Do As They Say, Not As They Want To Do

Posted March 30th, 2009 at 8.30am in American Leadership.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, March 14, 2009:

If we want to actually strengthen the effect of such [stimulus] packages you simply have to implement them and not talk about the next one before the first has actually taken effect.

Bloomberg, March 26, 2009:

Chancellor Angela Merkel is injecting 82 billion euros ($110 billion) into the economy, the biggest stimulus package in Europe. . . . Germany’s spending spree came after Merkel exasperated European Union leaders, who wanted her to endorse a collective 200 billion-euro rescue package for the 27-nation trade bloc last November. . . . [The] package amounts to about 1.5 percent of GDP in 2009.

And there goes the last tiny shred of consistency in Europe. The story that has dominated the run-up to the G-20 summit has been about the split between the U.S. and Britain, united behind the supposed need for more stimulus bills, and the Europeans, who wanted global economic governance instead.

That narrative has now been blown apart. Two days ago, the Governor of the Bank of England warned Britain that it needed to be cautious about going any deeper into debt. Gordon Brown’s government rushed to deny the plain meaning of his words, but the implication was clear: the pro-stimulus front was cracking. Now Germany has broken away from France, which continues to insist on the dangers of stimulus spending. A German spokesman Friday claimed that there are “no points of contention here between us and the US government.”

The outlines of the G-20 agreement are becoming clearer by the day, and they are as we forecast two weeks ago: the Europeans will give a modest endorsement of stimulus spending, and in return, the Obama administration will move a long way towards the European position on global governance. Treasury Secretary Geithner said in London Friday that the U.S. now supports “a global framework, a global infrastructure which has appropriate global oversight.” He added that the financial sector needs to be tightly regulated so that it can never again threaten the collapse of the wider economy.

This is just about the worst agreement that the summit could possibly have produced. It’s the worst of both worlds: more so-called stimulus spending for everyone, a globalization of Europe’s slow-growth economic model, and a subversion of U.S. sovereignty by a new global super-regulator. This is folly. And the reason why, ironically, was explained by the European Commission, which sits at the center of the European Union. In November, it rejected a Europe-wide stimulus package with these words:

the Commission insisted that ‘a one-size-fits-all approach […] could not work given member states’ different starting points

Coming from the EU, that is hilarious. The EU, in practice, is all about a one size fits all approach: one currency, one set of tariffs, one set of financial rules, and one legal code, to name only a few. Yet it rejected coordinated European action because it claimed that Europe is too diverse for it to be effective. And that was the right decision. So why should we now want to sign up for an agreement that takes the one size fits all approach of Europe and applies it to the entire world?

The EU says the one size model will not work. So let’s do as they say, not as they want to do.

Author: Theodore Bromund
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5 Comments

March 30, 2009 Amber Largent, Kansas City, MO writes:

In a perfect world there would be no hungry, poor, or deseased. There would be no need of charity and no need for war. In a perfect world humans would never be greedy, evious, lazy or self-serving. But this is not a perfect world. Not only are we so diverse the one-size-fits-all will not work, it’s preposterous! We can’t even makes hats that fit everyone! The USA is so vastly different from Europe that any European model would never work. We embody too many differnt cultures all striving for self-reliance and success in their own way… America was founded by people who had dreams not able to be realized in the European markets, and it continues that people come here to take advantage of our free market. I still contend that free market, while often cold and unfeeling, best reflects us humans and thus is the best system to see us prosper. Quit mucking it up with socialism and 1 fits all nonsense!

March 30, 2009 Ed Schimberg, El Dorado, AR writes:

The facts seem to indicate that the EU, the UN and the Obama administration are using the present economic mess as a pretext to create their version of a Perfect World: a world essential run by supra national governing bodies, and all of that leading to essentially a one-world style government. There can be no doubt that any EU-Obama plan will violate the sovereignty of the United States, meaning that if Obama agrees to such a plan and congressional Democrats approve it, both Obama and those congressional representatives who approve it will have violated their oath to protect, defend, and preserve our Constitution. Obviously, if that happens (and much is happening now in our “hallowed” federal government that violates the Constitution), the people of the US will have grounds for implementing impeachment proceedings for a lot of federal politicians, including Obama, and grounds for revolution. The situation we now find ourselves in is indeed most grave; in fact, the sum of the various unconstitutional acts being passed and proposed in our federal government point to the overthrow of our Constitution and of our Republic. It is high time that organizations like the Heritage Foundation get together with other like-minded conservative organizations with the financial muscle to launch a massive legal challenge to these unconstitutional moves by President Obama and his congressional allies. If conservatives do not start using our courts as the radical left has used them for years, I fear the conservative “good ole boys” will have another solution in mind — a violent revolution!

March 30, 2009 Franklin's Locke writes:

I am still stunned that Obama and Brittan are pushing a policy that is proven not to work. They now are adding more countries to this absurd idea that all this spending and debt will save the world’s economy. This could bring everyone down, not just the US or Brittan or Germany. They are playing with fire. It is one thing is it is only one or two countries. It is completely different when it involves all of Europe. What I am afraid of is what happens to our reputation when this fails and it was our idea?

http://franklinslocke.blogspot.com/

March 30, 2009 Jamey, Central California writes:

Good GOD. This doesn’t even warrant a discussion! It is absurd, and abhorrent. Why do we continue to give these people the time of day? It only encourages, and gives credibility to them. Lead by example. Hold our own accountable and start over.

April 1, 2009 Judy, Arizona writes:

I agree with Ed from El Dorado, but where do we start. We can not leave these people in office for 4 more years or we will never undo the damage. Everything from our constitutional rights being ignored to 2 million acre “land grabs” that I can not find areas it even affected. I don’t know how to start a “revolution”. This is the only time I’ve ever felt I’m fortunate to be 65 because Heaven help the younger generation. Obama and his “administration” scare me to death.

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