Italy used to be quite an industrial powerhouse when I was young.
I still remember visiting the country in 2000, and even though the lira was weak, the overall atmosphere was much more lively, optimistic and vibrant. Contemporary Italy feels worn down and without hope. Too many young people with diplomas have simply fled.
I get the same vibe in Spain, by the way, and in many cities of the former GDR, which is actually part of Germany. Dresden is fine, but Hoyerswerda, Chemnitz or Zittau are semi-deserted and feel distinctly "over": no future for them, only slow decay. The local political scene reflects that: the anti-system AfD gets plurality of votes, just to stick it to the "elites".
Perhaps read a comment twice before publicly dismissing it as childish, in case you were not able to fully grasp what you read.
The only thing I said regarding intentions is that the “Latin block” intentions portrayed above were overly simplistic.
The mechanism by which german exports sharing a currency with weaker economies makes german currency appreciate less than otherwise is not a conspiracy theory but simple, generally accepted and well understood economics.
If you look at the USA then the profits are made at the periphery. Profits can be made anywhere. Sooner or later, they will be made where living is more pleasant and that's at the European periphery.
Which cultural problems exists that keeps the periphery poor? I would like to argue that the cultures of the periphery are what will attract people and customers and what will allow the periphery to develop.
Germany is making a killing in selling their cars and tools to the “periphery”. East europe being their largest export market - some 30%.
The main cultural issues that keep the periphery poor are those stemming from the “core”. Always shitting on the south and east is what keeps those regions stagnating. What upsets me is that they turn the other cheek instead of slapping right back.
I don't understand how the shitting, and slapping right back is economically relevant. How is it preventing a country or a region from picking a market and becoming a global leader and thus earning high margins? E.g. people have been dissing China's product quality for ages and yet that hasn't prevented China from improving.
As a side note, it shouldn't be an economic disadvantage that Germany exports 30% to the European periphery. Cars are a competitive market with French, Korean, Japanese and American offers. The periphery should be able to make back much more if they specialize in products of a high-margin market. E.g. if I were a politician, I would go all-in on medical research and try to develop some world-leading equipment or cures.
To an extent, the political climate and the weight of existing institution can uphold the culture.
People governed by politicians with suboptimal characteristics don't necessarily get to make decisions with perfect information, or to enjoy a voting system where votes have equal weight and reflect popular sentiment.
A sufficiently corrupt system can self-sustain for many years. With enough indirection and few votes, people have correspondingly increasingly limited input into their political decisions (or the indirect decisions of their representants).
Is porn banned in germany or why do people enjoy poverty porn so much? The periphery is anything but poor. There are gaps between eu countries but east south and west are consistently ranking high in term of economic development. Anaemic growth doesnt equal poverty.
My wife speaks Spanish fluently and we often travel to Spain.
Spain as such may not be exactly poor, but quite a lot of people are living in very subpar conditions. Andalusia in particular has a lot of visibly poor natives. Even African migrants do not want to stay there and if they manage to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, they immediately travel north to France/Britain/Germany.
Oh please. Thats like saying california is poor because san francisco has homeless people. Just because people dont drive fancy cars or homes arent refurbished in a region where it rarely rains it doesnt mean they are poor. Even east eu is rich compared to most of the world. I agree with you on slow growth but eu countries are anything but poor. Mismanaged yes. Poor not so much.
I am not sure if it has anything to do with rain. Israel does not have much rain either and homes look much better there. And when we speak to the locals in Spain, their typical complaint is that they struggle to make the ends meet. "I wasn't on a vacation for seven years." - "I think twice before taking a RENFE train even though it is twice as fast as a bus." - "Kids won't probably be getting new laptops ever." etc.
Comparisons to the rest of the world are misleading. Being better off than Algeria or Brazil isn't that much of a result. Spanish people naturally compare themselves to other Europeans and the gap between the relative riches of Spain and, say, (West) Germany or Switzerland, is pretty visible. So is the fact that the gap does not seem to be closing, rather the other way round.
I agree that mismanagement is a huge part of the problem, and that it is mostly domestic. For one, the political parties seem to be enormously corrupt, on par with the Balkans.
I’ve been to germany and belgium recently and frankly wasnt impressed. German roads are constantly under maintenance - cant they just build them right or why are they constantly being fixed? Belgian motorways had potholes in them and were poorly marked.
Also most germans dont own the properties they live in and their savings would last enough for maybe a month.
Anyway the idea is that there are issues everywhere in europe you just need keep your eyes wide open. The solution is policies that benefit everyone.
Also i doubt spanish politicians are that corrupt. Or indeed any within the eu. There is corruption in the eu and even germany but nowhere near that level.
Actually I’d be very surprised if houses in Spain where worse than houses in Britain, whose lack of housing quality rivals with some central African countries.
So if all of these countries are not poor in general then why this poverty fetishism? Why the constant “i am richer than you” in europe when all of europe is sinking?
I still remember visiting the country in 2000, and even though the lira was weak, the overall atmosphere was much more lively, optimistic and vibrant. Contemporary Italy feels worn down and without hope. Too many young people with diplomas have simply fled.
I get the same vibe in Spain, by the way, and in many cities of the former GDR, which is actually part of Germany. Dresden is fine, but Hoyerswerda, Chemnitz or Zittau are semi-deserted and feel distinctly "over": no future for them, only slow decay. The local political scene reflects that: the anti-system AfD gets plurality of votes, just to stick it to the "elites".