The Wall Street Journal – Interview with Mario Draghi, President of the ECB
Há algumas ideias expressas com as quais não concordo, mas esta é uma entrevista que vale a pena ler na íntegra e na qual destaco a seguinte afirmação de Draghi:
You know there was a time when (economist) Rudi Dornbusch used to say that the Europeans are so rich they can afford to pay everybody for not working. That’s gone.
A entrevista inclui também várias mensagens que seria bom que o Governo português tivesse em conta na definição da política orçamental e da política fiscal, nomeadamente implementando cortes bem mais significativos na despesa corrente de forma a poder reduzir (em vez de aumentar) a carga tributária que está a asfixiar a economia e a atrofiar o crescimento económico:
WSJ: Austerity means different things, what’s good and what’s bad austerity?
Draghi: In the European context tax rates are high and government expenditure is focused on current expenditure. A “good” consolidation is one where taxes are lower and the lower government expenditure is on infrastructures and other investments.
WSJ: Bad austerity?
Draghi – The bad consolidation is actually the easier one to get, because one could produce good numbers by raising taxes and cutting capital expenditure, which is much easier to do than cutting current expenditure. That’s the easy way in a sense, but it’s not a good way. It depresses potential growth.
WSJ: Which do you think are the most important structural reforms?
Draghi: In Europe first is the product and services markets reform. And the second is the labour market reform which takes different shapes in different countries. In some of them one has to make labour markets more flexible and also fairer than they are today. In these countries there is a dual labour market: highly flexible for the young part of the population where labour contracts are three-month, six-month contracts that may be renewed for years. The same labour market is highly inflexible for the protected part of the population where salaries follow seniority rather than productivity. In a sense labour markets at the present time are unfair in such a setting because they put all the weight of flexibility on the young part of the population.
(…)
WSJ: With Greece there was a lot of focus on achieving numeric targets. Now if you take countries like Portugal or Spain, if they get these big structural economic reforms right, should they have to be so focused on meeting specific deficit targets?
Draghi: There is no feasible trade-off between the two. Fiscal consolidation is unavoidable in the present set up, and it buys time needed for the structural reforms. Backtracking on fiscal targets would elicit an immediate reaction by the market. Sovereign spreads and the cost of credit would go up. We’ve experienced all this.
(…)
WSJ: Your first months saw a lot of activity. Is there much more the ECB can do when it comes to financial stability and economic growth? Has it done about as much as it can?
Draghi: What I am going to say doesn’t imply anything as far as future monetary policy decisions are concerned. Within its primary mandate the ECB will do its utmost to ensure price stability in the medium term and within the remit of the Treaty to foster financial stability.
WSJ: What’s the first statistic you look at in the morning?
Draghi: Stock markets.
WSJ: Do you look at the euro exchange rate?
Draghi: Not in the early morning.
Pedro Sette-Câmara
André Azevedo Alves
Carlos Guimarães Pinto
Helder Ferreira
Bruno Garschagen
João Luís Pinto
LA
Bruno Alves
Miguel Botelho Moniz
ruicarmo
Miguel Noronha
Elizabete Dias
António Costa Amaral (AA)
LT
Rui Oliveira
BZ
dos ∫antos
André Abrantes Amaral
planca12
rui a.
Rodrigo Adão da Fonseca
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes
Michael Seufert
Luciano
Carlos M. Fernandes
Maria João Marques
jtcb
Nuno Branco
elisabetejoaquim
filipeabrantes
Tomás Belchior
Bruno Gonçalves
Ricardo G. Francisco
Tiago Loureiro
Ricardo Campelo de Magalhães
Filipe Faria
Ricardo Arroja
Ricardo Lima
“In a sense labour markets at the present time are unfair in such a setting because they put all the weight of flexibility on the young part of the population.”
Esta é mesmo estranha. Nem consigo imaginar porque raio será assim!
Comentário por Alexandre — Fevereiro 26, 2012 @ 22:52
“…. It’s a treaty whereby countries release national sovereignty in order to accept common .. ”
Pergunto: The people in these Countries or their elected(?) representatives?. Uma nova commonwealth?
A Monarquia, foi a forma de organização que criou, que gerou -unindo por vezes povos heterogêneos, muitas vezes pela força- os Reinos Europeus.
Foram as diferentes linhas dinásticas, famílias com extenção temporal supra individual, quem, artificialmente(?), mantiveram como unidades bem identificadas, esses Reinos, durante séculos.
Para o bem ou para o mal dos povos foram aparecendo na Europa, a Magna Carta, a Revolução Francesa, Monarquias Constiucionais, as Repúblicas, as eleições democráticas de 4 em 4 anos … com os resultados bem à vista.
Os povos europeus, as Nações Europeias, numa Europa, como um todo, é uma necessidade, recente, consequência de um fenómeno exógeno, peço desculpa, a globalização.
O poder na Europa, hoje, aparece exercido por funcionários, temporariamente em funções, óbviamente mais preocupados com a sua “ego trip” e salvação material, do que com a, reconheçamos, ainda não existente “Europa”. Por muito que tentem, mutuamente, auto-endeusar-se, os resultados, a realiadade, paciência, não colabora. Um Reino criado por funcionários?.
Don´t make me laugh.
Curiosa a utilização, por este prestimoso funcionário, do termo “release national sovereinity” para falar do futuro sucesso(?) de uma, mais que curiosa, agregação de Repúblicas.
“Definitely smoke and mirrors”. The King is dead, long live the King. But who´s the King?
Comentário por JS — Fevereiro 27, 2012 @ 00:59
O governo português devia ouvir os conselhos do Draghi e baixar os impostos sobre as empresas.
Sem isso o desemprego vai continuar a crescer !
Comentário por Paulo Pereira — Fevereiro 27, 2012 @ 09:46