Monday, January 30, 2012

"Europe's Scariest Chart"

Tyler Durden calls this "Europe's Scariest Chart".

Surging Greek and Portuguese bond yields? Plunging Italian bank stocks? The projected GDP of the Eurozone? In the grand scheme of things, while certainly disturbing, none of these data points actually tell us much about the secular shift within European society, and certainly are nothing that couldn't be fixed if the ECB were to gamble with hyperinflation and print an inordinate amount of fiat units diluting the capital base even further...

No: the one chart that truly captures the latent fear behind the scenes in Europe is that showing youth unemployment in the continent's troubled countries (and frankly everywhere else). Because the last thing Europe needs is a discontented, disenfranchised, and devoid of hope youth roving the streets with nothing to do, easily susceptible to extremist and xenophobic tendencies: after all, it must be "someone's" fault that there are no job opportunities for anyone.

[The accompanying chart represents] youth (16-24) unemployment in three select European countries (and the general Eurozone as a reference point). Some may be surprised to learn that while Portugal, and Greece, are quite bad, at 30.7% and 46.6% respectively, it is Spain where the youth unemployment pain is most acute: at 51.4%, more than half of the youth eligible for work does not have a job! Because the real question is if there is no hope for tomorrow, what is the opportunity cost of doing something stupid and quite irrational today?

Bonus Question: what do you call people who try to replicate Europe's failed social welfare state -- a bubbling cauldron of debt-fueled misery and civil unrest -- here in America?

Answer: Democrats.


3 comments:

  1. ANOTHER GRRRRRREAT POST!

    NOTE:

    MEANWHILE, EASTERN EUROPEANS LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND GO ELSEWHERE IN THE EU AND GET JOBS.

    AND MANY EURO NATIONS ARE STILL LETTING IN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS WHO GO ON THE DOLE.

    SO... THE ANSWER IS SEVERELY REINING-IN THE OVER-GENEROUS WELFARE STATE AND REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SO THEY HAVE A REASON TO LOOK FOR WORK AND TAKE CRAPPY JOBS LIKE THE EASTERN EUROPEANS.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Similar to times past...look at the era before WWI and WWII...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robert9:03 PM

    answer B and also correct?
    Hateful Scumbags

    answer C and also correct?
    Nazional Socialist Democrat political party

    ReplyDelete