A prominent German business leader has called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to withdraw from the euro and join with Austria, Finland, and the Netherlands — the Eurozone countries with the strongest economies — in a new currency union. He believes that the move would help the struggling southern members of the EU by allowing them to devalue their currency relative to the new northern currency, and thus improve the market for their exports. Germany’s exports would be hurt, but the decrease in the inflation rate would make up for it.
Meanwhile, in Chechnya a suicide bomber exploded before he could be apprehended by the police, killing himself, seven policemen, and an emergency worker.
In other news, the Italian oil giant ENI has signed a new deal with the transitional government in Libya, permitting the company to return to Libya and reactivate its oil and natural gas production facilities.
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2 comments:
A very sound economical idea to let the weaker counties devalue and survive...the only other option is for each to return to their original national monetary status. This would bring high inflation to the weaker states. But as long as the fed keep printing dollars...who cares about europe? I am a retired federal employee...keep my pension money rolling in boys!
We rarely learn from our past. Every few generation, we strive to re-think and re-try ideologies that on the surface seem "Utopian". It often requires us to re-experiment for ourselves and learn first-hand why the previous experiments failed.
Such is the history of people striving to re-engineer their cultures (and monetary systems) in some socialist Utopian model.
The Euro isn't working out, but those of us who do study history knew it would not. Obama's medi-scary programs aren't working out, just as we predicted.
Yet I am confident that these experiments where necessary to instruct our current generation of voters, offering a different point of view for the next selection of government leaders. And instructing our newest generations of government leaders in taking a wiser approach to government.
And... as a Christian... this is just another classic example of the consequences of placing our faith in government, rather than God.
Here in the U.S. I'm relatively comfortable with seeing Obama elected and having yet another example of the failure of secular socialist governments. Not happy in the failures, but hopeful that maybe the current generation will re-learn some mistakes from the past, and choose not to making them in our near future.
I'm also comfortable with seeing European nations stand up for their sovereignties and regain some measure of national freedoms for their citizens.
Why do I think this way? Because I was taught to value my freedoms above my finances. I'd rather live in a free yet poor nation than live in a rich nation under the yoke of a controlling government.
In short, I'd rather not trade my freedom for my comfort.
As O'l Ben once said: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin
Compare this with the current state of Europe, and now U.S., wherein our release of personal liberties and national sovereignties under the guise of wealth and security, has rendered us poor and weak.
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