There used to be a racing competition known as IROC. No, I’m not referring to the infamous Camaro model, rather the competition (the International Race of Champions) that inspired it. The idea of the competition was to get utterly identical cars together and give them to the world’s best race drivers. Because the cars were all clones the only way a driver could win would be on sheer ability. While the idea for the race ultimately failed, we are seeing a similar competition in the Euro Zone. 16 nations, all supplied with the same currency, were let out of the gate in 2002, and by 2010 several of them are on the verge of failure.
Europe’s history has been a long battle between unification and balkanization. From the conquering ancient Romans and Germany’s Anschluss to more peaceful solutions like the modern-day European Union, there have been the repeated attempts to lump all of Europe together into one cohesive economic unit. The benefits of such an arrangement are tremendous, as the pooled economic power of even the few European heavyweights, like France, Germany and the Netherlands, produces a pool of resources to rival even the United States for GDP. As a matter of fact, according to the International Monetary Fund the whole of the European Union (27 countries, 16 of which use the Euro) has four times the GDP of China and has even edged out the United States for the top spot in world rankings.
The Euro, first adopted in 2002, is the currency of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. It is also used by about three million people outside of the Euro Zone, including the micro states of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City and several overseas holdings of European nations. Monetary policy for the Euro, including interest rates, is set by the European Central Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany.
3 Comments
I would like to strongly encourage all liberals, marxists, socialists, communists to consider moving to one of the pigs (portugal, ireland, greece, spain) nation. As i am certain that this would be an appropiate match.
dear Ted
please understand that i definitely don’t disagree with you, OK? so please try to use a less harsh tone next time you are going to address me, specifically. Ted, do you understand? please refrain from further sarcasm and tough talk against me. gee, i really wanted to end my work day on a good note. i’m going to try to avoid you on these threads in the future, Ted, if you are going to pick arguments with innocent readers.
Greece and Spain won’t pay back. This was a calculated Risk, and a Lesson for the Banking System. The only thing Germans can do is:
REPOSSESS 170 Leopard 2AEX Battle Tanks from Greece, and 190 Leopard 2A6E Battle Tanks from Spain.
U.S.A must REPOSSESS 170 F-16 Jet Fighters from Greece, … the rest is gone with the wind …forever …
Greece must stop paying lucrative pensions with borrowed money, reform the free health care system, and cut down, 4 times the military budged.
Greece’s problem is too much debt. Greece has a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP – meaning that the country is spending 12.7% more than the value of one year’s economic output.
Greece is no different to a serial credit card borrower who can’t pay back his loans. But just like a serial credit card borrower, as long as Greece keeps relying on borrowed money to fund itself, the problem won’t go away. It will just get worse.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Greece-in-Default-on-U-214-Submarine-Order-05801/
Don’t worry; the ECB, the Fed or both will print the money.
And all of us will share the pain, with our hard-earned money.
Bad is never good until worse happens.