European Public Finances

For anyone looking for a quick summary of the various problems besetting Europe, I found this article of value. (It's a look at current statistics and the like, not an intellectual examination of which ideas account for today's situation.)

Also worthwhile, and surprising for its tone, is this NY Times piece. I say surprising because it actually mentions some of the causes of the crisis; causes it has extolled for years on its editorial pages. Maybe in a few more decades, they'll actually figure out that spending has to be paid for by production, that one can't have one's cake and eat it too, and that freedom matters. Then again, maybe not...

And if/when you read the NYT's piece, try to project what life must be like for the few young and productive people still left in that wasteland. I fervently hope that those few find and read Atlas Shrugged, perhaps it will give them the moral courage necessary to make a new life elsewhere.