‘The euro is still a brilliant notion’

[poiuytrewq0987]

In the first instalment of The Local’s exclusive interview with US Ambassador Philip Murphy, America’s top diplomat in Germany stresses the need for a European growth agenda to help stem the euro crisis.

In a wide-ranging talk at the US Embassy in Berlin, the ambassador warned that Europe’s sovereign debt woes would likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

“It’s going to take longer than any of us would like. It’s going to continue to be challenging for an extended period of time,” Murphy told The Local in his office overlooking the Brandenburg Gate.

“But at the end of the day, Europe will get through this. And I would even venture to say that Europe will be stronger in many respects.”

Reiterating Washington’s call for the European Union not to focus solely on austerity measures favoured by Germany, Murphy called for efforts to boost growth in floundering eurozone nations like Greece and Spain.

“If you don’t have a growth agenda that’s alongside getting the pipes more deeply connected, you’ll have too many [out of work] young people – particularly in places like Spain where you’ve got extraordinarily high youth unemployment. Something has to be done about that,” he said.

The ambassador said the crisis had exposed the need for greater political and economic integration to ensure the euro’s survival: “It’s hard to believe you could have a currency with 17 countries that aren’t more tightly and deeply knit.”

A former investment banker who ran Goldman Sachs’ German operations in Frankfurt from 1993 to 1997, Murphy also stressed the need to take immediate steps to restore the capital markets’ confidence in the eurozone.

“So that countries that need to finance or refinance can do so at rates that are reasonable and reflect the realities of their credit. That has to be a ‘here-and-now’ agenda,” he said.

Bucking up Berlin

Saying the euro remained “a brilliant notion” to bind Europe together, Murphy rejected the suggestion that Washington expected Berlin to take specific action to stem the ongoing crisis.

“I wouldn’t use that verb choice. It’s not expecting what Germany should do. We talk to Berlin all the time as we do with the big capitals and Brussels all the time,” he said. “We buck each other up. We share best practices. It’s an open channel at the highest levels, and very constructive.”

But with American officials fearing an implosion of Europe’s single currency could halt the sluggish US recovery, Murphy was also clear on how much Washington was counting on Berlin to resolve the festering crisis.

“This is of enormous importance to us,” he said. “The depth of the economic relationship between Europe and the United States – and particularly Germany and the United States – cannot be underestimated.”

Since his appointment by President Barack Obama in 2009, Murphy has worked to deepen America’s economic ties with Germany - but also foster the cultural bonds between the two countries.

Unpretentious diplomacy

A political appointee holding a top fund-raising position for the Democratic Party before becoming ambassador, Murphy has taken to the diplomatic life with gusto, bringing his own unpretentious style to the role of being America’s top envoy to Berlin.

“It’s a humbling opportunity to be intimately involved in one of the closest relationships our country has in the world – it’s a big deal for me every day,” he said.

At home in New Jersey, the ambassador, his wife Tammy and their four children also clearly enjoy living in Germany. The Murphys have chosen to spend part of their summer vacation in Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg. And as a family of devoted soccer fans, they have even adopted the beleaguered Berlin football club Hertha BSC.

In his office in heart of the German capital, Murphy could at times hardly contain his enthusiasm when talking about the past three years.

“We love it here. We’ve had an extraordinary experience. Professionally certainly, but the family experience has been exceptional, he said. “It’s been a game-changing experience for all of us. We get out and about.”

An affable envoy

It’s quite a departure from the past two US ambassadors to Berlin – while former businessman William Timken was a drab diplomatic functionary, US Senator Dan Coats spent most of his time barely containing his outrage over the Germans’ temerity to oppose the invasion of Iraq.

By contrast, the affable the 55-year-old Murphy has proven an effective advocate of US interests – frequently disarming his hosts by speaking American-accented German.

