Posted on 10/20/2011 5:13:59 PM PDT by billflax
Assorted pundits chronicling Europe’s debt crisis bemoan that insufficient federal authority undermines systemic solutions to the fiscal pressures arising from the continent’s Mediterranean underbelly. Those enamored with state cures for any conceivable ill believe an overriding central authority should force dissimilar nations to act in unison. The proffered salve for festering sovereign debt sores is increasingly concentrated power.
This sounds strikingly similar to the incessant prattle emitted across America’s airwaves: partisanship and political paralysis thwart Washington’s ability to act. Washington needs more control. Always more. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner waxes, “You have this terribly damaging political dysfunction here and in Europe that leaves the world wondering whether the political system has the capacity to do the right thing.”
The EU’s plight stems not from inadequate authority akin to our Articles of Confederation, but an unwieldy amalgamation without historical moorings; beholden only to politicians and technocrats. Given the wildly distinct languages, cultures and faiths coloring Europe’s tapestry, an overarching central regime could never act according to local requirements.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
What we are witnessing is the beginning of the death throes of the European welfare states. More authority centralized in the Eurocrats would not change the outcome.
We, of course, face the same financial issues here, our greater “federalism” notwithstanding. Whether it is the EU or the US, financial and social catastrophe are virtually inevitable. It isn’t that there aren’t corrective measures that could be taken, but we and, especially, the people of the EU lack the character to take them.
Ultimately, the health of any society rests on the character of its people. Generations of social, political, and cultural accomodation to the false and corrupt worldview of the left has destroyed most of our cultural capital. The result is going to be civil unrest and social disintegration. The only question is how long we have before it sets in in earnest.
The EU's plight stems not from inadequate authority akin to our Articles of Confederation, but an unwieldy amalgamation without historical moorings; beholden only to politicians and technocrats.IOW, people who have as their only stake their salaries and expense account stipends.
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