Yes indeed! Ionesco and his Theatre of the Absurd is alive and well and thriving in The Frau’s Euroland!
Today our so called Minister of Labour told us perfectly seriously the following: That when our government was being dictated the terms of what is known as the second bail out, in the billions that were to be cut there was a short fall of 350 million, and this was a terrible stumbling block.
One really has to admire the precision of the troika and their remarkable forecasting ability. Anyway, we know all that from the amateur theatricals that were performed for our benefit at the time, by our Prime Minister and partners. But, today our Minister told us that the shortfall of 350 million arose from the fall in revenue from VAT tax. So, he tells us with a straight face, we had to cut pensions!……..
Even Ionesco couldn’t have thought up something more absurd than that! So we remedy the shortfall in VAT receipts by cutting spending power even more??? And the Minister does not even realise he is talking nonsense?
But there may be some light shimmering in the distance. Spain is reported to be unwilling to raise the VAT rate so as to avoid falling into the recession feeding downward spiral that Greece has been plunged into. Through the over taxation and across the board cuts of salaries and pensions. You know, what our government is proud of having achieved.
But there is more, the Great Man himself, Charles Dallara of the IIF, has stated: “The emphasis on fiscal austerity [….] is excessive when carried out across the board and has already contributed to a steep contraction in domestic demand in the Euro area as a whole. It is important to move beyond just fiscal discipline, so as to avoid the risk of an austerity overload.”
Now if anyone wants to see what “an austerity overload” looks like, they should come to Greece. But we should warn you, it is a terrible sight and not for those with a queasy stomach.