His suave people skills have helped bridge disagreements on global economic policies between Berlin and Washington, as well as smooth over WikiLeaks’ embarrassing release of diplomatic cables revealing the US Embassy’s deeply unflattering assessment of members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government in 2010.

http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20120730-44041.html

[Leliana]

No, not at all. :picard1:

I think it's time to split the Euro to create a strong 'North Euro' for comparable Northern- and Central European countries and a weaker 'Mediterranean Euro' for the economical and ethico-political different states in the south of Europe.

North Euro: Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, Estonia and Ireland

Club med Euro: Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta

http://www.cicero.de/sites/default/files/styles/galerie_voll/public/nordsudeuroalternative_0.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BI02McHYlmc/Tk0J5-vqBrI/AAAAAAAACsA/aLcar71QR38/s1600/economist%252B5%252B28%252B10%252BGermany%252Beuro %252Bcrisis.jpg

[Anusiya]

A-ha! Just as I thought. We'd better start punchin' some drachmas then.


Club med Euro: Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta

Three of Euros biggest economies...:picard1:

[Virtuous]

No, not at all. :picard1:

I think it's time to split the Euro to create a strong 'North Euro' for comparable Northern- and Central European countries and a weaker 'Mediterranean Euro' for the economical and ethico-political different states in the south of Europe.

North Euro: Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, Estonia and Ireland

Club med Euro: Malta, the rest.

fixed.

[purple]

Greece must be thrown out immediately unless Germans want to have debt problems until 2050.

[Leliana]

Three of Euros biggest economies...:picard1:
The South Euro needs some stronger players, not just smaller countries. It would work. :) But their troubling economies are a burden to the Eurozone and the Central and Northern countries atm. The Mafia clan of Draghi, Monti, Rajoy, Juncker, Barroso and Samaras who unite against Germany to throw our taxpayer money in a bottomless pit must be stopped.

[gold_fenix]

The South Euro needs some stronger players, not just smaller countries. It would work. :) But their troubling economies are a burden to the Eurozone and the Central and Northern countries atm.

starting to remove our corrupt and useless politic, here a postive change would start, if people see that their politic make bad things too they will do, we must to change various things is true but with bad politic who do those that they want people will do bad the things.

Leliana anyway you exaggerate about southern countries, i don't deny we have to change various things and adquire some behaviours of northern countries but either is like you say

[antonio]

In the deep of his heart, he's laughing very hard on this one.

[Libertas]

No, not at all. :picard1:

I think it's time to split the Euro to create a strong 'North Euro' for comparable Northern- and Central European countries and a weaker 'Mediterranean Euro' for the economical and ethico-political different states in the south of Europe.

North Euro: Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, Estonia and Ireland

Club med Euro: Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta

http://www.cicero.de/sites/default/files/styles/galerie_voll/public/nordsudeuroalternative_0.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BI02McHYlmc/Tk0J5-vqBrI/AAAAAAAACsA/aLcar71QR38/s1600/economist%252B5%252B28%252B10%252BGermany%252Beuro %252Bcrisis.jpg

France should be in the North euro club and Ireland in the South.

[Libertas]

The South Euro needs some stronger players, not just smaller countries. It would work. :) But their troubling economies are a burden to the Eurozone and the Central and Northern countries atm. The Mafia clan of Draghi, Monti, Rajoy, Juncker, Barroso and Samaras who unite against Germany to throw our taxpayer money in a bottomless pit must be stopped.

I agree that Draghi, Barroso and Samaras are mere opportunists.

[antonio]

France should be in the North euro club and Ireland in the South.

I have nothing against Irish people, on the contrary, but I would prefer to drop into French side to economically start to fight (take it all easy) North Europeans under a clear and lovable leadership.

[Anusiya]

The South Euro needs some stronger players, not just smaller countries. It would work. :) But their troubling economies are a burden to the Eurozone and the Central and Northern countries atm. The Mafia clan of Draghi, Monti, Rajoy, Juncker, Barroso and Samaras who unite against Germany to throw our taxpayer money in a bottomless pit must be stopped.


There is no bottomless pit when talking about money. It must be somewhere. Checked those Swiss bank accounts lately?

