[PEN-L:30655] re:EU Schlerorsis

[Gassler Robert <rsgassle@xxxxxxxxx>]

I teach at a college in Europe with students from 50 different countries.

I offer my students a free A to anyone who can find a country where the government gives them a choice between working and sitting home collecting money. No one ever wins, to the great surprise of the students.

When they mention labor market inflexibility, I tell them about the professor here who was fired in the middle of the semester without warning, without a reason, without full severence pay, and in a manner which, if there had been witnesses, would have been declared abusive. Laws on the books are not always enforced.

Scott Gassler

>Several times in recent days Ian and other have posted articles
>about the abject failure of the EU to deal with its economic
>problems (and also similar articles about Japan).  Many of the
>posted articles end up referring to the failure of Europe -- and
>particularly Germany -- to deal with 'labour market inflexibility.'  By
>posting these articles, without comment, gives the impression that
>'labour market inflexibility' is the cause of the Euro disease.  This is
>CRAP and mearly repeats the OECD neoliberal ideology that is
>being peddled by the OECD, IMF, etc -- the same crap that is
>being peddled by the IMF, WB etc  -- AND HAS BEEN
>DENOUNCED BY STIGLITZ  in his keynote address to the ILO last
>year.  It has also been demonstrated in econometric analysis by
>Tom Palley in his study posted on the Levy Institute web site.
>
>So why do we keep posting this crap?  There is no labour market
>rigidity in Europe that causes unemployment.  Palley
>demonstrates that  empirically.  Stiglitz shows that theoretically.
>Lets cut that crap and put the blame where it really belongs -- on
>the monetarist stupidities that dominate the ECB and the EMU.
>
>Paul Phillips,
>Economics,
>University of Manitoba
>
>