tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post3531619264658123891..comments2024-02-21T08:52:55.878+00:00Comments on Your Freedom and Ours: And in other newsHelenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-38709063115212873252013-04-15T22:26:41.612+01:002013-04-15T22:26:41.612+01:00"The distinction is not altogether clear to m..."The distinction is not altogether clear to me. I suppose we shall have no clear idea until the election."<br /><br />It basically is a case of "privatizing the profits and nationalising the losses"<br /><br />The Euro allows German industry to sell more to other countries in the Euro zone than they otherwise would be able to. The problem is that the resulting German export surpluses are at the same time a large part of other countries' deficits that make it necessary to bail them out. Ralf Goergensnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-75919251600145652472013-04-15T09:38:45.802+01:002013-04-15T09:38:45.802+01:00Yes, the German taxpayers will be a tad irate.
H...Yes, the German taxpayers will be a tad irate. <br /><br />However, as I mentioned above, there are difficulties with these types of comparisons, and that is not only how the statistics is gathered, but how to interpret the results. <br /><br />Wolfgang Münchau has a completely different take on this report: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/67f9afde-a2c5-11e2-bd45-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2QW33hrp9" rel="nofollow">The riddle of Europe’s single currency with many values</a><br /><br />His conclusion is damning: <br /><br />"This leaves me to conclude that the unit of account is really not the same across the eurozone - that Spain and Germany have a different euro.<br />....<br />Of course, I would not expect the ECB or any other European institution to conclude that the euro is not the same in Germany as in Spain. It is their job to deny this. But the imposition of capital controls in Cyprus has set a precedent. It now has a new currency. I call it the Cypriot euro. According to the ECB's study, Germany also has its own currency - the German euro - and it is massively undervalued."<br /><br />None of the interpretations tell the whole truth, but Münchau's is probably closer to the reality. But how come? Shouldn't the Euro make the whole Eurozone into a single market??? Well, that was what we were told, but already a year or so after the introduction of the Euro, it was seen not to work. <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-03-439_en.htm" rel="nofollow">Fritz Bolkestein</a>, finance commissioner at that time, gave a talk to the Kangaroo club in 2003, and warned that the price convergence had stalled since 1999. This is in concordance with Münchau's statement that "the price gap also affects tradeable goods: European cross-border retail markets are not working efficiently."<br /><br />Some currency union! <br /><br /><br />/Mikgen<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-50262178734937499642013-04-14T20:31:02.846+01:002013-04-14T20:31:02.846+01:00Which might make the German taxpayer and voter som...Which might make the German taxpayer and voter somewhat irate. Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-3459008263020852812013-04-14T20:20:03.193+01:002013-04-14T20:20:03.193+01:00The distinction is that the Geman import from othe...The distinction is that the Geman import from other Eurozone countries is kept to a minimum because the German household economy is one of the poorest in the EZ. <br /><br />There are definite problems with this statistics but even if it does not tell the whole truth, no wonder that the German authorities tried to hide it for as long as possible: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/4/9/total-fiasco-germans-are-the-poorest-cypriots-the-second-ric.html" rel="nofollow">Total Fiasco: Germans Are The Poorest, Cypriots The Second Richest In The Eurozone</a><br /><br />/Mikgen<br /><br /><<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-41426727567738810912013-04-14T20:03:14.074+01:002013-04-14T20:03:14.074+01:00The distinction is not altogether clear to me. I s...The distinction is not altogether clear to me. I suppose we shall have no clear idea until the election. Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-75079994589838558392013-04-14T19:47:37.834+01:002013-04-14T19:47:37.834+01:00Yes, but industry reaps the rewards, it is tax-pay...Yes, but industry reaps the rewards, it is tax-payer that pays for the rescues ;)Ralf Goergensnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-25168984294300535372013-04-14T16:38:52.247+01:002013-04-14T16:38:52.247+01:00An overvalued DM is not likely to be helpful, I ag...An overvalued DM is not likely to be helpful, I agree. But there is the problem of endless resources being wasted (and they are endless) on rescuing the other eurozone countries. Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4057487038565855826.post-30196047120907065102013-04-14T09:14:14.838+01:002013-04-14T09:14:14.838+01:00Well, German industry wants the Euro, for it makes...Well, German industry wants the Euro, for it makes sure that most of the countries that are top importers of German goods and services can't devalue their currencies vis-as-vis our own. <br /><br />Ralf Goergensnoreply@blogger.com