HeliX Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think this is pretty relevant to the state of the world currently: or a longer version here: [media=] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Oh Albert, Spain is one of the world's largest foodstuff exporters, is also a major exporter of chemicals and vehicles. Italy produces a lot of fine engineering products, there's a big difference between the north and south of Italy. Greece & Ireland I agree about, although there's a lot of IT still coming from Ireland. Oh GD4NIT Thanks for the Wiki Geography lesson. But I wasn't really referring to what countries do successfully, I was really referring to what the rest of them don't do - i.e. Spain's 24.4%, Greece's 21.7%, Ireland's 14.6% and Italy's 12 year high at 10% unemployment rates (and that's just those registered as looking for work - as not all can register). No doubt a shed load more as what's left of their finance sector crumbles and public sector wages and salaries and pensions can no longer be afforded. And as their youth unemployment remains so stubbornly high (often actually double unemployment in terms of percentage) then what hope for that inexperienced and skill-less generation over the next 10 years to pull themselves out of it? Are you suggesting the simple answer is for them just to do more of what they ARE good at? For that you need to train and skill people, find markets and sell stuff, and redo millions of degrees and pull together lost experience. Much of what the UK needs to do. If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it - and now - and as good as the Chinese and Germans have done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Albert, you wrote: "what was the last thing you ever bought from Spain other than maybe a Tesco paella" implying that Spain only exports food. We showed you that this is indeed not the case. -5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Albert, you wrote: "what was the last thing you ever bought from Spain other than maybe a Tesco paella" implying that Spain only exports food. We showed you that this is indeed not the case. -5 "Spain is one of the world's largest foodstuff exporters, is also a major exporter of chemicals and vehicles." Great. So they can deliver the Paella too. I'm over the moon for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Goblin Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 TBH all the current problems of the West were inevitable after Willy Brandt & Co. set in train the globalisation process back in the 60s/70s. We are just going to have to get used to being a lot worse of materially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 AT - you said that Italy has very few "ideas men". And yet Italy is absolutely about design which is all about ideas. It's the investment models which are broken internationally. It isn't a lack of ideas. For the past decades the brightest brains have been paid the highest amounts to cook up equations aimed at creating liquidity out of nothingness - e.g. the markets in paper instruments, CDOs, CDS, carbon credits and BS in general. When they should have been working on space ships and free energy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Trumps Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Italy is something of an example to us really It's a chaotic, corrupt country with a largely ineffectual government People just have to get on with their lives & use creativity to get by You wonder how they manage it, but their design & manufacture is way, way ahead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 AT - you said that Italy has very few "ideas men". And yet Italy is absolutely about design which is all about ideas. Name three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Pininfarina Alessi Valentino And I'm not even into design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Pininfarina Alessi Valentino And I'm not even into design Name another ten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Most of Europe, with the exception of Germany, have similar problems to the UK. Spain has been a problem for decades (at least since the 1980's), even through the good times - what was the last thing you ever bought from Spain other than maybe a Tesco paella? Italy, Greece, Ireland - very similar - few ideas men, few products. Greece & Ireland I agree about, although there's a lot of IT still coming from Ireland. It's shame to let facts get in the way of a good bit of prejudice. But when it comes to exports per capita Ireland was ranked 6th globally in 2009 afer Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, Denmark and Norway with the value of exports being nearly twice per capita those of Germany. And in 2011 Ireland's GDP per capita was ranked 15th - ahead of Germany but on this occasion a bit behind Switzerland. I would guess that when it comes to ideas people Ireland is one of the more creative countries in Europe. As commented above Ireland is a major agricultural exporter. It is also major pharamaceutical exporter, major hi-tech exporter, very good in the education export sector and its disastrous banks aside a major player in financial services. It is, despite the boom/bust in the construction sector, a very good example of an economy that has reinvented itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Yes. And none of them are in the crapper. Perhaps it was just a dream I had. I reiterate, I am not going on about what they do do, it's what upwards of 20% of the population don't do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Yes. And none of them are in the crapper. Perhaps it was just a dream I had. I reiterate, I am not going on about what they do do, it's what upwards of 20% of the population don't do. No, we are not talking about the banking collapse or the construction industry collapse but about future economies. Like it or not, even with 14% unemployment, Ireland's GDP per capita is ahead of Germany, way ahead of the UK and a bit behind Switzerland. Ireland has repositioned itself over the last 20 years to have a strong export base - something that for example the UK has not done so well. I make no excuse whatsoever for the crazy, utterly irresponsible bank lending and banking regulation which is at the core of the Irish economic problem. But if we are talking about the economic future, which I thought this thread was about, then Ireland is in a far better strategic position in terms of how the world is developing than most European economies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Yes. And none of them are in the crapper. Perhaps it was just a dream I had. I reiterate, I am not going on about what they do do, it's what upwards of 20% of the population don't do. I'm not sure the hair splitting really matters, they're all in the crapper just to varying degrees. These economies will recover, particularly as the US recovers and starts buying from them again. Much as the doomies would love a global collapse and a return to the stone age so they can be smug for a short while before they die of pneumonia, it's just never going to get that bad. Challenging yes, casualties yes, end of capitalism? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Ya can't beat a good wind up though now and again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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