Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I have been doing a series of posts on The Fire Next Time: The Euro Financial Crisis, warning of the "other shoe" to drop following the American financial system meltdown in 2008. The title is borrowed from a column by Paul Krugman, warning that our failure to correct the casino capitalism of Wall Street and to hold any of the banksters of Wall Street accountable for their crimes leaves the world's financial system vulnerable to another financial system meltdown. Paul Krugman: The Fire Next Time.
It is also to inform you on economics reporting that our feckless corporate mainstream media does not provide. This is an election year. The soft employment numbers for March last week led the chorus of the right-wing noise machine to sing that President Obama's economic policies are not creating jobs fast enough, and the corporate mainstream media who are economics ignorant simply took stenography and repeated these statements in the echo chamber. They do not report the facts that it was the faith based supply-side "trickle down" GOP economics that created the Great Recession, and that conservative austerity economics is slowing the economic recovery, as Paul Krugman frequently writes.
Conservative austerity economics is a recipe for Depression, as it was in the 1930s, and it is on display for all the world to see in the Euro financial crisis. This contagion cannot be contained to Europe. We have a global economy, and the contagion will eventually find its way to our shores and the "other shoe" of the financial crisis of 2008 will drop. There is little this country can do to guard against this European contagion.
When our economy suffers as a result, as it will, Tea-Publicans will say that it is all President Obama's fault, because this is an election year, and our economics ignorant corporate mainstream media will simply take stenography and repeat these statements in the echo chamber. The consequence is possibly electing Tea-Publicans to office who are blindly committed to doubling-down on their disproved and discredited faith based supply-side "trickle down" GOP economics and conservative austerity economics responsible for worsening the financial crisis. It is a recipe for disaster.
On Sunday, 60 Minutes finally caught up to reporting on this story and did an outstanding job of reporting. An Imperfect Union: Europe's debt crisis – CBS News:
Ten European countries are in a recession. In order to avoid default, three have needed bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and more might be necessary. What's at stake? A lot, including the future of the currency, the euro, and the health of the United States' largest trading partner. Steve Kroft reports on the European debt crisis, including how the austerity measures being demanded of Greece are rekindling the ghosts and even enmity of World War II.
Must view video below the fold.