“Euro Breakup Talk Increases As Germany Loses Proxy”…
What was conceived as a club for Europe’s strongest economies was expanded for political reasons, leaving the currency union with minimal powers to police deficit spending and no safety net for dealing with countries, like Greece, that veer toward default.
“There was no discussion of that at all, of a crisis mechanism,” said Niels Thygesen, a retired Copenhagen University economics professor who served on the 1989 group led by European Commission President Jacques Delors that mapped out the path to the euro. “It was believed that if countries adhered more or less to prudent budgetary policies, that would not or could not happen.”
After all, this was Europe. What was the worst that could happen?
(Via)
“What was the worst that could happen?”…
Haven’t we seen this movie before?
…and Guernica doesn’t even begin to describe what will happen to the EUR.
Another pithy quote: “Investors had always regarded the euro as a de jure German mark,… it’s dawning on the world that it is becoming, de facto, a Greek drachma.”
I’m no ecomonics expert, but they don’t seem to have thought this through very well.
Germany just can’t win, they tried imperialism, they tried fascism, they tried communism and now they’ve tried capitalism. It just doesn’t work outside their own borders.
An old joke:
“Heaven is a place where the police are English; the chefs are Italian; the car mechanics are German; the lovers are French and it’s all organized by the Swiss.”
“Hell is a place where the police are German; the chefs are English; the car mechanics are French; the lovers are Swiss and it’s all organized by the Italians.”
Maybe Germany should bring back the Kaiser.
“It was believed that if countries adhered more or less to prudent budgetary policies, that would not or could not happen.”
Well, what would you expect from the G*dless Euroweenies who obviously have no understanding of fallen (aka greedy, scheming, lazy, entitled, socialist) human nature?
“Heaven is a place where the police are English; the chefs are Italian; the car mechanics are German; the lovers are French and it’s all organized by the Swiss.”
“Hell is a place where the police are German; the chefs are English; the car mechanics are French; the lovers are Swiss and it’s all organized by the Italians.”
The really sad thing is the joke is no longer funny. The english police are now soft fascist jerks, several major car brands regulary end up with lousy reliability ratings, the swiss seem disorganized, italian cooking…
Nobody does arrogance like the Eurolanders.
On the other hand, my impending trip to France is getting cheaper by the day.
C’mon there euro, crash baby, crash.
… as for Italian cooking: Last year, my husband and I were surprised by the mostly uninspired Italian cuisine in Rome, Florence, etc. — and how expensive it was. Spaghetti with tomato/basil sauce (which meant a lacklustre sauce with four — I counted them — wilted basil leaves) cost 12 euros, around $16/$17. ‘Seems everything’s being dumbed down these days and is costing us more.
OTOH, if you want inspired, inexpensive Italian cooking, Toronto’s the place.
Oh, yeah. The bread in the basket brought to our table cost 3 euros — about 5 bucks. I wondered if we could send it back, not having asked for it, and was told by a guy eating with us, who’s been to Italy about 20 times: “No. They bring it and you pay for it, whether you asked for it or not.”
It was lousy: tasteless and no oil or balsamic vinegar with it.
batb – now look, don’t get me started about French lovers!
I think it’s safe to say the Europe is one of the worlds greatest multi cultural regions. They tried to knit together something similar to what the USA has in it’s 50 states so they could compete in the world.
What they missed was that in the USA there is common culture, language and values. That is the glue that make a nation strong and holds it together during the worst of times.
That is why multi culturalism weakens a nation and waters down any resolve to work together for the greater good of the nation.
That is why we make a big mistake bringing in hordes of immigrants with alien culture, language and values not to mention violent religious tendencies.
For more proof, keep watching as Europe descends into anarchy (without a strong anarchist leader)
Is the moral of this story, next time let the Germans win?
Regardless of who, let them win, at least that way the rest of the world won’t have to endure their condescending arrogance and pompous attitude.
Abe I would like to challenge the notion that the USA is still the great melting pot it once was.It has now descended into a writhing mess of confusion and waste.This has been done on purpose.I wish people would face facts and stop thinking the market will bounce back in due course.There is plenty of proof, I have tried to show you where to find it.Here is a quote from a recent interview, “Truly heartbreaking and that is what I have been fighting for over 50 years.” For anyone who wants look Google, Bob Chapman May 14 2010.
So let’s recap:
(1) Greece lied to get in, and lied to stay within the EU limits—“the new Conservative government of Costa Karamanlis accused its predecessor of fiddling the budget numbers to pass the euro test — a charge Papantoniou denies. EU records now show that Greece has never brought its deficit under the limit.” So, when Euro-skeptics worried about the possibility of managing a single currency across many states, were they impolite enough to mention the liars and cheaters?
(2) As a result of running deficits well outside the EU limits, “Greece’s credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s on April 27,”
(3) Its (almost) impossible to kick them out for lying and cheating. Gee, I wonder why that rule is in place. But not to worry: they’ve learned their lesson. In order to assuage opposition to the bailout they demand, Greece now promises to become a “good EU citizen”: “George Papandreou, elected on a promise of higher wages and benefits, is now on what he calls a “new Odyssey” that may end with the dismantling of the welfare state built by his father Andreas.”
(4) And the EU, after agreeing to bail Greece out, is really mad about it: “The commission also urged more “expeditious” enforcement of the deficit rules, without calling for tougher fines on violators.”
Well, if the EU is going to get all “expeditious” with the bankrupt liars and cheaters, Greece will have to snap to attention, won’t it? Otherwise, the EU might send them a letter! But the Greek polity aren’t taking too kindly to the “new Odyssey” that “may” dismantle their welfare state. They’ve grown accustomed of their entitlements. How ya gonna wean ’em off their 13 monthly paychecks a year, and their 13 monthly pension checks a year? But Papandreou has assured the EU that he “may” strap himself to the mast of the EU ship of state in order to resist the siren call of his polis for yet more state welfare.
