[quote=Myriad]There’s really no evidence that deflation is going to help workers improve their lives. Spain is a good example. Not sure 50% unemployment for people under 30 is really that great. Nothing like a lost generation of youth to screw a few score of speculators.
Europe’s benefits looks ok at the moment, but wait another 10-20 years. Their issues with entitlements looks way worse than the US.
For the balance to shift back to workers, what’s needed is higher labor cost growth outside the US, increased employment, and more middle-tiered skills jobs in the US. At the end of the day, it’s supply and demand.
[quote=spdrun]Overly rapid industrialization of third-world pestholes, impacting the global environment.[/quote]
Why wouldn’t other countries try to get to the same quality of life as 1st world countries?[/quote]
Perhaps I should restate that a bit: asset price/cost deflation is necessary in order to balance the power/wealth of labor and capital. As it stands, money is being pushed toward the capitalists/speculative class (not including entrepreneurs in this definition).
We need to overhaul our tax and trade policies. The wealthy have rewritten all the laws so that they will benefit at the expense of those who work for a living. It cannot continue this way — history shows over and over again what happens if we remain on this trajectory.
I would also add that the Mediterranean countries are very different from the U.S. In those countries, you don’t just have deflation, but also a culture where tax evasion is a national pastime. You cannot have a strong social safety net AND tax evasion at the same time. I would also argue that the work ethic of many in the Mediterranean region is different from that found in the northern European countries and the U.S., among other nations and cultures. Though we do have our share of slackers, to be sure.
The corruption of government is also a big problem over there. We’re definitely becoming more corrupt, as well. Our leaders used to try to hide/deny it, but everyone is pretty brazen about it these days as it becomes more and more the norm. It’s a very big problem.