[Leliana]

France should be in the North euro club and Ireland in the South.
France is a difficult case, the southern half of France belongs to the mediterranean zone like Spain or Italy but the northern half belongs to the northern and central European sphere, cultural-wise and economic-wise. :mmmm: France in a North Euro zone wouldn't work hassle-free and France in a South Euro zone wouldn't work hassle-free. Uhm, maybe they should reintroduce the Franc!? :confused:

[Albion]

France should be in the North euro club and Ireland in the South.

Agree with France, but Ireland should leave the Euro and join the Sterling (£) area with a return to the Irish Pound pegged to GBP or just adopt GBP itself.


France is a difficult case, the southern half of France belongs to the mediterranean zone like Spain or Italy but the northern half belongs to the northern and central European sphere, cultural-wise and economic-wise. France in a North Euro zone wouldn't work hassle-free and France in a South Euro zone wouldn't work hassle-free. Uhm, maybe they should reintroduce the Franc!?

France looks economically Northern and depends a lot on trade with Germany.

[Libertas]

The euro works like a charm.

It makes the dollar and pound sterling look good.

[The Lawspeaker]

I don't want a North or South Euro. I want the Guilder.

[Albion]

An argument the supporters of it use is that it made it easier to exchange money across Europe and purchase things from other countries.
But if they don't take your money then just convert cash to a reserve currency like everyone used to - US Dollar, German Mark, French Franc or British Pound.
It would probably make sense for a German Mark to be the dominant currency in Europe again, the Euro is basically just an extension of it adopted by other countries.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Global_Reserve_Currencies.png/777px-Global_Reserve_Currencies.png

[Graus]

Still? The Euro was an abomination force upon us by the frogs from the beginning. I rather prefer our economy to crash than carrying those dead weight forever. Once we get rid of the freeloaders we would be back on top in no time.
I dont want a North Euro, I want my beloved DM back.

[RussiaPrussia]

No, not at all. :picard1:

I think it's time to split the Euro to create a strong 'North Euro' for comparable Northern- and Central European countries and a weaker 'Mediterranean Euro' for the economical and ethico-political different states in the south of Europe.

North Euro: Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, Estonia and Ireland

Club med Euro: Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta

http://www.cicero.de/sites/default/files/styles/galerie_voll/public/nordsudeuroalternative_0.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BI02McHYlmc/Tk0J5-vqBrI/AAAAAAAACsA/aLcar71QR38/s1600/economist%252B5%252B28%252B10%252BGermany%252Beuro %252Bcrisis.jpg

everyone should just go back to their own currency not only south and north. And german regions should be split up to north and south so north german states can downgrade their products to the southern currency.


Also if people go back to their currencies the euro can be downgraded to them like 1 million to 1 dm or drachme what ever. Since eurozone debt is all in euro the states can pay back their debt and show banks the finger.

[Virtuous]

Ironically Malta should be with the North club, we're doing good.

[PeacefulCaribbeanDutch]

Scandinavia should form their own club and maybe work with russia and scotland

[Albion]

everyone should just go back to their own currency not only south and north.

Yes.


And german regions should be split up to north and south so north german states can downgrade their products to the southern currency.

No, one shouldn't divide ethnicities purely because of economics. The south is always going to be richer than northern Germany regardless of what northern Germany does.

[RussiaPrussia]

Yes.



No, one shouldn't divide ethnicities purely because of economics. The south is always going to be richer than northern Germany regardless of what northern Germany does.

what for BS. Northern germany used to be richer than the south before germany became one state again, with one customs union and one currency. If north germany would downgrade their currency bmw, audi, opel, daimler, siemens, basf and many more they all would need to produce in the north otherwise they couldnt sell their garbage. Nordish germans would only buy northern products as the southern ones would be more expensive. And the north could also export cheaper to the south.

East germany always needed its own currency its completely the same situation like in greece because the west just gave them their hard german mark and latter the euro. Its the same situation and the west pays, that much many other northern western states like nrw cant afford it anymore and is in the same situation they also need an own currency with the east.

