"Laws are like cobwebs to catch flies and pass poor wasps and bumblebees." (Jonathan Swift)
"I have secured a very knowing American I know in London, that a newborn baby is healthy and well bred yearling food more delicious, nutritious and healthy, whether stewed, roasted , baked or boiled, and no doubt will also serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
therefore humbly offer it to public consideration that one hundred and twenty thousand children already computed, twenty thousand were reserved for breeding, which only a quarter be male; which is more than what we allow to sheep, cows and pigs, and my reason is that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not highly regarded by our savages, therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females. So that the hundred thousand others can, by year of age, be offered for sale to persons of quality and fortune of the kingdom, always advising the mothers who breast feed heavily during the last month, to bring them to plump and buttery a good meal. A child fills two sources in a meal for friends, and when the family dinner alone, the fourth front or rear will be a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a dash of pepper or salt after boiling it very well until the fourth day, especially in winter.
I calculated that on average a newborn baby will weigh twelve pounds, and a solar year, if tolerably servant, reached the twenty-eight.
grant that this food will be somewhat expensive, and will therefore be very appropriate for landlords, who, as I have devoured most of the parents, seem to prove the best rights to the children. "
(Jonathan Swift )
biting the Irish
By Paul Krugman
What we need now is another Jonathan Swift. Most people know Swift as the author of Gulliver's Travels. But recent events have made me think of his essay, 1729, A modest proposal, which commented on the extreme poverty of the Irish and proposed a solution: selling children as food. "I recognize that this food can get a bit expensive," he admitted, but this would make "very proper for landlords, who, as I have devoured most of the parents, seem to be the most entitled to the children."
Okay, now are not the landlords, but the bankers (and only are impoverishing the populace, not eating it). But only a satirist, and a very ruthless pen, could do justice to what is happening in Ireland today. The story began with an authentic Irish economic miracle. But in the end this led to a speculative frenzy driven by banks and property developers out of control, all in collusion with leading politicians. The fever was financed by huge loans purchased by the Irish banks, most banks in other European countries.
Then the bubble burst, and these banks had to cope with huge losses. One might have expected that those lent money to the banks share the loss. After all, adults were acting on their own will and if they were not able to understand the risks they were taking, that was not the fault of anyone but themselves. But no, the Irish government stepped forward to guarantee the debt of banks, which became private losses in government bonds.
Before the banking crisis, Ireland had little debt. But taxpayers suddenly stuck in a mess because of the huge bank losses, while revenue fell sharply, the country's solvency was questioned. So Ireland tried calm markets with a strict program of spending cuts. Stand a moment to think about it. These debts were incurred not to fund public programs, but scammers who only sought their own benefit. However, are the ordinary Irish people who now bear the burden of these debts.
Or to be more accurate, has far greater than the debt, because such spending cuts have caused a severe recession, so that in addition to assume the debts of the banks, the Irish suffered a collapse in income and high unemployment. But there is no alternative, says the serious people: all that is needed to restore confidence. However, Oddly enough, the confidence does not improve. By contrast, investors have realized that all these austerity measures are depressing the Irish economy, and are fleeing the Irish debt because of this economic weakness.
Now what? The past weekend, Ireland and its neighbors improvised what has generally been described as a "ransom." But what really happened was that the Irish government promised to inflict even more pain to change a line of credit, a credit line that supposedly gives you more time to Ireland for this ..., to regain confidence. This has not impressed the markets, This is understandable: the interest rates on bonds have risen even more Irish.
you really have to be? In early 2009 a joke circulating around saying, "What is the difference between Iceland and Ireland? Answer: two letters and six months. " It was assumed that this was black humor. How bad was the situation in Ireland, could not compare to the absolute disaster of Iceland. But now it seems that Iceland, in any case, is doing better than its almost namesake. Its economic crisis has been more profound than that of Ireland, job losses have been less severe and appears to be better placed with a view recovery. In fact, investors now seem to consider debt safer than Iceland Ireland. How is it possible?
Part of the answer is that Iceland enabled the foreign lenders who had lent money to their wayward banks pay the price of his mistake, instead of putting taxpayers at risk to guarantee private debts of poor quality. As the International Monetary Fund - with approval! - "The bankruptcy of the private sector have led to a marked reduction in external debt." Meanwhile, Iceland has contributed to avoid some of the financial panic by imposing temporary capital controls, ie, restricting residents' ability to raise funds in the country.
And Iceland has also benefited from the fact that, unlike Ireland, continues to have its own currency, the devaluation of the krona, which has made exports more competitive Iceland has been an important factor in limiting the severity of the Icelandic crisis. None of these options is viable heterodox in the case of Ireland, says the wise people. They claim that Ireland should continue to inflict pain on its citizens, because anything else fatally undermine trust.
But Ireland is now in its third year of austerity and confidence is dissipating. Y hay que preguntarse qué tiene que pasar para que la gente seria se dé cuenta de que castigar al pueblo por los pecados de los banqueros es peor que un crimen; es un error.
Publicado en El País
Paul Krugman es profesor de Economía en Princeton y premio Nobel de Economía 2008. © New York Times News Service. Traducción de News Clips
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