EPTand now at the same time they tell me the high dollar (and thus low euro value) is also bad for the industry is will destory us.
So yeah, what the hell.
European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread - Page 30
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LaNague
Germany9118 Posts
and now at the same time they tell me the high dollar (and thus low euro value) is also bad for the industry is will destory us. So yeah, what the hell. | ||
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Velr
Switzerland10881 Posts
This makes swiss exports and tourism, a large part of our economy, extremly expensive. Now additionally the Ruble is imploding, so even more people search save havens. The problems for countries inside the Eurozone are another story. | ||
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Rassy
Netherlands2308 Posts
They can simply print francs and use thoose to buy foreign currency. They can then use that currency to buy all sorts of products like oil,weapons,gold and what not for basicly free. This is why its great to have a strong currency. In the years prior to the euro Germany and the Netherlands had very strong national currencys,and they where also the countries that had the strongest economys in the Eurozone. They both ran a trade surplus, despite their strong currency! They did not have a strong economy because they had a strong currency,They did have a strong currency because they had a strong economy. A strong economy is the cause, a strong currency is the result. It is very important to understand these relations since lately a lot misinformation has been spread about currencys. Some people seem to believe that having a strong currency is bad and that having a weak currency is good for the economy,this thought is just absurd tbh, as the currency value is a result of the economic value, and not the other way around. | ||
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WhiteDog
France8650 Posts
On December 21 2014 10:42 Rassy wrote: Swiss is in a good spot. They can simply print francs and use thoose to buy foreign currency. They can then use that currency to buy all sorts of products like oil,weapons,gold and what not for basicly free. This is why its great to have a strong currency. In the years prior to the euro Germany and the Netherlands had very strong national currencys,and they where also the countries that had the strongest economys in the Eurozone. They both ran a trade surplus, despite their strong currency! They did not have a strong economy because they had a strong currency,They did have a strong currency because they had a strong economy. A strong economy is the cause, a strong currency is the result. It is very important to understand these relations since lately a lot misinformation has been spread about currencys. Some people seem to believe that having a strong currency is bad and that having a weak currency is good for the economy,this thought is just absurd tbh, as the currency value is a result of the economic value, and not the other way around. When you have a strong currency, it basically mean your demand is weak. It's not high value is good and bad value is bad, it's more that you need a value that permit trading considering the type of goods you sell. When you sell high class goods (like germany), you're not (yet) in competition with low labor costs countries, so the high currency is not that big of a drag, while it permits you to increase consumption (like you said). It's the same in France with wine production and everything related to fashion. But when you produce mostly middle ground product, like most european countries (france, italy and spain), or agricultural goods (like france and greece), a high currency is a drag because you are in competition with other countries. Funnily, Germany pay a high cost for its high currency, because in every field which is not known for the quality of its product (like cars) and thus cannot diversificate and distinguish itself outside of its costs (out of price competitivity), the labor conditions are really difficults and unstables (like in the food production, germany - and northern europe - is the bad exemple of europe, like in the pork industry where it is dragging all europe into bad practices, from an ethical and an environmental point of view). Let's wait twenty or so years, when china would have completly copy german technology, and we'll laugh at the high currency argument. | ||
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CuddlyCuteKitten
Sweden2773 Posts
On December 22 2014 19:54 WhiteDog wrote: When you have a strong currency, it basically mean your demand is weak. It's not high value is good and bad value is bad, it's more that you need a value that permit trading considering the type of goods you sell. When you sell high class goods (like germany), you're not (yet) in competition with low labor costs countries, so the high currency is not that big of a drag, while it permits you to increase consumption (like you said). It's the same in France with wine production and everything related to fashion. But when you produce mostly middle ground product, like most european countries (france, italy and spain), or agricultural goods (like france and greece), a high currency is a drag because you are in competition with other countries. Funnily, Germany pay a high cost for its high currency, because in every field which is not known for the quality of its product (like cars) and thus cannot diversificate and distinguish itself outside of its costs (out of price competitivity), the labor conditions are really difficults and unstables (like in the food production, germany - and northern europe - is the bad exemple of europe, like in the pork industry where it is dragging all europe into bad practices, from an ethical and an environmental point of view). Let's wait twenty or so years, when china would have completly copy german technology, and we'll laugh at the high currency argument. In 20 years time labour cost will not be a factor when it comes to any kind of production anyway and a high value currency means that while the product is more expensive raw material is also cheaper. | ||