[Loki]

Much of the current wealth of the south comes from after the war, when Northern German Prussians settled en masse there, being expelled from territories that are now in Poland. The North used to be richer than the South historically, with the Hanseatic League and so on ...

[Heart of Oak]

the south will always be stronger...

[Albion]

what for BS. Northern germany used to be richer than the south before germany became one state again, with one customs union and one currency. If north germany would downgrade their currency bmw, audi, opel, daimler, siemens, basf and many more they all would need to produce in the north otherwise they couldnt sell their garbage. Nordish germans would only buy northern products as the southern ones would be more expensive. And the north could also export cheaper to the south.

East germany always needed its own currency its completely the same situation like in greece because the west just gave them their hard german mark and latter the euro. Its the same situation and the west pays, that much many other northern western states like nrw cant afford it anymore and is in the same situation they also need an own currency with the east.

Good points, but I don't feel that ethnicities should be divided purely by money motivations. As I've argued for England before, there are far easier ways to move the economy around a country:


Set minimum wage regionally or at state level - lower it in northern Germany and make it the lowest in eastern Germany. Here people can afford to live on less because wages are already lower, property prices are lower and shops and services already cater for lower incomes. By minimum wage it would make labour cheaper in these areas, meaning some businesses from southern Germany would move north.
Allow certain taxes to be set regionally - again, this would make these areas cheaper, and in the long term attract investment.
Improve transportation links such as roads, airports and railways to allow easy access to foreign markets. Germany's infrastructure is already fairly good at this anyway.


So essentially you could gain the main benefits of being a separate country without having to break up. Regions and states need more economical autonomy.

Previously I've argued that Wales, Northern Ireland and Northern England should be given powers of wages and taxes and set them lower than South East England. Obviously the people in these areas wouldn't like this, but that's because people don't tend to think in the long term.

[Graus]

Good points, but I don't feel that ethnicities should be divided purely by money motivations. As I've argued for England before, there are far easier ways to move the economy around a country:


Set minimum wage regionally or at state level - lower it in northern Germany and make it the lowest in eastern Germany. Here people can afford to live on less because wages are already lower, property prices are lower and shops and services already cater for lower incomes. By minimum wage it would make labour cheaper in these areas, meaning some businesses from southern Germany would move north.
Allow certain taxes to be set regionally - again, this would make these areas cheaper, and in the long term attract investment.
Improve transportation links such as roads, airports and railways to allow easy access to foreign markets. Germany's infrastructure is already fairly good at this anyway.


So essentially you could gain the main benefits of being a separate country without having to break up. Regions and states need more economical autonomy.

Previously I've argued that Wales, Northern Ireland and Northern England should be given powers of wages and taxes and set them lower than South East England. Obviously the people in these areas wouldn't like this, but that's because people don't tend to think in the long term.


Unlike socialist hellholes like the states and Britain, we dont have a universal minimum wage :D

[poiuytrewq0987]

There's really only one way for Eastern and Southern economies to feasibly compete with German economy is to set a union-wide minimum wage. Also adopt quality practices to match with ones employed in German law. I doubt Germany will want to give up its exclusivity in manufacturing though. It would also stop making the Euro so debilitating to poorer economies because living costs won't skyrocket to German levels while at the same time wages remain "low" compared to wages paid in Germany.

That said, I prefer to see my country remain on the Lev and not switch to the euro. We don't really need Frankfurt dictating how we should spend our money.

[Graus]

There's really only one way for Eastern and Southern economies to feasibly compete with German economy is to set a union-wide minimum wage. Also adopt quality practices to match with ones employed in German law. I doubt Germany will want to give up its exclusivity in manufacturing though. It would also stop making the Euro so debilitating to poorer economies because living costs won't skyrocket to German levels while at the same time wages remain "low" compared to wages paid in Germany.

That said, I prefer to see my country remain on the Lev and not switch to the euro. We don't really need Frankfurt dictating how we should spend our money.

I dont think the German model can be emulated, certainly not by Eastern or Southern Europe. Its not the big companies, which make our economy special but the countless small to medium sized businesses, countless of them world leaders in their very own special product. Its not just quality but also superior infrastructure, short ways, cooperations between companies, custom made solutions etc. Such a system has to grow, you cant implement it forcefully.

