Nice ideas, Mr Draghi—now who will pay for them?
From “whatever it takes” to “whatever the cost”
An old joke haunts economists. A chemist, a physicist and an economist are stranded on a desert island with a tin of beans but no implement to open it. The chemist suggests corroding the container with sea water, but concludes it would take years. The physicist proposes a method to prise the tin open that turns out to be equally impractical. The economist is delighted that only she has the right answer: “Assume a tin-opener.”
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Whatever it costs”
From the September 14th 2024 edition
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Why Russia is trying to seize a vital Ukrainian coal mine
Without it, the country’s remaining steel industry will be crippled
The search for Ukraine’s missing soldiers and sailors
The families of missing loved ones are trying to find them, alive or dead
Europe could become Trump’s geopolitical roadkill
A second dose of MAGA will put the EU in a pickle
Russia continues to advance in eastern Ukraine
But it is encountering growing problems
Turkey’s long hard struggle with inflation
High interest rates are starting to do the trick
Delays on Italy’s spruced-up trains have got worse
Matteo Salvini is making feeble excuses