GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - The EU dream, how much longer until it's dead?

u-Bob · 05-14-2012, 05:01 AM

The problem when discussing the "concept of the Euro or EU" is that there's more than one concept.

I've been saying this for years now on this board... even long before the Greek debacle hit the media: read "The Tragedy Of The Euro" by Philipp Bagus. He did a great job at explaining how the eurozone works. He predicted the current mess and... and part of the book is dedicated to the history of the Euro.

Different groups wanted the Euro for different reasons. There's those who wanted a free trade zone because they (rightfully) believe that the freedom to trade goods and services leads to more prosperity.

There's also those who supported the Euro because their own countries were virtually bankrupt and they understood that the Euro would allow them to continue their irresponsible behavior by transferring the costs onto other countries. Itally, Belgium, Greece,.. are good examples of this.

The French played a similar role. The French had been systematically printing new money to fund their socialist projects. (West) German 'frugality' was a thorn in their eyes. The Germans refused to inflate their currency (too much). Not a surprise since they had seen the effects of hyperinflation in the 1920s. This put a damper on the French plans because if they went too far in their inflationary schemes, it would immediately become obvious. (Franc/Mark ex rate).

In the French president Mitterand's own memories you can read that he forced the Germans to join the Euro or else he would veto the reunification of Germany (which was at that time still being occupied).

05-14-2012, 05:01 AM
u-Bob there's no $$$ in porn Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: icq: 195./568.-230 (btw: not getting offline msgs) Posts: 33,063	The problem when discussing the "concept of the Euro or EU" is that there's more than one concept. I've been saying this for years now on this board... even long before the Greek debacle hit the media: read "The Tragedy Of The Euro" by Philipp Bagus. He did a great job at explaining how the eurozone works. He predicted the current mess and... and part of the book is dedicated to the history of the Euro. Different groups wanted the Euro for different reasons. There's those who wanted a free trade zone because they (rightfully) believe that the freedom to trade goods and services leads to more prosperity. There's also those who supported the Euro because their own countries were virtually bankrupt and they understood that the Euro would allow them to continue their irresponsible behavior by transferring the costs onto other countries. Itally, Belgium, Greece,.. are good examples of this. The French played a similar role. The French had been systematically printing new money to fund their socialist projects. (West) German 'frugality' was a thorn in their eyes. The Germans refused to inflate their currency (too much). Not a surprise since they had seen the effects of hyperinflation in the 1920s. This put a damper on the French plans because if they went too far in their inflationary schemes, it would immediately become obvious. (Franc/Mark ex rate). In the French president Mitterand's own memories you can read that he forced the Germans to join the Euro or else he would veto the reunification of Germany (which was at that time still being occupied).