The Irish government recently decided to levy a so-called ‘soda tax’ on sugary drinks. Officials are introducing this measure as a way of tackling obesity, which many people consider as having run rampant in Europe for a while now.
Germany’s election ‘chaos’ is a non-event
For a politician of Angela Merkel’s grandeur, it seems like nothing should come as a shock. Over 16 years as German chancellor, Merkel has weathered a financial crisis and the subsequent chaos of the European common currency, as well as the bank and Greek bailouts; a massive refugee influx; multiple political turmoils within the EU, […]
Central Europe’s War on Taste Diversity
In a renewed effort to get the issue of “dual food standards” back on the table, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary have urged the European Commission to regulate on the problem. The concern from the Visegrad Group, as they are known in Europe, is that companies might be deliberately providing supermarkets with food […]
France wants another tax on soda. Because of course they do
In yet another move to crack down on fun public health hazards, the French government reached an agreement with the parliament for a new tax on sugary drinks. How long are people going to continue to accept the modern Nanny State?
There’s no reason to be a jerk to smokers
“You’re joining outside for a smoke?” The look of utter disgust on the faces of many non-smokers when hearing this sentence is often very telling. Unimpressed by the change in social norms which made it so that people actually go outside to smoke in the first place, which wouldn’t have happened 50 years ago, numerous […]
How Luxembourg’s agreements on automatic exchange of information have changed since the 2008 crisis
This article is part of a report which I drafted for a FinTech company based in the United Kingdom. It has been submitted in the month of August, which is why some facts might be outdated. Since the end of the steel industry in the Greater Region (the area of Saarland, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Wallonia […]
Why Are There No Austrians in Austria?
On October 15th, Austria held its parliamentary election following the breakup of the coalition between social democrats and the center-right OVP. With a public debt-to-GDP ratio of 85 percent, continuous deficit spending, and rank 16 in the richest countries with the most wasteful government spending, you’d think that Austrians would be demanding an approach which comes closer […]
The European Union has opened the War on Competition
This month, EU governments and the European Parliament signed off on substantial changes to the Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. In the so-called “Omnibus talks”, the EU’s three main institutions, together with representatives of producers agreed to grant essential privileges to farmers.
Hey Hoppe, this is what the ‘Stupids for Liberty’ do
In a recent speech to his followers (for lack of a better term), the German thinker and pretended libertarian author Hans-Hermann Hoppe took a jab at Students for Liberty, calling the organisation “Stupids for Liberty”.
The German word for ‘debt’ also means ‘guilt’
What do the numbers 2 trillion, 2.1 trillion, 326 billion and 388 billion all have in common? That’s right, they’re all the total numbers of debt of European countries, namely (and in that order), Germany, France, Greece and Belgium. The debt of just these four countries combined is the equivalent of 137,000 tons of gold. […]
Bill Wirtz 