From all the press reports it is not clear whether our contribution
to this is supposed to be what Brown-Darling announced earlier or if
it is to be additional! Our share would be around £17 billion -
nearly as much as Brown’s half-baked earlier plans for Britain.
Hell - what’s it matter? - A million, a billion a trillion - it’s
all the same when you’re bust anyway. But don’t fret - the world
will be greener when seen from the workhouse. They’re maniacs,
these Greens - members of a religion as lunatic and fanatical as
Scientology - and we’re supposed to take them seriously!
Richard North looks for ways to hide “until this is all over.” . I
wonder what makes him think it actually ever WILL be over ?
XXXXXXXXXXXXX CS
========================
EU OBSERVER 27.11.08
Commission unveils €200bn stimulus plan
LEIGH PHILLIPS
BRUSSELS - Warning of the risk of a vicious cycle of recessions
crashing upon Europe's shores if nations did not act swiftly, the
European Commission on Wednesday called upon the EU's member states
to back a €200 billion stimulus package that involves a mix of
increased public spending on green initiatives, tax cuts and soft
loans for industry.
However, economists worry whether all countries will be able to
contribute and whether the amount, which package together stimulus
sums already announced by countries such as the UK and Germany will
be able to do much.
Most - around €170 billion - would have to come from national
budgets, with the remaining €30 billion split between the EU and the
European Investment bank. If backed by member states, the monies,
which would be spent over the coming year, represent 1.5 percent of
GDP, somewhat higher than earlier plans to produce a €130 billion
package.
Explaining the need for such pump-priming measures, President Jose
Manuel Barroso told reporters:"Business as usual is not an option.
That would lead to a vicious recessionary cycle."
"It would lead to falling purchasing power and falling tax revenues,
to rising unemployment and the accompanying human misery, to ever
wider budget deficits, ultimately to a risk of social instability,"
he said. "That is the lesson of the 1930s."
However, the president was clear this was no wholesale return to post-
war government intervention and Keynesian economic strategies. This
is a temporary measure and governments must come up with detailed
plans about how they will pay back any borrowed monies.
"But there is also a lesson from more recent recessions, notably in
the 1970s ... short-term spending without structural reform and
without a smart strategy for investing and paying back the borrowing
can fuel a downward spiral of debt and unemployment in the future."
"The cost of fighting this crisis must not be a worse crisis in the
future as we struggle to deal with a hangover of debt." ]Was this
meant as a direct criticism of Gordon Brown’s attempts this week? -cs]
The measures, which are more guidelines or even spending ideas from
the commission and not a detailed architecture of what member states
must do, include €5 billion in additional funding for energy
infrastructure and high-speed internet connections to those areas in
which the market is reluctant to invest.
The commission also proposes €2.1 billion, or just over one percent
of the total, on energy-efficient buildings, a "Factories of the
Future" initiative that would support new technologies in industry,
and encouraging automobile companies to produce "green cars".
However, these latter funds are just a redeployment of sums from
existing budgets.
Another €500 million would be allocated to supporting trans-European
transport networks and another €500 million again for various other
projects.
The European Investment Bank will back this with €15.6 billion in new
interventions in 2009.
The commission also wants member states to slash VAT on labour-
intensive services. [They may “want” that but the EU’s own VAT rules
prohibit such targeting! -cs]
With declining revenues and increased spending, member states' budget
deficits would be likely to exceed the three percent of GDP maximum
allowed in the Euro zone. In response, the commission insists that
this ceiling has not been removed, but it will be more flexible in
dealing with such breaches.
Ireland, Germany lukewarm
Meanwhile, the Irish finance department has already said it will not
participate in the EU stimulus scheme and Germany is opposed to any
cut in sales taxes - at least until after the 2009 German federal
elections.
Reacting to the stimulus proposals, German government spokesperson
Thomas Steg said on Wednesday: "The chancellor is firmly convinced
that tax cuts can only be considered after the federal election in
2009."
Jakob von Weizsacker, a research fellow with the centre-right Bruegel
Brussels think-tank, worried that some countries might let some
states expand their deficits while they themselves resisted any
increased spending.
"There is a fundamental difficulty here as every member state has an
incentive to free ride," he said. "As many countries as possible
should be included in the coordinated effort. Only countries in
highly exceptional circumstances like Hungary should be exempted."
Mr von Weizsacker also worried much of the spending would be old wine
in new bottles.
"It needs to be ensured that any agreement at the European level
leads to additional spending. Otherwise, member states may be tempted
to meet their commitments by re-labelling spending that they were
planning for 2009 anyway."