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WhiteDog
France8650 Posts
On December 22 2014 23:42 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote: In 20 years time labour cost will not be a factor when it comes to any kind of production anyway and a high value currency means that while the product is more expensive raw material is also cheaper. In 20 years, what will be decisive will be pattern and innovations, and Germany is way behind the US and Japan due to its lack of public investment, and has been passed by China quite quickly in the last 10 years. In the top 100 most innovative firm in the world, Germany has only 3, while the US has 45 ans Japan 28. It's all Europe that is lacking behind tho it's true. When you don't have any advantage thanks to innovations, you distinguish yourself with cost, and labor cost is part of that. And you did not read any of my post : it depend on the type of goods you product. A high currency help for some of germany's product but not all. | ||
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REDBLUEGREEN
Germany1904 Posts
Over here in germany the majority of the press and facebook goes "ermahgerd stupid nazis" in the typical German knee-jerk reaction to anything that could be seen as right-wing. On wikipedia there is a slightly shortened and translation version of the position paper: + Show Spoiler + Beginning of December 2014, PEGIDA published an undated and anonymous one-page manifesto of 19 bulleted position statements.[7] The first point affirms the right of asylum for war refugees and politically persecuted people. The second point advocates to include a duty to integrate into the German Basic Law. Point 3 advocates for decentralized housing of refugees, point 4 suggests creation of a central refugee agency for a fair allocation of immigrants among countries of the European Union. Point 5 demands a decrease in ratio of social worker to asylum seeker from currently 200:1. Point 6 suggests to model German immigration policies after those of the Netherlands and Switzerland and demands an increased budget for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to speed up processing of applications. Point 7 demands an increase in funding for the police, point 8 for implementation of all asylum laws including expulsion. Point 9 mentions zero tolerance towards criminal refugees and immigrants. Point 10 states that PEGIDA opposes a misogynic and violent political ideology, but does not oppose assimilated and politically moderate Muslims.[8] Point 11 supports immigration as in Switzerland, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Point 12 states that PEGIDA supports sexual self-determination (opposing "early sexualization of children"[9]). Point 13 argues for the protection of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture. Point 14 supports the introduction of referenda as in Switzerland. Point 15 opposes weapon export to radical and non-permitted groups, such as the PKK. Point 16 opposes parallel societies/parallel jurisdictions, for example Sharia courts, Sharia police and peace judges. In point 17 PEGIDA opposes gender mainstreaming, and political correctness. In point 18 PEGIDA opposes any radicalism whether religious or politically motivated. In point 19 PEGIDA opposes hate speech, regardless of religion.[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEGIDA#Political_positions Personally I agree with the majority of their points except maybe 3 or 4 of them. | ||
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Doublemint
Austria8744 Posts
fact: more people demonstrated against islam(ization of europe) in saxony/dresden than muslims living there. it is also a fact that large parts of the media and established politicians suck at dealing and explaining sensitive issues like migration and asylum policies - they like to conflate the two and the clear message that "we are good and they are bad". they are complicit in creating AND nurturing the movement that is pegida. now that there seems to be a broad societal consesus that pegida and people who can identify with a couple of things of pegida = bad the movement will only continue to stay relevant imho, maybe also get absorbed by the afd. welcome to the club of countries plagued by rightwing populists  "wer wind sät, wird sturm ernten" (they sow the wind and harvest the storm) | ||
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Nyxisto
Germany6287 Posts
There is no way to address these people's "fears" because their is no factual basis to what these people are worried about. It's just veiled xenophobia. | ||
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RvB
Netherlands6273 Posts
