There still are elected people in the world (other than Ron Paul) who make sense. One of them is the prime minister of the Czech Republic, Mirek Topolanek, who at a meeting of the European Union said this about Obama’s “stimulus” fraud:
Transatlantic tension over the handling of the global economic crisis intensified Wednesday when the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union presidency, described the President Obama’s stimulus measures as the “way to hell.” (Emphasis mine)
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek argued that the Obama administration’s fiscal package and financial bailout “will undermine the stability of the global financial market.”
I will add one editorial comment: Obama’s plan already has been undermining the world economy.
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Video of speech can be watched here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7963359.stm
Sad is that the czech leftist party forced his Cabinet to resign yesterday.
It’s been rather amazing to witness some of the economic good sense coming out of that little country.
I recall that not that long ago Vaclav Klaus mentioned Bastiat in one of his speeches.
Vaclav Klaus is great! I read several his articles last several months, and he attack government interventionism.
As a person who spent almost 50 years of his life in a communist country, I know how crazy it is to introduce schemes like the cap and trade and similar ideas, how devastating and damaging for the economy all those ideas really are. So I’m rather frustrated. It seems to me that to fight for freedom, free markets, is still the task of today, even if we hoped almost 20 years ago in the moment of the fall of communism that it was over.
This is the same in Europe these days. There is one EU summit after another one weekend after another, there is a summit trying to find solutions. But I don’t think that this solution will come from the government.
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I am aware of various cases of market failure. Nevertheless, I am first convinced that the government failure is incomparably bigger than any imaginable market failure in history.
Read further how he smashed environmentalist and their government interventionism!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123655020122165007.html
Speech of the President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus in the European Parliament
19.2.2009
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We must say openly that the present economic system of the EU is a system of a suppressed market, a system of a permanently strengthening centrally controlled economy. Although history has more than clearly proven that this is a dead end, we find ourselves walking the same path once again. This results in a constant rise in both the extent of government masterminding and constraining of spontaneity of the market processes. In recent months, this trend has been further reinforced by incorrect interpretation of the causes of the present economic and financial crisis, as if it was caused by free market, while in reality it is just the contrary – caused by political manipulation of the market.
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http://klaus.cz/klaus2/asp/clanek.asp?id=88EY96UW9zlp
Well, both Klaus and Topolanek have brighter moments from time to time but don’t forget – they’re both just politicians:)
Gov is not businessman thus it only spends money taxpayers money not makes it.
People when voting doesn’t conceive this evident truism and paving the road to abyss.
Raimondas
I am with you. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek adds a breath of fresh and biting air to a double-speak world. Who can beat his “President Obama’s stimulus measures as the “way to hell.” ”
-David
Topolanek is awsome. Too bad he can’t run for president of the U.S.
It makes sense that only in a country that has known the hell of the goose-stepping communist and fascist boot on its neck would understand and appreciate Austrian economics and freedom.
Unfortunately, this politician has been in bed with Bush for many years, so take whatever he says with a block of salt.
Sounds more like Republican ass-kissing partisanship to me.
This took and interesting twist … reportedly, our secretary of state denied that Topolanek talked about a “way to hell” … I suppose it’s because comrade Obama is coming for a state visit in a couple of days… We don’t want to offend him with the truth, do we?
It is shocking for me to hear something like that from Topolanek, especially because Topolanek and Klaus are no friends. However, I can confirm, that “road to hell” (or “road to hells” exactly) is what he really said. My translation:
“Not only that America is repeating mistakes from 1930′s, those are vast stimuli, tendency and calling for protectionism, campaign “Buy American” and so on. All those steps, combinations, and what’s worse, initiatives for establishing them as permanent are the road to hell”
Klaus is awesome – probably the only head of state who has several books published by the Cato Institute.
I just want to add that (predictably) the european media tries to paint Klaus like a kind of cook.
It is at if all sceptics of the European Union must be mean kids who want to spoil the party.
Topolanek’s words are quite surprising even from the point of view of ordinary citizen of the Czech Republic. Although his govenrment has been very modest, it introduced no great spending schemes, it was unable to cut spending, thus driving budget to even worse deficits. Moreover no member of cabinet dared to speak about such cuts and their necessity.
It is even more pleasant to hear such words because French president Sarkozy (France presided EU till the end of 2008) was staunch interventionist. The difference between those two might lie in size of their countries. Leaders of great nations are easily able to propose “bold” measures. On the other hand small Czech budget can hardly dope Topolanek to such madness, though personally he is hardly any laissez faire knight.
It’s really sad Topolanek’s goverment has resigned in these days. It was not any kind of libertarian ideology but still maybe the best one we have had here in czech republic.
As a citizen of Czech republic I am very proud to see that president Klaus is known and amired by freedom-loving people in US. It is widely presented here, especially by czech leftwing and environmentalist (eco-fascist), that Klaus’ opinions are derided in the world and that his views has no attention. His opinons are denounced here in Czech republic and in European Union as well – because he is one of the loudest oposer of socialism and environmentalism here.
(but it has to be noted that as for monetary policy and theory of money Mr.Klaus is much more follower of Milton Friedman than of Ludwig von Mises of Murray Rothbard)
As for Mr.Topolanek, his views are not so much for freedom and capitalism. He stands for government interventions, but in a slightly marginal way. He is not follower of laissez-faire capitalism in principle.
But it is true that in today world of huge government spendings and interventions the views of restricted role of government are very important and enlightening.
Guess who back, Krugman is back
. He just can’t resist to comment European business.
Still, the utter unwillingness of many European leaders to come to grips with the scale of this crisis is a very real obstacle to action.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/bad-czech/
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