Graham Watson, leader of the Liberal grouping in the European
Parliament largely welcomed the package, but warned: "We should ...
resist unnecessary subsidies for industry. If we want European
industry to thrive we need to find ways of boosting green industrial
products [Aaaargh! -cs] and consumer spending power as priority."
Conservatives in the house also saluted the plan, with the centre-
right EPP-ED grouping saying it would do everything it could to
ensure it was passed. Group leader Joseph Daul said however that
there should be a quid pro quo in return for the looser purse
strings: "We agree with the commission's position that a budgetary
stimulus should be provided, but not without structural reforms in
the member states who should take measures to boost their economies,
without increasing their deficits."
No 'Green New Deal' [Hold on tight - This is where it gets really
crazy-cs]
Meanwhile greens and the left were sceptical that this was in anyway
the Roosevelt-inspired 'Green New Deal' they have been calling for as
a solution to the triple finance, energy and climate crisis that
would see massive public spending on a shift away from a carbon-based
economy. [All the nutters are coming out of the woodwork as they
spot an opportunity to make matters worse -cs]
"The EU Recovery Plan will only work if it makes the economy more
equitable and sustainable. This means addressing the real economy and
investing in green jobs, but to achieve this the EU should be
reversing the Lisbon strategy and reigning in market liberalism,
rather than 'reinforcing' it as Barroso suggests," said Myriam Vander
Stichele, of SOMO, the Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational
Corporations.
"Focussing new investments on the fight against climate change is a
good idea, but the commission's claims about are not credible" says
Oscar Reyes of eco-watchdog Carbon Trade Watch.
"The European car industry, which stands to gain from a bailout, has
a dreadful record in attempting to circumvent environmental
regulation at every stage. And channelling significant new climate
funds through the European Investment Bank - which has a woeful
environmental record - raises series questions about the integrity of
the EU´s recovery plan."
Across the Atlantic, the incoming Obama administration is scheduled
to announce its own stimulus package in the new year. No figures have
yet been announced, but the sums expected to be unveiled are between
€550 and €800 billion ($700 billlion to around €1 trillion).
======================
EUREFERENDUM Blog 27.11.08
A terrifying world
If excessive debt has got us into this mess, and the main thrust of
the attack against Mr Brown is his plan to add to the national debt
by untold zillions – and then tax us out of existence to pay for it -
what, one might ask, is the EU playing at, setting up a EU "recovery
plan" which amounts to EU member states borrowing €200 billion more
than they have already?
This, we are told by The Times is the EU's brilliant idea "to beat
the slump", in which member states are being "encouraged to follow
Britain's lead". What is worse, though, is that it appears that EU
commission president Barroso actually consulted with Gordon Brown
before the Pre-Budget Report, in order to get tips on how to
construct this wonderfully miasmic plan.
And so pleased is the Treasury at being the architect not only of the
downfall of the UK but the rest of Europe as well that its spokesman
was heard happily preening: "This is an opportunity to show how
Europe can work together to support our wider economies."
If there is one thing more terrifying than either Mr Brown or the
European Union running our economy, it is the prospect of them
working together with a co-ordinated "plan". By all accounts,
however, it is even worse than that, with Bush – in the final days of
his presidency – throwing in his hand with the EU, to engineer a
grand stitch-up of the global financial system, the very thing that
allowed it to get out of control in the first place.
Thus, while there was a debate on the PBR in the provincial
parliament yesterday, with the MPPs [sic!] twittering away about the
VAT cut and sundry other diversions, the real action is elsewhere,
with Brown playing with the "big boys" rather than looking to
Westminster for his lead.
However, since the majority of MPPs – and especially those on the
opposition benches - seem loathe to acknowledge the global dimension
of our economic crisis, and insist on viewing it through the prism of
national politics, much of what they have to say is a study in
irrelevancy. The action truly is elsewhere, out of sight of the media
and chatterati trapped in their Westminster bubble, players who still
labour under the delusion that what they think or say is of any
importance.
Thus, while one of our colleagues over on Purple Scorpion rightly
complains about Brown not paying enough attention to local issues,
rather than an illustration of his "incompetence" this is more a
reflection of where his priorities really lie. This penny-ante stuff
is of no interest to him - not when the tranzies beckon and there is
a "new world order" in the making.
Sadly, it will all come to grief, but it makes for painful watching.
One is almost tempted to dig a hole in the garden and hide in it
until this is all over. Instead, I have opted for the more pleasant –
if somewhat shorter-lived - expedient of popping over to Jersey for
dinner and the odd glass of wine.