(Reuters) - Euro zone consumer prices fell by more than expected in December because of much cheaper energy, a first estimate by the European statistic office showed in data that is likely to trigger the European Central Bank's government bond buying program. Eurostat said inflation in the 18 countries using the euro in December was -0.2 percent year-on-year, down from 0.3 percent year-on-year in November. The last time euro zone inflation was negative was in October 2009, when it was -0.1 percent. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a -0.1 percent year-on-year fall in prices. The ECB wants to keep inflation below but close to 2 percent over the medium term. Eurostat said that core inflation, which excludes the volatile energy and unprocessed food prices, was stable at 0.7 percent year-on-year in December -- the same level as in November and October. source And some positive news for the Germans German unemployment fell for a third month in December to a record low, signaling that growth in Europe’s largest economy will accelerate in 2015. The number of people out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 27,000 to 2.841 million in December, the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said today. Economists predicted a decline of 5,000, according to the median of 19 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The adjusted jobless rate dropped to 6.5 percent, the lowest level in records going back more than two decades. After Germany’s economy narrowly avoided a recession in the middle of 2014, recovering sentiment among entrepreneurs and investors supports forecasts that growth will accelerate this year. A slump in oil prices and a weaker euro could prove a boon for consumers and exporters, and the European Central Bank is weighing large-scale government-bond purchases as additional stimulus. source | ||
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Doublemint
Austria8744 Posts
“A small minority, centred on the conservative leadership of the German government,” says Alexis Tsipras, Syriza’s leader, “insists on rehashing old wives’ tales and Grexit stories.” So it seemed after German officials leaked to Der Spiegel, a weekly, their assessment that Grexit would not only be bearable but might even make the euro stronger. Other problem countries have weathered the crisis (Portugal, Ireland) or are making progress (Spain). The euro zone now has a bail-out fund and a banking union. German banks and insurers have reduced their exposure. | ||
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Ricjames
Czech Republic1047 Posts
On January 07 2015 13:55 Nyxisto wrote: they are a bunch of idiots with irrational resentments towards immigration and some conspiracy stuff thrown in. There is no Islamization happening in Germany and with a 7% Muslim population by 2050 it won't happen in the foreseeable future. There is no way to address these people's "fears" because their is no factual basis to what these people are worried about. It's just veiled xenophobia. The average birth rate for european countries/families is 1,4, while the average birth rate for muslim countries/families is well over 6. Some places average at 8. Do the math and you will realize that Europe will be overrun by muslim population if the immigration policy stays as it is rather soon. | ||
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Velr
Switzerland10881 Posts
And now realise that you just spat out total and utter bullshit. | ||
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Skilledblob
Germany3392 Posts
On January 13 2015 22:58 Ricjames wrote: The average birth rate for european countries/families is 1,4, while the average birth rate for muslim countries/families is well over 6. Some places average at 8. Do the math and you will realize that Europe will be overrun by muslim population if the immigration policy stays as it is rather soon. second generation immigrant families have almost the same birth rates as everyone else | ||
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maartendq
Belgium3115 Posts
On November 22 2014 11:49 Sub40APM wrote: Whats that light blue one? Edit: never mind. | ||
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Ricjames
Czech Republic1047 Posts
Started with a Christmas tree exhibit banned in Brussels in the year 2012, because the local muslim population found it offensive. | ||
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maartendq
Belgium3115 Posts
On January 07 2015 11:40 REDBLUEGREEN wrote: So the PEGIDA movement or "anti-islam protests" in Germany were covered by quite a lot of international media this week and I wonder what the opinion is here on TL. Over here in germany the majority of the press and facebook goes "ermahgerd stupid nazis" in the typical German knee-jerk reaction to anything that could be seen as right-wing. On wikipedia there is a slightly shortened and translation version of the position paper: + Show Spoiler + Beginning of December 2014, PEGIDA published an undated and anonymous one-page manifesto of 19 bulleted position statements.[7] The first point affirms the right of asylum for war refugees and politically persecuted people. The second point advocates to include a duty to integrate into the German Basic Law. Point 3 advocates for decentralized housing of refugees, point 4 suggests creation of a central refugee agency for a fair allocation of immigrants among countries of the European Union. Point 5 demands a decrease in ratio of social worker to asylum seeker from currently 200:1. Point 6 suggests to model German immigration policies after those of the Netherlands and Switzerland and demands an increased budget for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to speed up processing of applications. Point 7 demands an increase in funding for the police, point 8 for implementation of all asylum laws including expulsion. Point 9 mentions zero tolerance towards criminal refugees and immigrants. Point 10 states that PEGIDA opposes a misogynic and violent political ideology, but does not oppose assimilated and politically moderate Muslims.[8] Point 11 supports immigration as in Switzerland, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Point 12 states that PEGIDA supports sexual self-determination (opposing "early sexualization of children"[9]). Point 13 argues for the protection of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture. Point 14 supports the introduction of referenda as in Switzerland. Point 15 opposes weapon export to radical and non-permitted groups, such as the PKK. Point 16 opposes parallel societies/parallel jurisdictions, for example Sharia courts, Sharia police and peace judges. In point 17 PEGIDA opposes gender mainstreaming, and political correctness. In point 18 PEGIDA opposes any radicalism whether religious or politically motivated. In point 19 PEGIDA opposes hate speech, regardless of religion.