France and Italy Finally Step Up

It's supposed to be the eurozone, not the Germanyzone, which is something that France, Italy and other member countries are finally realizing. Eight years of economic mis-rule by Merkel and her ilk in Germany has Europe teetering on the brink of deflation and a third descent into recession since 2008.

Isn't that enough proof yet that austerity, budget reductions, and cutting back on government spending is a sure way to economic disaster in the face of today's negative demand enviroment? It's death by wayward ideology!

So it's heartening to see that France, Italy and the European Central Bank are finally rebelling against Germany and its austerity gangs by finally talking about stepped up government spending to stimulate their economies, put people back to work, stoke demand and actually lay the foundation for sustainable growth.

"We need to show that Europe is capable of investing in growth, and not only in rigor and austerity," said Matteo Renzi, Italy's Prime Minister. Here here! Europe's economy is as large as the U.S.'s, so a European stimulus helps international trade in the U.S. as well and may finally snap the Western world out of a slow-to-no growth treadmill that we've been on for the last four years.

It may just happen, because even Germany--the eurozone colossus-- is spiraling towards another recession, so it may finally be receptive to some stimulus itself. This is not the Weimar any more. Inflation, rather than being an evil, is actually needed in times like these.

There are certainly times to tighten the purse strings. But now is not that time! Let's go out and fix some roads, build some bridges, and hire more teachers.