Revolting Europe
inequality
Renzi’s austerity cuts are bad for Italy’s health
Public expenditure on health in Italy is lower than that of other major European countries. Yet in recent years 10 billion euros has been axed from health budgets, hitting services and access to them for the poorest. And PM Matteo Renzi is continuing the cuts, says Stefania Gabriele * That we should reduce government spending … Continue reading
Germans to get ‘amputated’ minimum wage
The German parliament has approved the country’s first minimum wage but unions and critics on the Left are not much impressed. The wage – backed by a vote in the Bundestag on Thursday – will be set at 8.50 euros (£6.80) per hour, which is higher than the equivalent in the US and UK. Angela Merkel’s … Continue reading
Usual suspects still having an good crisis
Companies are piling up their cash while millions languish on the dole; the rich enjoy tax largesse to be paid for by more cuts to public services: the latest figures from Italy and Spain remind us who is winning and losing in the neo-liberal austerity crisis. While we hear of a serious credit crisis and … Continue reading
Why the French are right to go on strike
After the recent strikes affecting the French railways – the longest in recent history – air traffic control and the entertainment industry there are fears among the establishment that, as the Economist puts it, France is ‘back to the bad old days’. That was the terminology used about Britain in the 1970s and early 1980s … Continue reading
How much does capital cost? A new index is in making
We’ve heard a lot of about the cost of labour, which is blamed for the crisis. But how much does capital cost? The CGT trade union has launched a project to find out – and aims to use it as a tool in the struggle for a better world at the service of human beings, not profits. … Continue reading
More cream for the Eurozone’s fat cats!
Recently issued figures show that while ordinary citizens continue to be forced to tighten the belt those at the top of the income scale are doing very nicely. France In France, the company bosses had a fine 2013: Carrefour’s George Plassat got a whopping 40% rise to 3.7 million in his pay cheque. Airbus’ Thomas … Continue reading
Italy’s wealth gap grows as real incomes fall for the majority, new research shows
The ten richest people in Italy now own as much wealth as almost 500,000 working class families put together. A little less than two thousand wealthy Italians, members of the super-rich club, have total assets of more than €169 billion (excluding the value of property). “The wealth gap has grown,” according to research centre Censis. … Continue reading
Pope Francis vs capitalism
Pope Francis’ criticisms of capitalism won’t bring the system crashing down but progressives in Spain and elsewhere should take note all the same, argues Vicenç Navarro* When I was a child, my parents taught me that one thing are religions (advising me and my brothers to be respectful to believers, as part of the respect due … Continue reading
Europe has more and fatter fat cats new figures show
There are 1.8 million more millionaires worldwide today than a year ago, according to a new study The Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2013 finds that in Europe the number of new dollar millionaires grew last year by 287,000 in France, 221,000 in Germany, 127,000 in Italy, 100,000 in Sweden, 47,000 in Spain and 38,000 … Continue reading
The recovery will come, but it will not redress the social imbalance
By Fondazione Condividere For a few weeks now I have seen many senior figures in Italy’s Letta government, but also European institutions, waving their arms to indicate the arrival of an imminent recovery in the horizon, with the same anxiety of Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” when waiting for the ship that will save him … Continue reading
Is there a future for the German Left?
Die Linke’s Congress last weekend was an important one. It is election year, with Federal polls due in the autumn. And it has been facing pressure over its position on Europe, with a minority challenging the party’s strong support for the Single Currency. A six-year old fusion of eastern and western German radicals, Die Linke, … Continue reading
More with millions, millions in misery
Despite misery for most in the Europe, the region saw the number of dollar millionaires rise by 7.5% in 2012 to reach 3.41 million. The figures, from the 2013 World Wealth Report (WWR) by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management put Germany in the lead (and third worldwide), followed by the UK (fifth globally), France, Switzerland … Continue reading
Are we Portuguese living beyond our means?
By Jose Manuel Pureza If there wasn’t the Troika there wouldn’t be money to pay salaries or pensions – this assertion is repeated ad nauseam by the heralds of foreign intervention in Portugal. And this is immediately followed by the argument that this is because we have long been living beyond our means, squandering money … Continue reading
Billions for shareholders, crumbs for workers
Dividend payouts in France increased seven fold over the past two decades, new figures show, underlining widening inequality of wealth in Europe’s second largest economy. Over the same period workers got very little of this wealth that they had created, with wages rising by around a third. An astonishing 550 billion euros was handed out to … Continue reading
Class, wealth and austerity crisis
‘The odds of being a NEET, on low pay, or a school failure are clearly related to social origin. Living longer after retirement, the probability of being unemployed or the loss of purchasing power varies significantly by social class. Women who only have access to low-skilled jobs do not have the same family or work … Continue reading
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