Tuesday 24 April 2012

Dutch courage, the French connection and California ...

... will plough its own furrow in the greatest melting pot since the Roman Empire, Scotland on the other hand has sent a member of its administration to have talks with "Parti Québecois" the Quebec separatist party, the brief was "learn how not to gain independence".

In Europe the realisation that government spending has been out of control for decades is now "de facto economics", the German political powerhouse is setting its own economic standards as the European model for members of the Euro club, Germany takes 40.6% of GDP as taxes and currently spends 43.7% of GDP, it borrows 3.1% of GDP (figures from the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom).

The Netherlands currently takes 39.8% of GDP as taxes and currently spends 45.9% of GDP, it borrows 6.1% of GDP.  Its Prime Minister resigned from Government yesterday because the elected representatives chose not to support measures to reduce government expenditure by 16bn Euros.  At stake is the prized AAA credit rating status and the low yield on government bonds.

It's not all rosy in garden across the pond in the USA, the US government takes a tiny 26.9% of GDP as taxes and currently spends 38.9% of GDP, it borrows 11% of GDP, so whilst the tax take is very modest the spend is probably dishonest, I'm sure a more balanced revenue stream could be calculated, but better the USA than the Netherlands or France, which brings me to the European bag of ferrets ....

France currently takes a massive 44.6% of GDP as taxes and currently spends a huge 52.8% of GDP, it borrows 9.2% of GDP, it taxes its citizens until they squeak and then borrows more to fund the most generous welfare system (probably) in the world.  To cap it the current presidential elections is a two way race between the poltroon socialist Francois Hollande who declares his true enemy to be "the world of finance", and the current president Nicolas Sarkozy I'm guessing he could make it big in reality TV.

To put France into perspective its borrowing is projected to be double the borrowing of the UK for years to come whilst the UK borrowing will fall, if we consider the promises being made by the mad-cap president elect Francois Hollande France is probably hypnotised by the abyss of Friedrich Nietzsche, is the 5th republic about to spawn another French revolution as a precursor to a 6th republic.

No matter, my money is out of the Euro zone, even with the German economic model underpinning this experiment, it really is a basket case, my money stays with the London Stock Exchange, New York, and the emerging markets.


In California the people are to be asked whether they want to abolish the state's death penalty law .... I am glad that I am not a resident of "The Golden State", I am not at all sure which way I would vote, one side tells me we must rise above the barbarism of execution whist the other calls for retribution for the more Heinous acts perpetrated by people, I would probably vote ...........

........ to send Scotland packing, separatism is for me little political fish wishing to appear large in a shrunken pond, this sums up my feelings about Scottish separatism, the likes of Alex (little but large) Salmond is not about to go away, the UK only caused the union with Scotland because Scots rulers were unable to manage their affairs, time to kiss our neighbours a fond yet firm farewell, David Cameron might consider joining the SNP crusade in its march towards the setting sun, he would do us all a service by setting them free unilaterally, that would be novel and a message to all the other political misfits across the world, but has he the balls ...........


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