An Europe-wide minimum wage would be a massacre for the other economies, destroying what little industry they got left.

[Vasconcelos]

A minimum wage in Portugal cannot be the same as in Sweden. Either Swedes would starve, or the Portuguese economic tissue would turn into a pile of poop. And then the Portuguese would starve.

[RussiaPrussia]

Good points, but I don't feel that ethnicities should be divided purely by money motivations. As I've argued for England before, there are far easier ways to move the economy around a country:


Set minimum wage regionally or at state level - lower it in northern Germany and make it the lowest in eastern Germany. Here people can afford to live on less because wages are already lower, property prices are lower and shops and services already cater for lower incomes. By minimum wage it would make labour cheaper in these areas, meaning some businesses from southern Germany would move north.
Allow certain taxes to be set regionally - again, this would make these areas cheaper, and in the long term attract investment.
Improve transportation links such as roads, airports and railways to allow easy access to foreign markets. Germany's infrastructure is already fairly good at this anyway.


So essentially you could gain the main benefits of being a separate country without having to break up. Regions and states need more economical autonomy.

Previously I've argued that Wales, Northern Ireland and Northern England should be given powers of wages and taxes and set them lower than South East England. Obviously the people in these areas wouldn't like this, but that's because people don't tend to think in the long term.

i never said germany should break up but instead those peanuts what the north gets from the south both should have their own currencies. It would fix most of the problems and both could maybe reunite into a same currency in 20 years. Both germanys had their own currencies in first place until the dumb politicians gave the former gdr the west mark.

Look at china did hongkong or macau gave up their currencies? They do still exist and are free and traded currencies for the finance sectors and the borse while the reminbi is locked and downgraded to the dollar. Its quite beneficial as hongkong dollars which are not downgraded are invested in the mainland while the mainland downgrades to export more.

And both germanys do have different wages and even pensions, it changes nothing instead many eastern germans go to the west as live is there better. And obviously northern west germany isnt in that much in better shape because of the lost coal industry which is not beneficial anymore. The ruhr area always had to make transitions from coal to steal and now to service (which is completely fail) all what we have left now is a strong chemical industry but thats it. And lower saxon also hasnt much besides Volkswagen. These areas were completely neglected since the reunion and there is no money left as all goes to the east or greece.

But what you dont get is also the arrogance the south views on us for paying for the other states, like we are inferior if we would have our own currency we wouldnt need their peanuts.

[Albion]

Unlike socialist hellholes like the states and Britain, we dont have a universal minimum wage :D

We're not really socialist compared to your brothers to the north and new found friends to the west. You don't have a minimum wage? What do you have then? Hope in a decent wage? :confused:

[Albion]

There's really only one way for Eastern and Southern economies to feasibly compete with German economy is to set a union-wide minimum wage. Also adopt quality practices to match with ones employed in German law. I doubt Germany will want to give up its exclusivity in manufacturing though. It would also stop making the Euro so debilitating to poorer economies because living costs won't skyrocket to German levels while at the same time wages remain "low" compared to wages paid in Germany.

That said, I prefer to see my country remain on the Lev and not switch to the euro. We don't really need Frankfurt dictating how we should spend our money.

No! Because in this case jobs would just move to where the work force is best educated and best skilled - the north. That's a way to make Southern Europe even less competitive!


I dont think the German model can be emulated, certainly not by Eastern or Southern Europe. Its not the big companies, which make our economy special but the countless small to medium sized businesses, countless of them world leaders in their very own special product. Its not just quality but also superior infrastructure, short ways, cooperations between companies, custom made solutions etc. Such a system has to grow, you cant implement it forcefully.

An Europe-wide minimum wage would be a massacre for the other economies, destroying what little industry they got left.

Exactly.

A much better system for some countries would be along the lines of the Japanese Keiretsu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiretsu).


