If you want proof that any given group, if not explicitly defined as right-leaning, will ultimately end up in leftist shambles, one only has to look as far the European Union’s recent meeting in Brussels. The purpose? To deal with the world financial crisis. Up until now, its main focus has been tackling the fairy tale of “global warming”. But now the EU has a real world problem to deal with. People likely aren't giving much thought to global warming when their investment portfolios are on fire.

What ended up happening at this meeting was exactly what you might expect: Hungary and the Baltic states want to be bailed out by countries like France and Germany, which are having enough financial troubles of their own.

Le Figaro newspaper reports that France’s debt is heading for 80% of its GDP (or $27,625 US per person) by the end of next year. France pumped $450 billion US into its banks last year, and another $7.8 billion to prop up French car manufacturers – because the world would be lost without Renaults and Citroens. Germany bailed out its banks last October to the tune of $675 billion US. And now the crippled are being asked to carry the wounded with a massive transfer of wealth.

All these so-called “independent” states, which presumably want to be treated like adults at the big kids’ table in each of the various layers of European Union government, are now begging for a form of economic colonization, not realizing – or perhaps not caring – that there is always a price to being bought off. Or at least there ought to be. When you live in mom and dad’s basement, because you can’t get your own affairs in order, you shouldn’t be allowed to call the shots – or even have any role in setting the agenda.

So far, the consensus is to deal with such bailouts of entire countries on a case-by-case basis. Hopefully, that means never. Argentina has been digging itself out of bankruptcy for the past few years, and will perhaps one day figure out that socialism doesn’t work. In the meantime, other countries can use the lesson: You can’t keep pouring money into a socialist society when there’s no production occurring to create the wealth you’re spending pre-emptively. China has a lot of money because everyone is producing, but no one has freedom. That's the other extreme. Continued...