Fri Nov 11, 2011
posted under General
History tells us that as the Persians approached Thermopylae and the small band of Spartans there defending the pass, the Athenians were debating the benefits of joining the Spartans or fighting the Persians elsewhere. Their decision, delayed by discussion, turned out alright for them but for the Spartans not so much.
Today the Greeks are debating whether or not to adopt severe austerity measures that are necessary to save the economic stability of the European markets. The rest of the western world says it is not open for debate and with that message firmed up the economies of the rest of the common market. It is just another example of how interdependent America is with events in Europe. The day the Greeks said they were going to have a plebiscite on the proposal the stock market plunged but the next day when the proposal to submit the issue to voters was rescinded the market bounced back over two hundred points.
If something as remote as a vote by the people of Greece strongly affects our 401(k)s and retirement investments, then perhaps we need to understand better just how closely linked we are.
Amidst all the “in depth reporting” done on the loss of jobs to workers overseas no TV station has bothered to look at the places overseas where the jobs are going. Politicians constantly remind us that we have a global economy but we only get one side of the story. Whirlpool is moving 5,000 jobs to Europe. What are the personal stories of the workers in the location where they are going? What kind of government rules the country where they are relocating and what are the economic and social conditions of the area where the manufacturing will take place? It is obvious that there is more to the story than has been told by the reporting done by any of the news outlets.
The plaque marking the battlefield of Thermopylae says something like this “Stranger, tell the Athenians we wait true to our pledge.” In a modern translation it might just as easily say “look what happened while you were debating.”
The search for shared prosperity spans oceans and defines common needs.