----------------------------------
Posted by Richard North
to this is supposed to be what Brown-Darling announced earlier or if
it is to be additional! Our share would be around £17 billion -
nearly as much as Brown’s half-baked earlier plans for Britain.
Hell - what’s it matter? - A million, a billion a trillion - it’s
all the same when you’re bust anyway. But don’t fret - the world
will be greener when seen from the workhouse. They’re maniacs,
these Greens - members of a religion as lunatic and fanatical as
Scientology - and we’re supposed to take them seriously!
Richard North looks for ways to hide “until this is all over.” . I
wonder what makes him think it actually ever WILL be over ?
XXXXXXXXXXXXX CS
========================
EU OBSERVER 27.11.08
Commission unveils €200bn stimulus plan
LEIGH PHILLIPS
BRUSSELS - Warning of the risk of a vicious cycle of recessions
crashing upon Europe's shores if nations did not act swiftly, the
European Commission on Wednesday called upon the EU's member states
to back a €200 billion stimulus package that involves a mix of
increased public spending on green initiatives, tax cuts and soft
loans for industry.
However, economists worry whether all countries will be able to
contribute and whether the amount, which package together stimulus
sums already announced by countries such as the UK and Germany will
be able to do much.
Most - around €170 billion - would have to come from national
budgets, with the remaining €30 billion split between the EU and the
European Investment bank. If backed by member states, the monies,
which would be spent over the coming year, represent 1.5 percent of
GDP, somewhat higher than earlier plans to produce a €130 billion
package.
Explaining the need for such pump-priming measures, President Jose
Manuel Barroso told reporters:"Business as usual is not an option.
That would lead to a vicious recessionary cycle."
"It would lead to falling purchasing power and falling tax revenues,
to rising unemployment and the accompanying human misery, to ever
wider budget deficits, ultimately to a risk of social instability,"
he said. "That is the lesson of the 1930s."
However, the president was clear this was no wholesale return to post-
war government intervention and Keynesian economic strategies. This
is a temporary measure and governments must come up with detailed
plans about how they will pay back any borrowed monies.
"But there is also a lesson from more recent recessions, notably in
the 1970s ... short-term spending without structural reform and
without a smart strategy for investing and paying back the borrowing
can fuel a downward spiral of debt and unemployment in the future."
"The cost of fighting this crisis must not be a worse crisis in the
future as we struggle to deal with a hangover of debt." ]Was this
meant as a direct criticism of Gordon Brown’s attempts this week? -cs]
The measures, which are more guidelines or even spending ideas from
the commission and not a detailed architecture of what member states
must do, include €5 billion in additional funding for energy
infrastructure and high-speed internet connections to those areas in
which the market is reluctant to invest.
The commission also proposes €2.1 billion, or just over one percent
of the total, on energy-efficient buildings, a "Factories of the
Future" initiative that would support new technologies in industry,
and encouraging automobile companies to produce "green cars".
However, these latter funds are just a redeployment of sums from
existing budgets.
Another €500 million would be allocated to supporting trans-European
transport networks and another €500 million again for various other
projects.
The European Investment Bank will back this with €15.6 billion in new
interventions in 2009.
The commission also wants member states to slash VAT on labour-
intensive services. [They may “want” that but the EU’s own VAT rules
prohibit such targeting! -cs]
With declining revenues and increased spending, member states' budget
deficits would be likely to exceed the three percent of GDP maximum
allowed in the Euro zone. In response, the commission insists that
this ceiling has not been removed, but it will be more flexible in
dealing with such breaches.
Ireland, Germany lukewarm
Meanwhile, the Irish finance department has already said it will not
participate in the EU stimulus scheme and Germany is opposed to any
cut in sales taxes - at least until after the 2009 German federal
elections.
Reacting to the stimulus proposals, German government spokesperson
Thomas Steg said on Wednesday: "The chancellor is firmly convinced
that tax cuts can only be considered after the federal election in
2009."
Jakob von Weizsacker, a research fellow with the centre-right Bruegel
Brussels think-tank, worried that some countries might let some
states expand their deficits while they themselves resisted any
increased spending.
"There is a fundamental difficulty here as every member state has an
incentive to free ride," he said. "As many countries as possible
should be included in the coordinated effort. Only countries in
highly exceptional circumstances like Hungary should be exempted."
Mr von Weizsacker also worried much of the spending would be old wine
in new bottles.
"It needs to be ensured that any agreement at the European level
leads to additional spending. Otherwise, member states may be tempted
to meet their commitments by re-labelling spending that they were
planning for 2009 anyway."
