Euro governments are planning to use the banking system for widespread bailouts in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdowns. This could bring about a new financial crisis.
It's a good thing when politicians recognize that there are people out there who are less fortunate than the political class. But this empathy only does anyone any good if policymakers refrain from socialistic government schemes that make poverty worse.
When the current panic and crisis began, we were already in the late stages of a long asset price bubble. The crisis has exposed the fragility of the current system and we won't be going back to where we were before.
Ironically, the economic collapse in Europe has united both the poor and rich members of the EU in agreement that the EU has none of their best interests at heart. The political winds have shifted and are blowing against the EU.
It is always a challenge for entrepreneurs to try and predict what customers will want in the future. But now things are even more unpredictable. And government regulations aren't helping either.
Far from being a sign of alleged capitalist brutality, the spread of international trade and market freedom is a sign of greater global cooperation and solidarity.
"Saving lives versus saving money" comparisons confuse ends with means. The end of saving the economy is not to have more money. The end is to have resources necessary to preserve the lives and health of countless human beings.
What is the number of deaths due to disease which justifies the total abandonment of the rule of law and basic human freedoms? Sixty thousand? One hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand? Supporters of the current police state ought to pin down a number for us at which all rights are forfeit.
