A Tale of Two Bailouts

Professor Hans-Werner Sinn has the shocking truth about Europe’s woes:

Revealingly, of all the crisis countries, only Ireland managed to turn the corner. The reason is obvious: its bubble already burst at the end of 2006, before any rescue funds were available. Ireland was on its own, so it had no option but to implement massive austerity measures, reducing its product prices relative to other eurozone countries by 13% from peak to trough. Today, Ireland’s unemployment rate is falling dramatically, and its manufacturing sector is booming.

In relative terms, Greece received most of Europe’s bailout money and showed the largest increase in unemployment. The official loans granted to the country by the European Central Bank and the international community have increased more than sixfold during the past five years, from €53 billion ($58 billion) in February 2010 to €324 billion, or 181% of GDP, now. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate has more than doubled, from 11% to 26%.

Read that again: Greece, recipient of very generous bailout packages equal to almost double its GDP, is still in crisis mode. Ireland, which didn’t get one thin dime, is enjoying an increasingly lovely recovery.

You can’t spend your way to prosperity, not even with other people’s money.