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Comic Strip of the Day

CSotD: Theoretically …

Published: December 2, 2011 1 minute 8 comments

Toles
I love Tom Toles' ability to create genuinely funny cartoons with substance, and much of that humor comes from a simple style that allows, for example, this plummeting European to maintain a completely bland expression as he assesses his situation.

As the EU struggles to avoid an across-the-board collapse, it begins to seem like the Black Knight in "The Holy Grail," continuing to insist on his competitive vitality no matter how many of his limbs get lopped off.

Greece was only a scratch, and Italy but a flesh wound.

And, theoretically, the EU won't ever hit bottom because the system has been set up such that the euro, and European stocks  and individual European economies, can only lose a portion of their value at a time.

And let's not be smug: Inter-relatedness aside, there are plenty of people on this side of the Atlantic whom you can count on to ignore the coming peril, who, despite the evidence all around them, believe in deregulation, states' rights and other free-market fairy tales, including the old bromide of Big Brother benevolence that says what's good for General Motors is good for America.

Which right about now sounds more like sarcasm than economic theory.

When the EU first began to ponder the concept of the euro, there were some questions raised about how you could have a single currency without having a single controller over the various economies using that currency.

But, then, there were doubters here who questioned the wisdom of deregulating our savings and loan industry back in the 80s. There were skeptics who questioned the wisdom of repealing Glass Steagal. There were even backwards isolationists who felt that Free Trade would lead to the collapse of the American manufacturing industry and massive loss of jobs in this country.

Silly people. They obviously hadn't studied economics.

We know that, even in a depression, things only lose their value incrementally, and so, you see, by applying logic …

(And now for something not, alas, different enough)

 

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Comments 8

  1. I didn’t consider this one of Toles’ best (a very high bar) – Zeno was a Greek. On the other hand they’re not the ones dictating Europolicy, so what choice did he have?
    (And I think Engine Charlie – and what he actually said – had more nuance than “what’s good. . .” would indicate. But those were simpler times.)

  2. Arghhh….bitten by the confirmation captcha once again!
    One small problem…the bailout of GM had nothing to do with “free markets”, ” deregulation”, or any other persons of hay that you wish to employ. It was a classic example of the conniving convergence of crony capitalism that is the proximate cause our current fiscal milieu.
    Only one word is needed when Big Unions, Big Corporations, and Big Government agree on a course of action; beware!
    I will add that Italy and Greece are near perfect examples of the predictable results of long term Keynesian stimulative theories. Something Mr. Toles ignores when he uses classic Bavarian/Teutonic garb for his Europe. Germany’s relative fiscal restraint over the last few years have left it as one of the few economic bright spots on the continent.
    Regards,
    Dann

  3. From what I’ve seen in the foreign press and cartoons, Germany is seen as the lead agent in attempting to keep the EU economy afloat, which I assume is why Toles used that image. Merkel is seen to have greatly enhanced her international standing, though, of course, she certainly hasn’t succeeded yet, which is much the point of the cartoon.
    From what I’ve seen in the American press, that Kim Kardashian is one hot babe.
    As for Charlie Wilson’s quote, whatever exactly he said — and the difference between his intentions and his legacy are, in my mind, a difference without a distinction — it has come down as suggesting that what is good for business is best for the nation. And, of course, he said it in 1953, long before GM needed a bailout for any reason, so my aside may relate to the current state of the US auto industry but his remark didn’t. And, theoretical differences aside, it’s pretty hard to disagree on the idea that the US auto industry ain’t what it used to be.

  4. I understand Zeno, when he was on death row, took great solace in the idea that he would never complete walking his last mile.

  7. Erm…on further reflection, Scott Stantis’ work isn’t really “modestly better”. It suffers from the same trope.

  8. Dann, if I loan you $100 and you have no way to pay me back, who is the loser? Not you!
    Germany is holding a lot of paper in this deal, and therefore it is Germany taking the plunge, not Greece.
    Hence the lederhosen.
    Not sure what your objection to Stantis’s cartoon is. There are those in the EU who seem to think a problem at one end won’t damage those at the other end, despite all logic to the contrary. In order to disagree, you’d have to believe that things are going to work out just fine, and I don’t think that’s your position, is it?

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