As I’ve argued here before, there simply isn’t a case to be made that the cause of the European sovereign debt crisis is excessive social spending. “Excessive” is a relative term, and what actually determines spending that can’t be sustained over time is the underlying productivity of the economy. Many countries, like Germany and Sweden spend a great deal of money on social welfare programs but they have very productive economies (output per worker) that can afford such spending. Matthew O’Brien has a nice article in The Atlantic with a great chart that demonstrates the link.
The UN has brokered a peace plan for Syria, but it allows Assad to participate in a peace conference. The original draft of the resolution had excluded people in the government who were responsible for the shooting of civilians, but the Russians objected and insisted that Assad and his people be allowed to attend. That outcome is unfortunate as long as Assad believes that he has a chance to remain in power–nothing will be accomplished. But if the Russians are truly serious about peace they will use the conference as an opportunity to allow Assad to step down and to give him refuge. A miserable outcome for those of us who wish to see Assad prosecuted for war crimes, but the only real possibility for ending the violence in Syria.
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