[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEGIDA#Political_positions Personally I agree with the majority of their points except maybe 3 or 4 of them. PEGIDA is the so-manieth movement that channels the frustrations of people who have to make a living off jobs that require little to no training, and who blame migrants and Europe's open borders for those problems. Additionally they are fiercely conservative, nationalistic and afraid of what they do not know. Coming from less-educated backgrounds, they do not distinguish between extremist muslims and moderate ones, or between refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East and North African/Middle Eastern 'foreigners' who have been living in Germany for two or three generations and are in fact German nationals. The former are often very ambitious because they know their chances are limited and want to make the most out of it while the latter is the group that has severe difficulties integrating in society all over Western Europe, despite having lived here all their lives. Despite the fact that some of PEGIDA's principles are (or appear - I tend to read between the lines -) quite reasonable, their supporters basically blame migrants (especially those from islamic countries) for all the problems they or Germany faces. | ||
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Oshuy
Netherlands529 Posts
On January 13 2015 22:58 Ricjames wrote: The average birth rate for european countries/families is 1,4, while the average birth rate for muslim countries/families is well over 6. Some places average at 8. Do the math and you will realize that Europe will be overrun by muslim population if the immigration policy stays as it is rather soon. On January 13 2015 23:30 Ricjames wrote: I was not refering to second/third generation in Europe. Muslim countries overall. Doesn't matter what you or I say, it is a fact that situation doesn't look bright. Then it is just blatantly false. Fertility rates are geographicly correlated, there is no link to religion. Fertility rates above 6 are rare, only seen in sub-saharian africa The countries where this is the case include Niger, Mali and Somalia that are mainly muslim, but are mostly chrisian countries: Chad, Burundy, Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Uganda. | ||
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RvB
Netherlands6273 Posts
he European Central Bank is threatening to choke off funding to Greece’s lenders in the hope it won’t actually need to. Parliamentary elections on Jan. 25 hinge on whether Greek voters are willing to accept a strings-attached successor to the country’s international bailout package. Under President Mario Draghi, the Frankfurt-based ECB has made its position clear: No program means no guarantee of cash from us. Draghi is reprising an ECB tactic honed in the Irish and Cypriot stages of Europe’s debt crisis, where the prospect of vanishing central-bank funds helped prod politicians into action. Amid anti-austerity promises by the Syriza party, which leads in polls, the ECB is signaling a willingness to withdraw 30 billion euros ($35 billion) of finance even if it tips Greece into a crisis that ultimately sees it leave the single currency. source European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will get a legal readout tomorrow on a predecessor to the quantitative easing plan that he’s set to reveal later this month. An adviser to the EU Court of Justice will say whether the European Central Bank’s Outright Monetary Transactions program overstepped the law in a non-binding opinion that may signal whether QE must also be reined in. A negative opinion “would make the ECB’s life much tougher,” Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-DiBa in Frankfurt, wrote in a note to clients yesterday. “It would be welcome grist to the mills of Germans’ opposition against QE. In our view, given the political and economic sensitivity of the Court’s verdict, an outright condemnation of the legality of OMT is highly unlikely.” The Frankfurt-based ECB in September 2012 announced details of the OMT plan as bets multiplied that the euro area would break apart and after Draghi’s promise to do “whatever it takes” to save the currency. The calming of financial markets that the still-untapped OMT program produced helped the euro area emerge from its longest-ever recession. Germany’s top court expressed doubts last year about the legality of the OMT program, when it referred the case to the EU tribunal in Luxembourg for guidance. The national court said OMT may violate EU rules because it amounts to economic policy that is outside the ECB’s mandate. German judges said the plan may also be seen as monetary financing of governments, which the EU treaties ban. source | ||
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Ricjames
Czech Republic1047 Posts
On January 13 2015 23:53 Oshuy wrote: Then it is just blatantly false. Fertility rates are geographicly correlated, there is no link to religion. Fertility rates above 6 are rare, only seen in sub-saharian africa The countries where this is the case include Niger, Mali and Somalia that are mainly muslim, but are mostly chrisian countries: Chad, Burundy, Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Uganda. You are right, i was exaggerating a little inspired by the past. The fertility rates are lower now everywhere, but Islam is still the fastest growing religion in the world and in Europe. I respect everyone's right to their own religion. However i do not accept if it would affect me or other people in any kind of a way. I do not accept women walking around with fully covered faces. | ||
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