Crushing unemployment among the young people in the EU

[Iormlund]

Maybe it was just not reported in the media I read, but I have not heard anybody from Spain or wherever publicly suggesting that we should change the EU treaty that explicitely forbids the ECB buying bonds. Without such a treaty change, the ECB bankers would overstep their mandate. Did Zapatero or Rajoy bring that to the table in any of the EU summits? Especially when everybody criticizes Merkel for her hesistant actions, you would really expect some more bold measures proposed by other governments.

Are you kidding? Our governments have been taking orders from Berlin for years. They'll say just what the are told to.

[Syt]

Germany, puppet master of Europe? I've missed that memo.

[Iormlund]

Germany is at the core of the problem, so leaving it aside solves nothing. It restrains the ECB, drives the value of the € upward, serves as a safe haven for capital flight and is at the center of EZ trade imbalances. There is no real solution to the crisis that keeps the status quo regarding Germany. Unless you consider global recession a solution, as Merkel seems to do.

So what you say is that Germany signing up for Eurobonds wouldn't actually solve anything because it would still drive up the value of the Euro, would still be a safe haven, would still have trade imbalances.

Not exactly. It would be a necessarily part of the final solution, but it won't work on its own at this point. We need to get rid of the Bundesbank 2.0 as well. The only way to avoid constant deflation in much of Europe is for Germany to experience some of the inflation we've lived through this last decade, either by changing monetary policy or by the destruction of the EZ.

[Zanza]

Are you kidding? Our governments have been taking orders from Berlin for years. They'll say just what the are told to.

A nice, convenient cop-out. That way you can blame everything on Berlin. Blaming problems on someone else is probably the only thing that all Europeans have in common.

[Iormlund]

Who mentioned 'everything' here? I thought we were talking about our late economic policy.

[Zanza]

Who mentioned 'everything' here? I thought we were talking about our late economic policy.

Doesn't change my point.

[Iormlund]

Are you really saying that Merkel isn't dictating policy to PIIGS, seriously?

[Zanza]

Not exactly. It would be a necessarily part of the final solution, but it won't work on its own at this point. We need to get rid of the Bundesbank 2.0 as well. The only way to avoid constant deflation in much of Europe is for Germany to experience some of the inflation we've lived through this last decade, either by changing monetary policy or by the destruction of the EZ.

The lowest inflation you ever had?

[Iormlund]

Yeah. So low that this flat tripled its value while salaries went up less than 40%.

[Zanza]

Are you really saying that Merkel isn't dictating policy to PIIGS, seriously?

No, what I am saying is that Spain is a sovereign country and that you should really, really blame your own leaders first and foremost for all policies. It's even worse if you are right and they get orders from Berlin. Germany of 2012 is hardly the Soviet Union of 1956 or 1968.

[Iormlund]

What makes you think we don't blame our leaders?

[Zanza]

Yeah. So low that this flat tripled its value while salaries went up less than 40%.

So when you say that Germany should experience some of the same inflation you had, you think the Eurozone problems would be fixed by a real estate bubble in Germany? That's retarded.

[Zanza]

What makes you think we don't blame our leaders?

Get new leaders then. You just did a few weeks ago, no?

Or will you just say again that your two-party system stops you from actually getting really new leaders? 

If Spain's constitution is such an impassable obstacle to save the € you should just be honest about it and leave the EZ. Maybe the rest of us could work it out.

[Iormlund]

Yeah. So low that this flat tripled its value while salaries went up less than 40%.

So when you say that Germany should experience some of the same inflation you had, you think the Eurozone problems would be fixed by a real estate bubble in Germany? That's retarded.

I'm saying that there's no way the EZ is ever going to work when the status quo encourages trade imbalances but doesn't allow for any mechanism to compensate for them.

[Iormlund]

What makes you think we don't blame our leaders?

Get new leaders then. You just did a few weeks ago, no?

Or will you just say again that your two-party system stops you from actually getting really new leaders? 

Sadly, it does. Several million voted for alternative parties including yours truly. None came anywhere near  the two main ones. Not even close to the socialists that lost almost half their previous voters.

If Spain's constitution is such an impassable obstacle to save the € you should just be honest about it and leave the EZ. Maybe the rest of us could work it out.

We will.