Mindful
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #1
Despite the recent rise of populist, anti-EU sentiment in Germany, Berlin seems determined to fight hard for the European Union and the common currency, the euro. Much high principle no doubt lies behind this commitment, but so also does much self interest. The German economy, most especially the German elite, has done very well for itself because of the union and the euro, not a little of it at the expense of the rest of Europe. One need not be a cynic to suspect that such less principled but nonetheless compelling motivations also direct Berlin’s commitment.
The euro was supposed to have had a universally helpful impact on all of Europe. Its designers claimed that it would give the EU stature to rival other powerful economies, the United States, Japan, and China in particular. All Europe would benefit, they said, from the trade increases that would follow as people and business shed worry over currency fluctuations, while the absence of currency risk would keep interest rates low, giving especially smaller, weaker members the advantage of cheaper credit that would encourage more investment and economic development.
The trade and growth would deepen economic integration, give residents of the union a greater diversity of goods and services, and create a more unified and resilient European economy. It has of course not turned out this way. Instead the euro has locked in distorting and inequitable currency mispricings, giving some in the common currency, most notably Germany, great advantages over others.
The German Swindle Built Into The Euro
The euro was supposed to have had a universally helpful impact on all of Europe. Its designers claimed that it would give the EU stature to rival other powerful economies, the United States, Japan, and China in particular. All Europe would benefit, they said, from the trade increases that would follow as people and business shed worry over currency fluctuations, while the absence of currency risk would keep interest rates low, giving especially smaller, weaker members the advantage of cheaper credit that would encourage more investment and economic development.
The trade and growth would deepen economic integration, give residents of the union a greater diversity of goods and services, and create a more unified and resilient European economy. It has of course not turned out this way. Instead the euro has locked in distorting and inequitable currency mispricings, giving some in the common currency, most notably Germany, great advantages over others.
The German Swindle Built Into The Euro