Meanwhile, they haven’t yet run out of other people’s money. The IMF, urged by Obama to spread the wealth around, now donates tax dollars forcibly extracted from the pockets of US citizens, many of them yet to be born, to the lying, cheating, statist welfare bums in Greece.
What could possibly go wrong?
Do ya ever get the feeling that this whole politics thing—where we’re inextricably linked to one another so we’re forced to share one another’s fate—is not all it’s cracked up to be?
Black Mamba: “batb – now look, don’t get me started about French lovers!”
‘Not just wilted basil leaves, eh?
I remember the wet-pants glee on CBC Brian Stewart’s face. Tonight, on The National, a series of specials on Europe’s up and coming Maastricht Treaty.
The production probably cost (us!!)a few $million.
A united Europe was going to be .. oh! so! great!
According to the CBC, it will be bigger and better than that American thing. It will be so much kinder. It will work out so well for our friends, the Western Europeans, because of all those “synergies” (Like bail outs!?). The world will be a better place now that Europe will be a powerhouse of compassion. (read Muslim take over)
Why, I bet a united Europe will bring the world many great things, eh Brian? Such as the global warming scam?
Anyone else remember Brian Stewart’s glowing endorsement of socialized brotherhood across the pond?
“Duty is the sublimest word in the language.You can never do more than your duty.You should never wish to do less.”Robert E Lee.I believe it is our duty to look for truth and use our discernment to sort thru propaganda and make well informed decisions based on fact.Dont expect politicians to know the difference, or lead us in the right direction, there is little in our history that would encourage us to do so.
batb – ahhh, wilted dreams, more like… 🙁
Mais ca suffit! – the wrath of Vίtruvius is nothing compared to the wrath of Kate; anyway the french are all basically rude arrogant alchoholics and mostly look like monkeys…..
After a lot of experience with European politics….
Europe is the Balkans writ large….
The EU was doomed from the start, regardless it’s socialist bent. Governing Europe is like trying to herd cats.
The New World Order Cometh…Fast!
All that’s needed now is the spark to launch WWIII…How’s about Israel bombing Iran?…It’s in the works.
Black Mamba: ” … the french are all basically rude arrogant alchoholics and mostly look like monkeys…”
Yeah, like Charles Aznavour (hey, he CAN sing but he definitely has simian looks) …
(Vίtruvius said it was OK to have fun … sometimes. ‘Hope this is one of those times 😉
“Abe I would like to challenge the notion that the USA is still the great melting pot it once was.”
I agree the US is getting messy, but the civil war hasn’t ramped up yet and there is lot of change coming to bring back the constitution.
That is what is supposed to guarantee the federation remain strong and united and with common values.
The disunity is being dramatically exacerbated by the Obongo and his Marxist regime. Once that giant self-absorbed, statist, chocolate chip is removed from the Washington cookie, things will improve.
AT&T will also be buying out Taco Bell since giving the Hispanics their own phone company is going too far.
My point is that there has never been a common culture, language and shared values in Europe so there is nothing for them to go back to in order to improve their rapidly diminishing lot.
” the swiss seem disorganized”
Don’t believe it, not for second. The trains run on time in Switzerland.
I was at a festival there where the confetti was ankle deep on cobble stone streets, 18 hours later it was spotless.
Kohl pushed the Germans into the Euro Monetary Union. Kohl recently was working for the Russians (Baltic pipeline project). Don’t need a tin foil hat to see the possible connection there.:)
Regardless, if the Euro wasn’t a Russian plot to destabilize Europe so the Russians could do what they couldn’t do during the Cold War (bring most of Europe under their influence) it may end up having that effect.
Can you say “schadenfreude”, kiddies? I knew ya could.
The Germans are overdue for their regular bout of putting on snazzy “feldgrau” uniforms, singing marching songs and kicking the cr*p out of Europe. Pity the Greeks…..(and the rest of the lazy, socialist med countries). Germany collects interest on its loans with a little tactic called “blitzkrieg” when said interest is not paid on time. Wait for it, auslander, warten sie
In 2 years Europe will be a country.
In three years it’ll be a broke country with bread riots.
Sub-
You’ll be able to trade Lire by Christmas.
Not that you would want to, but the opportunity will be there
As Rush constantly reminds his audience, “Socialism fails every time its tried”. It’s self-evident. As PM. Thatcher well defined the observation, “until they run out of other peoples money”.
There is sameness in socialism, fascism and communism, the faintly discernible difference is the hue.
Common among the ‘isms is the tyrannical attitude of the rulers. Money to them is manna, not an economic tool. In their thinking, value can be manipulated regardless of economic set of circumstances. One only has to look at the administration of US, for the current one, money can be printed at will, never mind the economy.
Socialists have this warm and fuzzy way of telling the masses that they know what is good for them. The masses seem to fall for it every time.
Fascists tell the masses what is good for them.
Communists tell the masses, that is the way its gonna be or they have ways to make them understand.
Capitalism on the other hand is about money. You grow economy by producing something somebody else wants. Did not China show the capitalists how its done?
The trouble is there is only one cure for this. The politicians don’t really care, when everything crashes, they throw up their hands and say to hell with it, the thing is, to hell it will go.
Right now it is hard to see who is going to fight who, though in time it will crystallize. Germans will resist with all their harts, there are limits though when you are against a rock face and no place to go.
One element in all this is that it is run by people that went to school for a long time, the premise being that they know. It is also self evident that there is no syllogism in the argument.