The manhunt continues in Belgium and other parts of Europe for one of the planners of the Paris terror attacks.  This would be a great time to zero in on economic woes in Europe that not only persist, but also have opened the door to terror.  In many ways, we could say that the welfare state replaced not only traditional capitalism, but it also allowed and encouraged the entire continent to forego population growth.

Migrants from the Middle East are pouring into Europe at unprecedented numbers.  Long treks from places such as  Syria to Germany underscore that this might be a humanitarian crisis, but migrants are still looking for top dollar.  It’s really remarkable that such programs haven’t gone through massive reductions in the aftermath of the global recession; however, the amounts are a huge lure for someone coming from any Middle Eastern nation.

There are separate programs for migrants that vary from nation to nation.  For citizens, the great welfare lure is and has become a death trap.  It’s not so ironic that America is beginning to rival Europe, as the current administration has been busy building a Great Welfare Utopia.  For a household in Washington, D.C., just the top six benefits (out of 100) would see an income of $34,963.  This is why the United States has suddenly seen more and more refugees show up at our southern border.

However, importing would-be terrorists is just one of the problems with exorbitant welfare programs that deter work.  The biggest problem has been the massive slowing of production and fading prosperity.

There are a few nations, including Greece that were forced to make some reductions, which explains why that nation is more of a thoroughfare for migrants these days rather than a final destination.  For the people of Greece who fought tooth and nail against any reforms, despite desperately needed bailouts, this continues to be an area of contention.

Greece’s welfare state is still immense and its legacy lives on nonetheless.   Kicked off the front pages, the issues of Greece’s future are as murky as ever underscored with the decline of share price for the National Bank of Greece (NBG) to an all-time low.  I am a little worried that Europe could become headline news once terror begins to fade.

Of course, the bar is so low for Europe; it won’t take too much clear expectations, but that will only mask the need for more welfare reform, lower taxes, and maybe ditching the Euro.

The welfare state is a dead end; these days, it not only rots great nations, but it also brings actual death, too.

Today’s Session

Well, the plot thickens this morning after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet over Syria. There are conflicting reports on why this happened with Turkey claiming it issued 10 warnings over five minutes after the plane crossed into its airspace.

Apparently, one pilot died and the other has been captured by rebels.

Turkey is a NATO member and has already called for a meeting.  This will make an already tense situation even more difficult.  NATO didn’t invoke Article 5 when ISIS blew up Paris and it’s unlikely they want to ratchet up this situation.

Russia is saying it has been “stabbed in the back” and there will be some form of retaliation. There is a lot of economic data out this morning including the latest on 3Q15 GDP reversed to 2.15 from 1.5%.  There are lots of moving parts this morning including numerous wildcards.