A keiretsu (系列?, lit. system, series, grouping of enterprises, order of succession) is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. It is a type of informal business group. The keiretsu maintained dominance over the Japanese economy for the greater half of the 20th century, but are beginning to lose their grip.[1]
The member companies own small portions of the shares in each other's companies, centered on a core bank; this system helps insulate each company from stock market fluctuations and takeover attempts, thus enabling long-term planning in innovative projects. It is a key element of the automotive industry in Japan.

The Virgin Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Group) in the UK is quite similar to one and works rather well. Already we see large companies co-operating more and more, we need to encourage keiretsu to form.

[Albion]

i never said germany should break up but instead those peanuts what the north gets from the south both should have their own currencies. It would fix most of the problems and both could maybe reunite into a same currency in 20 years. Both germanys had their own currencies in first place until the dumb politicians gave the former gdr the west mark.

Relying on a North German Mark to plummet in value won't work if the north is subsidised. In don't think a separate currency is really necessary under my plan, but it would make the process faster by a few years.


Look at china did hongkong or macau gave up their currencies? They do still exist and are free and traded currencies for the finance sectors and the borse while the reminbi is locked and downgraded to the dollar. Its quite beneficial as hongkong dollars which are not downgraded are invested in the mainland while the mainland downgrades to export more.

I don't think they can be used as a model since they have barely anything else but finance as an economy. Northern Germany is different.


And both germanys do have different wages and even pensions, it changes nothing instead many eastern germans go to the west as live is there better. And obviously northern west germany isnt in that much in better shape because of the lost coal industry which is not beneficial anymore. The ruhr area always had to make transitions from coal to steal and now to service (which is completely fail) all what we have left now is a strong chemical industry but thats it. And lower saxon also hasnt much besides Volkswagen. These areas were completely neglected since the reunion and there is no money left as all goes to the east or greece.

In that case I don't see what else can be done. If the north adopted a separate currency then nothing is saying that it won't just become a lacklustre economy. So the problem seems to be that German companies don't want to head north and the north has quite a brain drain and few successful start up companies.

I don't know, I'll think about it and come back to this thread.

[Graus]

We're not really socialist compared to your brothers to the north and new found friends to the west. You don't have a minimum wage? What do you have then? Hope in a decent wage? :confused:

The comment was more of a reference to certain politicians, who act a little bit like the average tea party member when it comes to socialised health care and gun control.
I am not a fan of a minimum wage myself but I dont think it would smite our economy or turn us into a soviet style state.

There are different minimum wages for different jobs but only for a few selected branches.
We had traditionally strong unions and the state didnt mess with the negotiations. However the last reforms kinda diminished their power, its easier for companies to hire low paid contract workers nowadays. We also have so called "mini jobs" which means people on the dole can earn a little extra. Its dirt cheap for the companies to employ them and unfortunately that also lead to reduction of some regular jobs.
We have still a somewhat liveable level of welfare, so no one has to work and live like in a Dickens novel yet. And then you can sue if a wage is "immoral" low (sittenwidrig) but no one really knows what it means, let alone the limit.

[RussiaPrussia]

The comment was more of a reference to certain politicians, who act a little bit like the average tea party member when it comes to socialised health care and gun control.
I am not a fan of a minimum wage myself but I dont think it would smite our economy or turn us into a soviet style state.

There are different minimum wages for different jobs but only for a few selected branches.
We had traditionally strong unions and the state didnt mess with the negotiations. However the last reforms kinda diminished their power, its easier for companies to hire low paid contract workers nowadays. We also have so called "mini jobs" which means people on the dole can earn a little extra. Its dirt cheap for the companies to employ them and unfortunately that also lead to reduction of some regular jobs.
We have still a somewhat liveable level of welfare, so no one has to work and live like in a Dickens novel yet. And then you can sue if a wage is "immoral" low (sittenwidrig) but no one really knows what it means, let alone the limit.

