European states have the largest welfare systems among OECD members and among the most expensive in the world, symbolizing the post-war social democratic social contract. But all of this has begun to be overturned with the pandemic and later the Ukrainian crisis as a starting point. At the same time, Europe’s economic dynamism has faded …
Category: Proposed Fiscal Policies
fiscal analysis
Trump will crush the dollar to revive the US economy
The new US administration will sail into uncharted waters to address the ongoing economic decline, as President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly pointed out – the transformation of monetary policy that followed the end of the gold standard is the core of his announced Make America Great Again strategy. The US’s “excessive monetary privilege” has enabled …
European Productivity: Slowdown with wage freezes and layoffs
Productivity in Europe is slowing, putting a damper on real wage increases, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found. In its “World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2025” chapter, the ILO highlights that labour productivity has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic. Real labour productivity per hour worked in the EU-27 economies fell by 0.1% per …
Russia: Oil – natural gas with Bitcoin and foreign exchange reserves in digital gold
Bitcoin and the BRICS group are seen as weapons to reduce Russia’s dependence on the dollar, according to President Vladimir Putin’s monetary strategy. Due to the inability to access the global financial system and international markets, Russia has to choose alternatives, such as trading in local currencies of allied states and even using its gold …
The Central Bank of Russia keeps the key interest rate unchanged for 2025!
At the last meeting of the Board of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation this year, it was decided to leave the key interest rate unchanged – at the level of 21%. This came as a surprise: most analysts were confident that the regulator would continue to tighten monetary policy and increase the index …
FED – Cuts interest rates by 0.25% to a range of 4.25% to 4.50% – Forecast for two 0.25% cuts in 2025
The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, confirming forecasts. At the same time, central bankers now predict that the central bank will proceed with only two 25 basis point interest rate cuts in 2025. As the Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) stated in its decision, …
China is turning its economy into a war economy to achieve global domination
Drones have already become a primary weapon, capable of taking out soldiers and tanks, as well as helping to spot artillery fire and provide a standard method of battlefield reconnaissance. Electronic warfare — the use of EM signals to disrupt drones’ communication with their pilots and GPS satellites — provides some protection against drones for …
The falsely called “primary surplus” of the Greek Government’s budget is a statistical trick
In the new budget submitted to Parliament, the deficit increases from 5.7 billion in 2024 to 5.9 billion in 2025. If all public bodies, legal entities, hospitals, social security funds (SSFs) and municipalities are included, some of which obviously have a surplus, then the deficit of the so-called General Government is limited to 1.4 billion …
Trump’s options to deflate Μarket Βubbles
As future Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. said, “a revolution is coming,” in reference to Trump’s election in the recent U.S. election. Depending on one’s political perspective, such a “revolution” is either music to the ears or “American-style fascism.” Nothing will change the polarized views of those who have already chosen …
Anger over high cost of living has brought down 70% of governments in developed countries
Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris and the Democrats in the November 5 elections represents part of a broader phenomenon: Most governments in developed economies have been swept away by public anger over rising prices. And this despite the mainstream media and political elites saying that inflation has been… defeated and everything is returning to …