Au Revoir Austerity in France

 Over in Paris today they are swearing in a new President. The election of  Francois Hollande, the first socialist President of France in seventeen years, signals an end to Germanic austerity and the return of Gallic joie de vivre.... or at least that is what everybody is saying. Me? I don't have a crystal ball, but I'm not so sure.

Things are unsettled to say the least in the global economy.  Greece is teetering on the brink of social anarchy and financial collapse.  German voters are getting tired of carrying what they consider to be the profligate Latin economies of the Euro-zone, while France, as usual, can't decide what it wants to do.

If Greece falls, can Spain, Italy, and maybe even Ireland and Portugal be far behind?   In France they have the answer. For the moment, at least, austerity is a no no. With Greece unable to form a government and upcoming elections in Germany, it is anybody's guess where things will go next.

Whatever happens, it will be a shot heard round the world, with bigtime reverberations on this side of the Atlantic. In a worst case scenario, the Euro could fall apart in a matter of months, before the November Presidential elections here in the United States.

At that point, all bets are off and I don't just mean in terms of who will be the next American President.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and fastening my seat belt just in case the ride gets bumpy. Where did I put that crystal ball, anyway?  Oh heck-- maybe I should try the Tarot cards instead.

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