Friday, March 27, 2009

He Knows from Whence He Speaks...

The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, that is:

STRASBOURG, France — A top European Union politician on Wednesday slammed U.S. plans to spend its way out of recession as "a way to hell."

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, told the European Parliament that President Barack Obama's massive stimulus package and banking bailout "will undermine the stability of the global financial market."

A day after his government collapsed because of a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, Topolanek took the EU presidency on a collision course with Washington over how to deal with the global economic recession.

[SNIP]

The United States plans to spend heavily to try and lift its economy out of recession with a $787 billion economic stimulus plan of tax rebates, health and welfare benefits, as well as extra energy and infrastructure spending.

To encourage banks to lend again, the government will also pump $1 trillion into the financial system by buying up treasury bonds and mortgage securities in an effort to clear some of the "toxic assets" — devalued and untradeable assets — from banks' balance sheets.

Topolanek bluntly said that "the United States did not take the right path.".

Remember, this guy is Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, who pretty much had an "up close and in your face" relationship with the Soviet Union, and personally knows the dangers posed by 'government gone wild.'