”, David Barber, a Professor at the University of Tennessee, wrote:
“And what is true in the United States of the unequal distribution of wealth, and of the consequences of that unequal distribution, is true again on a world scale. This super-poor mass of humanity, from whose soil is ripped vast amounts of mineral and agricultural wealth, and out of whose labor the world’s manufactured goods increasingly come, are almost wholly excluded from participating in the world’s market economy”. So, what is to be done?
While a number of social scientists have forwarded divergent solutions for anarcho-capitalism to save itself, Professor Michael Rustin at the University of East London suggests the following points are “made necessary by the implosion of the neo-liberal system in the current financial crisis, and are needed to construct a new post-neo-liberal phase of democratic capitalism”.
The five points he has put forward are the following:
(1) A more active role for governments in regulating markets, and especially global financial markets
(2) Constitutional reforms which enhance democratic processes and civil liberties, and create more representative and pluralist systems
(3) Policies, which reduce inequalities, and give greater weight to social justice and social inclusion.
(4) The enhancement of the capacities of international institutions, and especially the EU, to maintain economic stability and growth
(5) Programmes to address the problems of climate change.
Very sensible, are they not? But Wait!!! We have to see which governments have any backbones left in them to try and regulate the market, and do away with thirty years of destruction of the people that started with Reagan and Thatcher.
As I am ready to post this article, I hear a news story that stated that “Hungary might default on its debt”. What is the world coming to. Wasn’t Hungary the darling of the West? Didn’t it do everything that it was asked to? It privatized everything. It reduced government employment. It cut welfare as it was told to do by “free Market Reform” advisors. Hungary did everything a good and obedient follower of Neo liberalism is supposed to do. Yet, it is threatening to “default” on its debt in spite of a $24 billion IMF and EU loan few months back. This is the fruit of Neo Liberalism.
Do you wonder, which devoted and submissive follower of Neo liberalism will bite the dust, next?
Professor Mekonen Haddis.
are you the owner of this article?
If so, you could create an account here and cross post, discuss. I'm watching the never ending IMF demands and the focus on destroying pensions, social safety nets, wage levels, unions.....and also noted Hungary has been busy already ripping this asunder. Bottom line this is what happens when you bail out fictional finance to half a trillion bucks and counting. (Europe).
EU Correct About Broadening Democracy
Point Number (2) should be (1):
"
(2) Constitutional reforms which enhance democratic processes and civil liberties, and create more representative and pluralist systems
"
It would take initiatives on direct democracy and devolving political power locally. Devolution is taking hold due to absence of Federal help and a survivalist mode of thinking.
At a State or Federal level Constitutional change is very big and difficult. The best move is a Plebiscite, analogous to Ancient Rome's but with a few Reps who take
orders from us (yes, Romans did this!). No Constitutional amendment necessary, people's lobby.
If you don't Devolve and Democratize, then
we got the the status quo of the K-Street.
We will not survive the status quo.
Burton Leed