Re: Merkel’s sovereignty remedy
Excellent article, although I do not agree with the author’s conclusion, to wit:
“The upshot of the euro crisis will be some kind of fiscal union, but what fiscal union means is not clear. Germany believes it means sending tax inspectors to Thessaloniki. Brussels believes it means sending cheques to Thessaloniki.”
A fiscal union (Merkel’s plan) means loss of sovereignty (thus the title of the article). Yet no country in Europe will accept outsiders dictating its budget. The alternative program of making all Europe responsible for the bailouts of sovereign governments is coming to an end. The circle cannot be squared, thus exposing the internal dichotomies of the common currency project. It rewarded irresponsible countries and, eventually, the few responsible ones rebelled. The solution is NOT to kick Greece or any of the other countries in crisis out of the eurozone; the solution is for Germany to leave the eurozone, reinstate the deutsche mark, and tie it to gold. This would cause of cascade of similar moves all over the world and bring an end to ever increasing sovereign debt. Debt could be increased only by voluntary purchases by real investors with the own, private real money, not by involuntary purchases by taxpayers with fiat money produced out of thin air. Patrick Barron
