Posted on 03/09/2016 6:58:22 PM PST by mojito
I’ve lived around Germany for twenty-odd years and observed the EU gimmick.
First, it has been a blessing on border crossing. On a Sunday evening returning from some other country....you used to wait 30 to 60 minutes to get up and have your passport reviewed. Now, you are driving 100 mph through the border point (well, at least in Germany).
Second, this money deal is another blessing. I don’t have to keep jars of French money, Dutch money, Swiss money, Spanish money, etc.
Third, truckers criss-cross Europe now and deliver products without any restrictions.
But, the crowd in Brussels got around to literally hundreds of little things to force various countries into a stance.
If you went to a Greek restaurant in Germany....there were these containers with a cork, and various olive oils for your food. The EU decided that they wanted to force a standardized bottle system (no cork) and you’d have to have these mini-containers around to dispense the olive oil for your foods. It was opening up this vast gimmick of specialized bottles and someone was going to make a ton of money over something that was stupid. Somehow, they stopped that idea.
The real problem is that these guys at the EU...probably ought to be limited there for sixty days out of the year...forcing them to go home and avoid lots of stupid legislation.
Thanks for your face to face review of the EU. This helps us in America understand what the system is truly like.
The thing is I’m from America and have traveled the world on business. Everywhere I’ve gone my credit card was accepted - I never dealt with local currency except for a few bucks worth of pocket change.
I don’t understand the need for one currency.
When I first got to Germany in 1978, it was strictly cash and bank-transfers. It was fine until you decided you’d go to France or Amsterdam for the weekend, and you wasted an hour at some bank...buying enough notes to tide you through the short trip. This left you with foreign cash in your pocket until your next trip.
As time passed, Germans did drift more into credit cards (late 90’s it was more acceptable). The thing is...they want you to pay a fee for the credit transaction at most places. You can avoid this by using a cash-card, which is probably carried now by 75-percent of Germans.
But as more time passed, the banks figured out ways to make you pay for your account and processing transactions.
Once the Euro fell into place...it was a fantastic business moment. You could call up some Italian vendor in Germany, and order a case of your favorite wine, and he’d have it trucked up from Italy...and you’d pay the kid who delivered it in Euro, or did a bank-transfer in Euro. You would start comparing prices for vacations, and realize that Greek resorts were over-priced. You’d realize that a particular model Mercedes in Austria was cheaper than in Germany.
The negative side of this one-currency deal was that weak nations sneaked into the Euro and have dragged it down in value (Greece is a great example but there are four or five such countries).
Some people think that the credit card will win out and physical money will disappear in Europe within a dozen years. I’m lacking in that enthusiasm...way too many people who prefer to use cash for everyday things. I can still remember in DC....walking into a McDonalds and buying a $3 breakfast and paying with my credit card. Here in Europe, that attitude won’t work.
My last observation is that when you get into a car and drive out into rural sections of France or Germany, and stop for lunch...you will be shocked how many small restaurants don’t handle credit cards. Gas stations, groceries and hotels may have signed up but the mom-and-pop shops have not.
Well to put it mildly, the EU was the answer to the Dollar.
Take your assumptions from there. The USA is under constant attack.
Calm down. Its a rumor. Since WW1, the royal policy is to keep their mouths shut on political subjects and controversies. Nice try by The Sun, though.
In theory, the British Monarch has (now rarely exercised) veto power over any decisions made by Parliament. This is one case where I wish the Queen would exercise her power.
“Second, this money deal is another blessing. I don’t have to keep jars of French money, Dutch money, Swiss money, Spanish money, etc.”
The EU and the Eurozone are two different things, at least in principle. Britain is, for now, in the EU, but not on the Euro. Same for Sweden. I suppose you could have it the other way ‘round, with a country on the Euro but not in the EU.
The Euro is great for us travelers and for transnational businesses in Europe, but its “one size fits all” monetary policy has obviously created economic havoc for some countries on the Euro.
The Prince would actually fit in quite well on Freerepublic - except when it came to environmentalism. On that one issue, he is pretty far left. on most others, he has a fairly conservative point of view. And as far as any religious beliefs he has go, he's Christian.
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