As Spain deteriorates, the chances of the country requiring a Greek-style bailout that could send shockwaves through the entire global economy are increasing. But even if Spain never has a solvency issue, the country is facing years of economic troubles. Even more, the country’s fate is an indictment of Europe’s experiment with the monetary union. When I report in Europe, I’m often lectured that, as a Yankee, I can’t possibly appreciate the motivation behind the introduction of the euro. I look at the exercise simply in terms of costs and benefits, but the euro, I’m told, is something much more – an instrument to forward peace and democracy.
My answer to that is the euro is failing on both counts. It hasn’t helped turn Europe into a strong, competitive economy capable of contending with either the U.S. or a rising Asia. And where is the camaraderie supposedly behind the euro’s lofty mission? What I see is an increasingly undemocratic Europe, where countries are forced to take irrational steps by overbearing neighbors to preserve a common currency offering little good in return. The monetary union has become a place where the countries that benefit from the euro grow fat and refuse to share the spoils with their starving compatriots. That’s a kind of “peace and democracy” I can do without.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/04/05/spains-death-spiral-and-the-hypocrisy-of-the-euro/#ixzz1reo98bW5
Why wouldn't we believe this is the fate of any democratic-ish country which allows the politicians to bribe the populace with their own money? (thank you Mr. Detoqueville)
My answer to that is the euro is failing on both counts. It hasn’t helped turn Europe into a strong, competitive economy capable of contending with either the U.S. or a rising Asia. And where is the camaraderie supposedly behind the euro’s lofty mission? What I see is an increasingly undemocratic Europe, where countries are forced to take irrational steps by overbearing neighbors to preserve a common currency offering little good in return. The monetary union has become a place where the countries that benefit from the euro grow fat and refuse to share the spoils with their starving compatriots. That’s a kind of “peace and democracy” I can do without.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/04/05/spains-death-spiral-and-the-hypocrisy-of-the-euro/#ixzz1reo98bW5
Why wouldn't we believe this is the fate of any democratic-ish country which allows the politicians to bribe the populace with their own money? (thank you Mr. Detoqueville)
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