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Dr. M
npub16axv...rvmk
Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
When I wrote that Germany has the fiscal capacity to increase spending on defense and infrastructure reconstruction, I had this in mind. Germany has a much smaller public debt compared to other large EU members (France, Italy, Spain) and a smaller budget deficit, so it is one of the few large economies that can now "pull". France and Italy, for example, do not have the capacity for such a thing. Their budget deficits and public debt are such that the market would show a "red light" immediately to any similar attempt to stimulate the economy. On what basis do I claim this? Well, we have a recent example from the UK a little over two years ago. British Prime Minister Liz Truss proposed a large tax relief, the abolition of the highest income tax rate, etc., which would worsen budget deficits that were already around 5% of GDP. The bond market went crazy, yields on British bonds jumped sharply, pension funds ran into problems, the Bank of England had to react, etc. General chaos. The market reaction was so strongly negative that Liz Truss could not calm her down, neither by changing the finance minister, nor by withdrawing most of the proposals, nothing. She had to resign and thus became the person with the shortest prime ministership in the history of British politics. So, the market reaction was the exact opposite of the reaction to this German fiscal stimulus. For the UK, the market considered the plan bad (despite the positive effects that tax relief would have in the short term) because it is unsustainable in the long term given the current level of public debt of around 100% of GDP and a deficit of 5%, while for Germany the market gives the green light. Because the Germans saved when they needed to (they had budget surpluses in the years before the corona). And just a response to those who think that I am "celebrating" the increase in government spending. First, I am not celebrating anything, I am just explaining why the market reacted the way it did and why the presented plan makes sense. Second, this planned increase in state spending does not go into increasing salaries in state and public services, increasing social expenditures, pensions, etc., but rather investments in INFRASTRUCTURE (energy, renovation of the power grid, railways, roads, etc.) and DEFENSE. These are the basic functions of the state. Germany currently spends shamefully little on defense, just 1.5% of GDP. This is below the NATO standard of 2%, twice less than the USA (3% of GDP), four times less than Russia (6% of GDP), etc. If we lived in la-la land, that would be ok. But we are not, the reality is that we have the bloodiest war in Europe since the Second World War, therefore increasing the allocation for defense is a necessity (pledge for a safer future). To conclude, I do not know what the final effect of the German fiscal stimulus will be, that is, whether in five years the positive effects will outweigh the potentially negative ones (say, a possible flare-up of inflation). The point is that the market, at least for now, is giving them the green light. We will see what the implementation of the plan will be like in reality. #Germany #defense #EU #debt #UK #spending #war #inflation image
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
The same people who advocated the entry of the EU into the war against Russia 2 weeks ago are now publicly agitating against mandatory military service I wonder who they would send to the war then, probably those 'traitors' who are against the war? ๐Ÿฅธ #EU #Ukraine #Russia #war
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
First they came for the diesels, I didn't complain because I don't have a driver's license. Then they came for the straws, I didn't complain because I'm not a turtle. Then they glued the bottle caps on, I kept quiet because I drink from the tap. Then they came for the unrealized savings, I had no right to say anything because there were so many dips and I don't have savings anymore. Sorry #EU ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ #Bitcoin will set you straight eventually
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
FDP files a constitutional complaint against the amendment of the constitution. They claim that it will increase the debt of all states within Germany and that for this they should have sought the consent of each individual state and their parliaments. In other words - states rights! #FDP #constitution #Germany #debt image
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
The German parliament has voted for a historic constitutional amendment that allows for more defense spending and the creation of a 500 billion euro infrastructure investment fund. This is a game changer for the German and European economies, and I don't think people fully understand it. But the stock market certainly understands, and the DAX is up a whopping 16% this year, while the S&P 500 is down 5% (a performance difference of over 20 percentage points in such a short period is extremely rare). Superlatives are constantly written about the American economy ("Look how they're growing while the Germans are struggling!"), leaving out the other side of the equation, which is the fact that the American economy has been on fiscal steroids the whole time. Especially in the last 5 years. They've had terrible deficits in recent years... Germany has simultaneously had budget surpluses in the period up to 2020, and then moderate deficits in recent years. Last year, the German deficit was 2.8%, while the American one was 6.3%. What kind of economic growth do you think Germany would have had if it had injected the same 3.5% of GDP into its economy as the Americans? This is what is being kept quiet about all this time. Let's be clear, this does not excuse the bad policies that Germans and Europeans in general are implementing (and I often criticize them myself), but when we compare economic growth between countries, the least we can do is look at the structure of that growth in parallel. This is exactly what the new US Treasury Secretary means when he says that the US economy must go through a period of "detoxification". The economy must be weaned off excessive government spending, the fiscal steroids they were on. This was unsustainable, he says, and they were racing towards a financial crisis. The Americans have blown up their public debt to 123% of GDP. Germany's is half that, below 63% of GDP. The Germans have created fiscal space and now, when it is needed most, they are releasing the brakes. Markets like higher spending and investments (if the state has the fiscal space for that, of course), but they don't really like austerity policies. That's why European markets are happy. German GDP is approximately 28% of the GDP of the euro area, therefore the positive effects of larger German investments will be felt throughout Europe. #economy #Germany #investments #DAX #EU #S&P500 #growth #US #government #crisis #debt #markets
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
It's interesting how many highly educated people and those with many years of schooling do not possess emotional intelligence or the power of critical thinking and questioning. It's as if many years of schooling dull a person and turn them into obedient robots. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against a high level of schooling and education, but in that process it's extremely important to keep your own opinion, question everything, research independently and not take anything as a universal truth. Because the mind is like a parachute - it works best when it's open...๐Ÿ™ #education #mindfulness
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
There is no end to German madness. First, they released the constitutional brake on public borrowing, and now they will incorporate climate change protection into the Constitution. Merz is the new Merkel, maybe even worse. It is like he has to get along with the red socialista and green idiots for the sake of a joint coalition, but it is not very difficult for him. I think that never before in history has a relative winner of an election lowered himself so much in front of his own voters just to satisfy his defeated partners. Voters were deceived, Merz took off his underwear. Who's looking forward to it? AfD. #Germany #CDU #SPD #AfD #Merz #Merkel
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
I want you to find someone in your life who will take care of you like Bitch von der Leyen takes care of EU citizens.
