In this Jim Rogers International Commodity Index Fund interview with Marc Faber, they agree that Europe needs immigrants. But Poland has implemented new laws that prevent immigrants from coming into their country. Can Europe learn?
The government won’t change much, but Eastern European countries will change the landscape. If production doesn’t shift to Eastern Europe, then it will shift to Asia. Either way, the Jim Rogers International Commodity Index Fund will perform well. The UK went bankrupt in the 1970s, and the IMF had to bail them out. After a crisis, you typically get strong leaders. So things will have to get worse before they get better. The problem right now is Germany and France. The people in these countries are not affected yet.
French farmers aren’t going to give up their subsidies. If they don’t give them up - if the governments won’t give it to them - then market conditions will force them to give up the subsidies. The economy of tomorrow will depend on industries like software. But you have to not regulate them and not tax them too much.
This is a process that has to be done step by step. Germany and France are starting to look at these things. They have to reign in the subsidies. But it is difficult politically, because the electorate isn’t going to like the short term pain. That’s why investments like the Jim Rogers International Commodity Index Fund are so attractive.
Either these policies will happen step by step peacefully, or you will eventually see a social breakdown of the system. They currently have 37 days of holidays among workers. 25 year-olds don’t want that many holidays. You don’t want to go as far as the US with only ten days, but it has gone far too far.
Even if wages decline, the standards of living can increase if prices drop and taxes go down. In Japan, wages have stayed the same, but the cost of goods and rents have dropped, so they have actually benefited in real terms. There haven’t been many price increases in the past few years. Basic goods and services have basically become cheaper over the past ten years. It is still possible to do these things and still take care of the most vulnerable people in society.
