Dirigent
New member
Teddy, I'm very interested in your comments. My husband and I and some of our friends were only just discussing all this last weekend and we feel very disturbed by events in both Europe and the United States - which will surely rock our own much smaller economy. There is no turning back from the Euro; that's the first thing to establish. The pain of so doing would be a great deal worse than the 'austerity' measures currently in place as well as the debt levels of nations. One of the problems, as we see it, is that people aren't spending and consuming. Prices did increase when the Euro was introduced, yes, but other benefits accrued regarding competition as a kind of 'trade-off' (if you'll pardon the pun). The way we see it is that countries like PIIGS were unviable members of the Eurozone to begin with. No amount of 'aid' is going to change their very difficult work ethics and social expectations (i.e. lots of welfare).
Also, there is believed to be no such thing as a 'monoculture' (which was one of the perceived consequences of a common currency without borders) but the tidal wave of human displacement TO the West IS actually turning hitherto culturally unique nations into "monocultures"!! (We have yet to see the real consequences of this, but I'll be dead and buried, fortunately.) So, the argument against the Euro zone because it's creating a European hegemony based around Germany isn't really sustainable. Not everyone wants to be "German", and not everybody IS German anyway. It's a kind of reverse-nationalism IMO where nobody knows who anybody is anymore. I became aware of this living in Austria in 2011.
It seems Cameron et al understood the problems of the Euro all along!! It was a 'project' which seemed like it would work for the Europeans, but you cannot pull a rabbit out of a hat when there is no rabbit in the hat to begin with. I have the greatest fear and doubt about Europe's ability to pull itself out of the mire, especially in light of national tensions which are left over from WW2 (this worries the hell out of me). Everyone MUST work much much HARDER and for a good deal LESS money - EVERYWHERE. And governments MUST tax the rich more than they currently do (I'm looking at you Gerard D). And, of course, the standard of living of everybody MUST fall in line with what can be 'afforded' (i.e. not much!). Think of a household budget when expenditure outstrips income. Again I quote Dickens from "David Copperfield", because it just makes so much sense:
Wilkins Micawber to David: "Income 20 pounds, expenditure 21 pounds - result: misery. Income 20 pounds, expenditure 19 pounds - result: happiness".
Also, there is believed to be no such thing as a 'monoculture' (which was one of the perceived consequences of a common currency without borders) but the tidal wave of human displacement TO the West IS actually turning hitherto culturally unique nations into "monocultures"!! (We have yet to see the real consequences of this, but I'll be dead and buried, fortunately.) So, the argument against the Euro zone because it's creating a European hegemony based around Germany isn't really sustainable. Not everyone wants to be "German", and not everybody IS German anyway. It's a kind of reverse-nationalism IMO where nobody knows who anybody is anymore. I became aware of this living in Austria in 2011.
It seems Cameron et al understood the problems of the Euro all along!! It was a 'project' which seemed like it would work for the Europeans, but you cannot pull a rabbit out of a hat when there is no rabbit in the hat to begin with. I have the greatest fear and doubt about Europe's ability to pull itself out of the mire, especially in light of national tensions which are left over from WW2 (this worries the hell out of me). Everyone MUST work much much HARDER and for a good deal LESS money - EVERYWHERE. And governments MUST tax the rich more than they currently do (I'm looking at you Gerard D). And, of course, the standard of living of everybody MUST fall in line with what can be 'afforded' (i.e. not much!). Think of a household budget when expenditure outstrips income. Again I quote Dickens from "David Copperfield", because it just makes so much sense:
Wilkins Micawber to David: "Income 20 pounds, expenditure 21 pounds - result: misery. Income 20 pounds, expenditure 19 pounds - result: happiness".
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