no one can do nothing and get money here in germany, if you actually receive welfare money called ''hartz4'' for not having a job you either get a real work for 1 € where youre cleaning or something else. Or you get idiotic courses where youre prepared for finding a job and how to work and all kind of stuff which are funded by tax payers money also for 1€ wages.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gegen-hartz.de%2Fnachrichtenueberhartziv%2Fhartz-iv-erst-schrittzaehler-jetzt-bauchtanz-9001233.php&act=url

They can also suspend your payment as long as they want if you dont go along with their rules or dont wanna find a job. Its all media lies that people can sit home and receive money. The opposite is true Hartz 4 is very damaging concept, it annoys people so much they will take any real work to get out of welfare. But since we dont have a minimum wages, people go into zeitarbeit which are very low paid jobs that much that they need to receive additional welfare to feed themselves and their families. These low paid jobs encourage companies to replace their higher paid regular jobs with lower paid ones.
Before hartz 4 no one wanted to cheap out him self so low for companies. Our politicians say its a jobs miracle but its a jobs bubble subsidized by the goverment for the companies. But in 20 years its gonna burst if the people need to receive pensions which they cant afford with such low wages.

[Žołnir]

Ppl was north germany realy so developed before WWII? Actually this is debatable at least as far as north-east germany goes. I read once it wasn't so great. :tongue

[Energia]

The South Euro needs some stronger players, not just smaller countries. It would work. :) But their troubling economies are a burden to the Eurozone and the Central and Northern countries atm. The Mafia clan of Draghi, Monti, Rajoy, Juncker, Barroso and Samaras who unite against Germany to throw our taxpayer money in a bottomless pit must be stopped.

Mafia?
you should bow and thank Mario Draghi, if it wasn't for him and ECB was ruled by some Merkelian agent we Europeans would be in a mess like 1929, all Europe would have been like Greece.
And you gotta also thank Italians, who are actually bailing out French + German banks that had gambled on Greece debt, how?via the ESM mechanism Italians are giving much more money than their banks invested in Greece debt.
Was it for me I wouldn't have given you a single buck.

You bet?you lost?it's not my business.

But they (Germans and then French) want to socialize financial risks throu all those kind of EFSS, ESM and stuff like that, that's pure plutocracy.

[Heart of Oak]

No it is not, I am glad we kept the Pound....

[denz]

Ironically Malta should be with the North club, we're doing good.

doing of what? for euro multiplier factor is 1 :mmmm:

[American_Hispanist]

the Euro has too many problems. For one, the Southern Euro countries should leave the Euro, as the Euro does more harm than good to them.

[Heart of Oak]

Well i am glad to have the £££££££££££££££...

[RussiaPrussia]

Well i am glad to have the £££££££££££££££...

yet youre still in recession

[Hoca]

EU needs to kick out the countries who cheated their way into the Eurozone.

[Albion]

yet youre still in recession

In and out of it actually, it hasn't been one long recession. We'd likely be much worse as part of the Euro though and be with Italy, Spain and Portugal.
The economy is rather stagnant because austerity measures are keeping it from growing, although they may be beneficial in the long run.

[Stefan]

I'd be very cautious of the EU if I were a European. I honestly think a hundred years from now such a federation won't be much of a federation, but more of what we see with the current U.S. Remember, "the United States of America" started out as a federation of states with common economic and political interests, and now today it's a behemoth that steals from certain groups and gives to others. So just be careful. European countries should be worried about their sovereignty first and foremost.

[Jackson]

I'd be very cautious of the EU if I were a European. I honestly think a hundred years from now such a federation won't be much of a federation, but more of what we see with the current U.S. Remember, "the United States of America" started out as a federation of states with common economic and political interests, and now today it's a behemoth that steals from certain groups and gives to others. So just be careful. European countries should be worried about their sovereignty first and foremost.

Many of us are, but there's very little we can do about it.

Democracy is so great.

[Heart of Oak]

yet youre still in recession

Maybe the rest of the country is ...
But i am not...

[Albion]

Maybe the rest of the country is ...
But i am not...

Yeah, my GDP has gone up substantially since 2008 too. :p

[Heart of Oak]

Yeah, my GDP has gone up substantially since 2008 too. :p

mine is indexed linked...