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
Greens, as a key lever for starting the war industry. You can't make this shit up... image
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
EU bureaucrats have now realized that the EU is not competitive because it lacks private investment, so they are looking for ways to entice citizens to take risks and invest in stocks like the average American. It will be interesting to see how politicians and their media propagandists will now solve this problem. Because their worldview, mentality and culture tell them that capital is evil and that it should be taxed progressively. To encourage private investment, Europe will have to drastically reduce taxation of capital, capital market income and profits. How will they reconcile these two irreconcilable principles?๐Ÿคก #bureaucrats #EU #taxation
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
The same people who bought billions of vaccines against the journalistic flu, and then later looked for ways to get rid of them, are now talking about massive joint investments in defense and competitiveness. What could possibly go wrong? ๐Ÿคก
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
Facts :) Lindner resisted the demands of the larger coalition partners for 3 years to release the debt brake and was eventually thrown out of the government and, in the elections, out of the Bundestag. In two weeks, even before he became chancellor, Merz gave everything to the SPD. To the smaller partner. Germans will only regret dumping the FDP. #Lindner #FDP #Germany #CDU #SPD #Merz #Bundestag image
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
The stock market loves more government spending. It doesn't like "cutting" government spending. People who don't understand the capital market and finance in general often lump the stock market (Wall Street) and "neoliberalism" together. That couldn't be further from the truth. The stock market loves when there's a lot of spending and investment, especially if it comes from the government. That's why stocks usually rise more when Democrats are in power than when Republicans are in power, even though Republicans are seen as more of a "pro-business" party. Here's the latest, somewhat anecdotal example. The German DAX stock index has risen by as much as 13% since the beginning of the year, even though the German economy has been in a (mild) recession for two years, there's a lot of uncertainty about tariffs, the auto industry is on shaky feet, their industry in general has been in a long-term downward trend, etc. However, the new German government intends to release the brakes, increase the deficit and launch a massive investment cycle in defense, energy infrastructure renovation, etc. - and the stock market has been waiting for that. At the same time, we have a new US administration trying to cut as much government spending as possible (DOGE), and despite initial optimism after Trump's victory, stocks are down 5% year to date. DAX up 13%, S&P 500 down 5%. #stockmarket #DAX #government #DOGE #investment #Democrats #Republicans #Germany #economy #recession #tariffs #deficit #US #stocks #S&P500
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npub16axv...rvmk 11 months ago
The theory itself about the virus coming from bats and jumping to humans in the Wuhan market, which journalists and other depopularizers of science swore by, has been quite strange from the start. First, whoever invented and spread it certainly knew a lot more. They invented it on purpose. But here's another problem. In the same city there is a famous university of technology and an institute within it that was researching coronaviruses at that very time. Regardless, it was somehow more logical for journalists to believe in the theory about bats. Don't think that journalists knew better and that they deliberately misinformed the public. No, that would be overestimating their intellectual abilities. I think that journalists sincerely believed what they were saying, just as they sincerely believe now that the virus "escaped" from the laboratory. This thesis is even crazier than anything we've heard from journalists so far, and over the past 5 years we've heard, you'll have to admit, some very crazy things. Imagine that, how could a virus escape from a lab? It's not very common for things to escape from a lab, especially ones that are the subject of research. Did the virus get its legs, say "I've had enough, I don't want to put up with this anymore," angrily run out and slam the door behind it? That's what journalists are now seriously trying to convince the public of. But not only that, they themselves sincerely believe it! #virus #covid #corona #journalists #media #wef #Wuhan #coronavirus
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