While we find ourselves caught up in the of chilling revelations of the actions of the neo-Nazis, the rest of the world is dealing with another shocking development: Most public services in the USA shut down after negotiations for the new budget fell through. In a globalized economy the financial developments in any country, much less a superpower, decisively influence the entire plane. The American government shutdown due to the ideological obsessions of the Republics towards a law for the expansion of social security, which was voted for in 2010, proves just how complex the global economy is and the ideological inflexibility of the super-conservative can cause chain reactions with unexpected consequences.
The American crisis illustrates just how important the public debt problem is these days, how it can shake almost all of the developed countries and if a conservative logic prevails, how many problems it can cause. We also experienced it – and we are experiencing – on a daily basis, regardless of our responsibility in its management. The obsession in deconstructing social protection systems, in the name of tackle the debt, will obviously result in the dramatic exacerbation of the living conditions for a huge part of the populace, along with everything that follows political and financial crises. It is no coincidence that those who will be hit the hardest from the shutdown are the most vulnerable social groups, like pensioners, those who need healthcare and welfare.
The crisis experienced in the USA at the moment could be viewed as a message for Europe, since many, if not most, of the countries are experiencing debt problems. The prevailing logic of the past few years is that of enforcing exhaustive austerity programs and deconstructing the welfare state, in order to deal with the public debt and leads to many dead ends. The Obama administration chose to preserve a minimum degree of social security, even if it happened to expand the debt, since that way the economy will still continue too grow, leading to a fiscal balance in the long term. The super-conservative Republicans chose the other path, at the risk of causing a world-wide crash. Whether directly or indirectly, the ongoing conflict concerns all of us. Because one rationale or the other prevailing will have an impact on the financial developments in the Old Continent. Obviously that is of a direct and critical concern for us.
TO VIMA
