The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
Obviously, Clinton's policies were often terrible, but Bush's were much worse and, furthermore, increased the structural power of the far right - worldwide.
I suppose you might postulate an ethical difference between starving someone to death and giving him a bullet to the back of the head. I suspect that the dead guy would beg to differ.
Obviously Bush's policies were worse than Clinton's. Just as Clinton's were worse than Reagan's. Because that's what you get when you make triangulation the principal plank of your political strategy, and the left doesn't force you to include them in your triangulations.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
In that Clinton was worse than Reagan (which is false, but what the heck), it was because Reagan succeeded in bringing about structural changes that increased the power of the financial and military sectors and assisted in organization of the far rights political apparatus. When one permits an unsatisfactory social democrat (like Carter) to be replaced by the right wing, the effects of this change do not disappear at election boundaries. Clinton had to operate in the world Reagan had made, just as Obama has to operate in the world Bush made - and just as some possible future less right wing government in Spain will have to operate in the world the PP makes. The right keeps focused on power - putting in right wing judges in one step, building up a right wing bank regulator in another and so on. The left, fixated on its own disappointment, gives a multi-year opening to install Franco-ist officials in the bureaucracy to the right because the PPOE acted like nearly all social democratic parties act under pressure.
And I'll remind you that the most important institutional entrenchment of right-wing economic policy in Spain since Franco's death happened two months ago, under a PSOE government.
If you believe that there is any structural, institutional gain from voting PSOE over PP, then you're kidding yourself. There is structural, institutional gain in voting for the post-communists. But prissy whiners like you who insist that anybody who isn't voting PSOE is effectively supporting the PP are not helping to get that point across.
Unlike Germany, Spain will not specify the size of the deficit cap in the constitution. According to the draft, the new clause will merely say a cap must be set by either the European Union or, in its absence, the Spanish parliament. The limit could also be broken at times of recession or national crisis.
just marketing pr that means nothing.
This is from a diary of mine on the topic:
There's only one provision of the proposed New Article 135 (in Spanish) which will have immediate effect:Los créditos para satisfacer los intereses y el capital de la deuda pública de las Administraciones se entenderán siempre incluidos en el estado de gastos de sus presupuestos y su pago gozará de prioridad absoluta. Estos créditos no podrán ser objeto de enmienda o modificación, mientras se ajusten a las condiciones de la Ley de emisión.Credits to service interest and principal on the public debt of the various Administrations will be understood to be part of the expense account of their budgets, and their payment will have absolute priority. These credits won't be subject to amendment or modification, as long as they keep to the conditions of the law by which they were issued.Update [2011-8-30 3:59:57 by Migeru]: The emphasised text is what's being added by the amendment.
Los créditos para satisfacer los intereses y el capital de la deuda pública de las Administraciones se entenderán siempre incluidos en el estado de gastos de sus presupuestos y su pago gozará de prioridad absoluta. Estos créditos no podrán ser objeto de enmienda o modificación, mientras se ajusten a las condiciones de la Ley de emisión.
Credits to service interest and principal on the public debt of the various Administrations will be understood to be part of the expense account of their budgets, and their payment will have absolute priority. These credits won't be subject to amendment or modification, as long as they keep to the conditions of the law by which they were issued.
On top of this, the Socialis presidential candidate came out and tried to sell this to the public with the argument that it was "a pro-European reform". As if we're stupid. To err is of course human. But to mess things up spectacularly, we need an elite — Yanis Varoufakis
Here's my quote source
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/26/spain-constitutional-cap-deficit
Indeed - because most people who are not voting PSOE are not voting left, they are just not voting, thus assisting PP. Arithmetic is so inconvenient at times.
If you have paid any attention to what was said in the squares of the indignados, you would know that. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from them Eugene Debs
You seem to confuse the political process and the right's use of it to arrogate legitimacy of its entrenched power with the actual obtention of power itself.
I would suggest this undermines your analysis completely. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from them Eugene Debs
by DoDo - May 23 40 comments
by Nomad - May 10 14 comments
by JakeS - May 15 7 comments
by Metatone - May 14 85 comments
by ARGeezer - May 16 15 comments
by gmoke - May 17 2 comments
by DoDo - May 12 11 comments
by Migeru - May 6 100 comments
by DoDo - May 2340 comments
by gmoke - May 172 comments
by ARGeezer - May 1615 comments
by JakeS - May 157 comments
by Metatone - May 1485 comments
by DoDo - May 1211 comments
by Nomad - May 1014 comments
by Migeru - May 78 comments
by marco - May 782 comments
by Migeru - May 6100 comments
by Ted Welch - May 35 comments
by afew - May 341 comments
by ceebs - May 26 comments
by gmoke - Apr 301 comment
by Frank Schnittger - Apr 3067 comments
by joelado - Apr 2954 comments
by Metatone - Apr 2854 comments
by ATinNM - Apr 275 comments
by ceebs - Apr 265 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Apr 2686 comments