Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter and Facebook.com/cnnopinion But for some time now, calls for growth have been heard fromIreland to Italy. The Dutch government suffered recently as itfailed to heed calls for policies to foster growth. The newemphasis on growth reflects both a political and economicnecessity. Greece has already plunged into high rates ofunemployment. In Spain, the overall unemployment rate isapproaching 25%. Almost half of younger Spaniards are out of work.Adding austerity to the mix is simply politically unsustainable inmature democracies, as the election results in France and Greecedemonstrate. Moreover, short-term austerity policy does not revive economicgrowth. Just take a look at Britain. There, the fiscal deficitshave grown rather than shrink. The French government will be looked over carefully byinternational investors. If France was to adopt short-term tax cutsor increases in spending, it will likely be met by investorsdemanding higher interest rates on government bonds, which wouldconstrain the government in its ability to promote growth. IfFrance pursues a stimulus package, investors will want to see notonly how much money is spent but also how the money is spent. Forexample, investments in infrastructure, technical education andscientific research should produce very different results thantraditional policies of tax cuts and added unemploymentcompensation. What the struggling European countries should really do is learnsome lessons from Germany, which has extended the retirement age,made adjustments to the social safety net and kept a tight rein onfiscal deficits. But it's not easy to emulate the Germans. As France and its neighbors craft out new policies, slow growth inEurope will reduce some pressure on global commodity markets,particularly oil. That could be a plus for the United States. But,a decline in U.S. exports to Europe will drag down an alreadyanemic job market at home. Economic and financial trouble in Europe is not good for theAmerican economy. Neither is the political turmoil caused by toomuch austerity imposed too quickly. Traders will do well with aperiod of volatility caused by the changes in governments.Longer-term investors in Europe or the United States will be fineas long as they keep their eyes on economic and corporatefundamentals. The leaders of France and Germany are expected to meet next week,shortly after Hollande takes office. They have every reason topursue reasonable policies that will benefit everyone. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of KentH. Hughes. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Portable Data Collection Terminal , Symbol Pocket PC Scanner Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Mobile POS Terminals.
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