+100 That is the real crux, Germany, i.e. German pols, i.e. Merkel, won't allow what they call a resource transfer model for the €, where their money gets used by wasters like us. This is very different to the Germans supporting the ECB, where they insist on inflation control as the only policy. Any common currency/monetary union that would require the well off to support the less well off is not on the German agenda.
Meanwhile the pundits (or at least that arch capitalist that morning ireland uses) push on with their 'fiscal common market' agenda - thus ensuring, in the short term, a German based guarantee for their betting. The only change they see possible is what is called the "N€uro" the Northern members (I assume not including us) split off from the others. This is even better for the spivs - only the rich and famous in the market, rampant capitalism for all.....
Yes, part of the wider issues, rampant free market gambling by dealers ensures that everyone's economy is under pressure.The US debt is now becoming a real problem, with China getting very jumpy about the potential for the collapse of the dollar. Other countries, who have healthier economies so far, are now panicking about hot money seeking a refuge in their currency, driving it up and making their exports unaffordable. The indebted, bankrupt countries are trying to restore value to their economies by cutting social spending and wage cutting, driving up the rate of exploitation of people working. This is simply not working, but making indebtedness worse.
I'm reading "Prosperity without growth" by Tim Jackson, a little bit 'knitted' and maybe a little bit naive, but a source of really interesting data about the consequences of the headlong pursuit of growth as the only objective of the present economic policies. I don't suppose it is required reading in the Dept of Finance or the ECB, and certainly not in the City of London.
Video here -
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZsp_EdO2Xk&feature=player_embedded"]‪Tim Jackson's economic reality check‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]
I am more than ever glad that I won't be around for the inevitable war(s) that will be the outcome of the the present mess, viz Putin's latest diatribe against US monetary policy, but I worry terribly about the future of my children and grandchildren.
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