We’ve been in lockdown for three weeks now.
Yesterday the news was good. Fewer people are being infected. However, it’s still too early to relax. And, unfortunately, there are fools running around outside instead of staying home. If they are stopped by the police, these fools risk a fine of E400-E3000.
It would appear that many heads of state and politicians were deprived, as children, of bed time stories. Like that of “The Little Red Hen.”
A little red hen by the name of Rossa saw that the food supplies were running low. So, to prepare for the future, she decided to plant some wheat to make bread. Rossa asked the other farmyard animals for help but they said no as they preferred strutting around at the stock show. So Rossa planted then harvested the wheat all by herself. When it was time to take the wheat to the mill to turn it into flour, she asked her barnyard friends for help. But they said, once again, no and, instead of helping, sat in the sun mooing and neighing and oinking as if they didn’t have a care in the world. So Rossa took the flour and made some bread. The lovely smell of the freshly made bread had everyone running to Rossa’s ready to eat. But Rosa simply replied ”Shoo! Shoo!” and ate the bread herself.
Moral of the story: if you want something to eat, you’ve got to get organized and prepare. Just as you have to do if you want to be ready to affront emergencies like that of the coronavirus. Worldwide, budget cuts were made in terms of healthcare. But, in the long run, how much money was saved? The economic aftermath of this pandemia will leave many people penniless. Businesses will be destroyed and people left without a job. By far more money was spent fighting the virus than was money saved with budget cuts.
And although I have been pro-Europe, it is not obvious that you need more than a common currency to create a union. Maybe it’s time to regroup. The Mediterranean countries would be better off creating uniting together as the alliance with Germany has been, for the most part, a stress. It is blatantly obvious that, to adequately affront the COVID-19, much money is needed and not just in terms of medical care. People in quarantine cannot work and, for many, this means no income. Therefore it is imperative that a state funded income is needed.
Italy is not the only European country with this problem. So, along with some other countries, proposed issuing joint “corona” bonds to help with the economy. But Germany, along with the Netherlands, responded with a sharp “Nein!” Pity that Germany has a short memory.
After WWI and WWII, Germany, largely responsible for the wars in the first place, was overwhelmingly in debt. Furthermore, according to the 1945 Potsdam conference, Germany was to pay the Allies $23 billion to compensate for some of the damage they’d done. Angela Merkel has forgotten how Europe cancelled half of Germany’s war debt to help Germany get back on its feet. Germany should show more gratitude because, had it not been for this cancellation, Germany would not have the economic stability it enjoys today.
Furthermore, it thanks to a German (from Bavaria) that the virus arrived in Italy (as I already mentioned HERE).
Solidarity is a word not everyone knows the meaning of.
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Related: The coronavirus crisis has brought the EU’s failings into sharp relief + German state minister kills himself as coronavirus hits economy + La rabbia di Tullio Solenghi contro la Germania che nega i coronabond + Prodi: “Se succede la grande crisi gli olandesi a chi venderanno i tulipani?” + Failing to coordinate against the coronavirus pandemic may be very costly for the world, says Stanford scholar + Fighting Pandemic, Europe Divides Again Along North and South Lines + Eurozone misses a chance to cover its flaws with ‘corona bonds’ + Coronavirus, il vademecum della Polizia sulle nuove multe + The Little Red Hen is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1874.
Germany owes Poland over $850 billion in WW2 reparations: senior lawmaker + «La Merkel ha dimenticato quando l’Europa dimezzò i debiti di guerra alla Germania»
The debt write-off behind Germany’s ‘economic miracle’, Six decades ago, an agreement to cancel half of postwar Germany’s debt helped foster a prolonged period of prosperity in the war-torn continent. The new government in Athens says Greece – and Europe – now need a similar deal + Dividing the Spoils + Reparations – Complications of cold war compensation + Coronavirus may have reached Italy from Germany, scientists say
The Narrative Within 