simpleton's economics

Denise was here for New Year's Eve. Late at night we spoke about the economy. I brought it up. I mean, I don't know very much about economics but there are a few things that have been bothering me lately about the way European governments have been managing the crisis:

1. there's always money available, not just millions but billions, to save the banks and bail them out, but there's never any money to keep investing in education, and health, and transport, and social welfare, and pensions, all crucial elements of social cohesion and social peace, and the fundamental pillars of the only kind of prosperity that really matters, i.e. quality of life;

2. the banks in question, happy enough during their years of bonanza to keep the government away from their profits, were only too excited to receive the State's bailouts when their investments faltered; for a while they remained coy about their extravagant bonuses but soon after they started distributing them again to their top employees as if nothing had happened, just business as usual. It's immoral and enraging, and there seems to be little political will and power to do something about it (despite the comforting speeches by politicians);

3. the austerity measures in place will hit young people the hardest, many of whom will see their hopes of a proper education and job completely destroyed. What's the point of austerity of this nature when the end result is social instability, strife and possible mayhem? I'm not surprised when I see the protests in Greece, or France, or the UK, or Ireland, I'm just surprised that there are so few of them still;

4. the bond speculators are all out there sharpening their shark's teeth and they seem to be untouchable. They obviously don't care that their betting gambles may result in the misfortune of entire nations, not to mention the lives of very real people. Are they really untouchable or is the system so that nobody cares to bring them down?

5. the more I look at Germany the more I realise the fallacy of the boom years of the 1980's and 1990's, during which we were made to believe that a service-based economy would save us all and bring us fortune and happiness. Well, in Germany they kept their manufacture and they continue to take pride in their "made in Germany" and in the apprenticeship tradition that goes hand in hand. No wonder their economy is strong and was the first one to recover in real terms. Yes, we need services, but the destruction of industry in many European countries gave way to a virtual economy that once collapsed leaves nothing behind, just a gap hard to fill.

I know, simpleton's economics. But one still wonders...