by Richard A. Epstein
Grim is the right word to describe the latest economic
news from both the European Union and the United States. Throughout the
European Union, austerity programs have failed both politically and
economically. In Spain, unemployment rates have soared above 24 percent. The
Dutch government is on the edge of collapse because of the popular and
political unwillingness to accept the austerity program proposed by its
conservative government. Romania is not far behind. Greece, Italy, and Portugal
remain in perilous condition. France faces the free-spending socialist candidate Franciose Hollande. On the
American front, the decline of GDP growth to 2.2 percent rightly raises fears that our sputtering domestic recovery is just about over.