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.