Graham Watson, leader of the Liberal grouping in the European
Parliament largely welcomed the package, but warned: "We should ...
resist unnecessary subsidies for industry. If we want European
industry to thrive we need to find ways of boosting green industrial
products [Aaaargh! -cs] and consumer spending power as priority."
Conservatives in the house also saluted the plan, with the centre-
right EPP-ED grouping saying it would do everything it could to
ensure it was passed. Group leader Joseph Daul said however that
there should be a quid pro quo in return for the looser purse
strings: "We agree with the commission's position that a budgetary
stimulus should be provided, but not without structural reforms in
the member states who should take measures to boost their economies,
without increasing their deficits."
No 'Green New Deal' [Hold on tight - This is where it gets really
crazy-cs]
Meanwhile greens and the left were sceptical that this was in anyway
the Roosevelt-inspired 'Green New Deal' they have been calling for as
a solution to the triple finance, energy and climate crisis that
would see massive public spending on a shift away from a carbon-based
economy. [All the nutters are coming out of the woodwork as they
spot an opportunity to make matters worse -cs]
"The EU Recovery Plan will only work if it makes the economy more
equitable and sustainable. This means addressing the real economy and
investing in green jobs, but to achieve this the EU should be
reversing the Lisbon strategy and reigning in market liberalism,
rather than 'reinforcing' it as Barroso suggests," said Myriam Vander
Stichele, of SOMO, the Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational
Corporations.
"Focussing new investments on the fight against climate change is a
good idea, but the commission's claims about are not credible" says
Oscar Reyes of eco-watchdog Carbon Trade Watch.
"The European car industry, which stands to gain from a bailout, has
a dreadful record in attempting to circumvent environmental
regulation at every stage. And channelling significant new climate
funds through the European Investment Bank - which has a woeful
environmental record - raises series questions about the integrity of
the EU´s recovery plan."
Across the Atlantic, the incoming Obama administration is scheduled
to announce its own stimulus package in the new year. No figures have
yet been announced, but the sums expected to be unveiled are between
€550 and €800 billion ($700 billlion to around €1 trillion).
======================
EUREFERENDUM Blog 27.11.08
A terrifying world
If excessive debt has got us into this mess, and the main thrust of
the attack against Mr Brown is his plan to add to the national debt
by untold zillions – and then tax us out of existence to pay for it -
what, one might ask, is the EU playing at, setting up a EU "recovery
plan" which amounts to EU member states borrowing €200 billion more
than they have already?
This, we are told by The Times is the EU's brilliant idea "to beat
the slump", in which member states are being "encouraged to follow
Britain's lead". What is worse, though, is that it appears that EU
commission president Barroso actually consulted with Gordon Brown
before the Pre-Budget Report, in order to get tips on how to
construct this wonderfully miasmic plan.
And so pleased is the Treasury at being the architect not only of the
downfall of the UK but the rest of Europe as well that its spokesman
was heard happily preening: "This is an opportunity to show how
Europe can work together to support our wider economies."
If there is one thing more terrifying than either Mr Brown or the
European Union running our economy, it is the prospect of them
working together with a co-ordinated "plan". By all accounts,
however, it is even worse than that, with Bush – in the final days of
his presidency – throwing in his hand with the EU, to engineer a
grand stitch-up of the global financial system, the very thing that
allowed it to get out of control in the first place.
Thus, while there was a debate on the PBR in the provincial
parliament yesterday, with the MPPs [sic!] twittering away about the
VAT cut and sundry other diversions, the real action is elsewhere,
with Brown playing with the "big boys" rather than looking to
Westminster for his lead.
However, since the majority of MPPs – and especially those on the
opposition benches - seem loathe to acknowledge the global dimension
of our economic crisis, and insist on viewing it through the prism of
national politics, much of what they have to say is a study in
irrelevancy. The action truly is elsewhere, out of sight of the media
and chatterati trapped in their Westminster bubble, players who still
labour under the delusion that what they think or say is of any
importance.
Thus, while one of our colleagues over on Purple Scorpion rightly
complains about Brown not paying enough attention to local issues,
rather than an illustration of his "incompetence" this is more a
reflection of where his priorities really lie. This penny-ante stuff
is of no interest to him - not when the tranzies beckon and there is
a "new world order" in the making.
Sadly, it will all come to grief, but it makes for painful watching.
One is almost tempted to dig a hole in the garden and hide in it
until this is all over. Instead, I have opted for the more pleasant –
if somewhat shorter-lived - expedient of popping over to Jersey for
dinner and the odd glass of wine.
----------------------------------
Posted by Richard North
Posts
