And when German ministers have turned a blind eye, the Bundesbank and Karlsruhe have tried to limit risk-sharing through the ECB.The defence of the national treasury provides exciting work for lawyers, but it makes for poor crisis-management.
Read more on this story: Government to reconsider scrapping of local welfare funds Councils sit on £67m in emergency help for poor The crisis in local welfare assistance explained Andy Hull is a councillor and executive member for finance and performance at Islington borough council.
The problems ranged from deindustrialisation and disinvestment to social problems—such as a growing population of the vulnerable poor, identity crisis, brain drain, and white flight.
Bill Martin and Robert Rowthorn, economists at Cambridge University, argue that one reason for Britain's poor post-crisis productivity is that low wages encouraged firms to rely on human labour for low-skilled work, rather than investing in machines and software.
For many of the world's poorest, the crisis is moving to its second and most desperate phase.
But too often, the story is of missed opportunities, poor coordination and crisis intervention.
"Since we were poor before the crisis, we don't feel so different now," said Mr. César, 54. "To be angry, it's not worth it," he said.
Elected on a promise to help the poor, continued economic crisis has meant he has been able to do nothing for them.
Although the Iranian government deserves firm criticism for incompetence in handling the crisis, poor allocation of scarce foreign currency resources and failing to crack down on corrupt practices, the main culprit are the U.S. and European sanctions that regulate financial transactions with Iran.
