Regards, Ivan
Posted on 11/10/2002 12:49:28 AM PST by MadIvan
THE rest of Germany may be stuck in the economic doldrums but Kropp, a small town in the north, is enjoying a mini-boom following the reintroduction of the D-mark.
More than 90 shops and businesses that serve the 6,500 inhabitants of Kropp, in Schleswig-Holstein, have started accepting marks again in a startlingly successful attempt to cash in on an estimated £5.66 billion of the defunct currency still in circulation.
Since the experiment began earlier this month, people have been flocking to Kropp in a display of affection for the mark, which, according to one recent poll, two-thirds of Germans wish they had never given up. The scheme was planned to end on December 31 but has been extended indefinitely.
“People are turning up old notes and coins in the strangest places,” said Michael Stuhner, chief financial officer of the local council. “One man found more than DM100 in a pair of old swimming trunks.
“For many people Kropp has become a symbol of resistance to the European Union. They are beginning to ask themselves what they have actually got out of giving up the mark for the euro, and they are finding it hard to come up with an answer.”
The marks accepted in Kropp are collected by a trade association and taken once a week to a branch of the central bank in nearby Schleswig. All change is paid in euros.
Opinions differ about the wisdom of accepting marks, which officially ceased to be legal tender last January. A spokesman for the Bundesbank, formerly the guardian of the mighty mark, said there was nothing illegal about the actions of Kropp’s shops, “but it would be better if they looked forward rather than back”.
Harald Treiber, of the north German retailers’ association, claimed that the shopkeepers were breaking the law. “This is tantamount to money laundering,” he said. “We have passed on our views to the regional authorities and I expect they will face court proceedings.”
Although the Germans were caught up in the euphoria that accompanied the launch of the single currency, with polls suggesting that as many as 90% were in favour, they have since rapidly turned against the euro amid a widespread belief that it has led to price rises.
A poll by Berlin’s Forsa institute last month revealed that 61% of Germans wished the euro had never been introduced. Eight out of 10 admitted that they still converted prices into marks to work out the cost of their purchases.
For many, spending marks in Kropp evokes a bygone age when jobs were secure and plentiful and the German economy was the envy of all Europe. Figures released last week showed that the dole queues have grown again to 4.12m — or 9.9% of the workforce — with little improvement in sight.
Economists say Germany’s problems are exacerbated by the single currency, which prevents states from setting their own interest rates and limits their ability to run up a deficit to boost demand in a recession.
In a reflection of this problem, the German government will this week receive a ticking off from Brussels because its budget deficit exceeds a limit of 3% of GDP laid down under the single currency rules.
Not everyone in Kropp is happy to see the return of the mark, though. Many young people insist that its days have passed. “I have a European identity now and that is reflected by the euro,” said Karen Schröder, 27, who works in the bakery. “The D-mark belongs to history, just like those who want to bring it back.”
Regards, Ivan
The Euro will fail eventually. As for Germany, call me when they obtain the power to veto a UN resolution or deploy nuclear weapons of their own. Until then, they are a non-entity child-nation, still forbidden from venturing past their crib-like borders that we established around them half a century ago.
Regards, Ivan
Darling, I think if people put all their old currencies back into circulation like Kropp has done, it would be impossible for the EU to resist the pressure. But even so, you're right, they may resist anyway. ;)
Love, Ivan
How could it work, unless the Government decided to reintroduce the Punt. It's all fine and well for individuals being nostalgic about the Punt, but that nostalgia would wane when they discovered that the Central Bank won't take the old currency as legal tender.
Fiat money, like the Euro, only has value if people actually believe in its value - it has no backing in gold, so the sole basis of its value is faith - kick away that faith and you kick away the euro.
Love, Ivan
A less unlikely prospect is Eurodollars.
The Euro WILL fail; it's just a matter of where the dam breaks and when. It could happen tomorrow, it may not happen for twenty-five years. But eventually some country is going to end up in an economic jam, decide that the interests of its own citizens are more important than those of the other "member states," and stop playing by the ECB's deficit rules. From there, collapse should be relatively straightforward. And the Germans will get their D-Marks back.
By the way, Karen needs a good smack. She can have whatever opinion on the currency she wishes, but to say that her elders are irrelevant is pretty damn rude.
Nope. Which is why its collapse will likely be tied to the Euro's.
Love, Ivan
I think it might be a bit of a stretch ;-)
You never know till you try, darling. ;)
Love, Ivan
Spoken by a true NWO euro-commie.
Or a garden variety idiot. Not that there's much difference.
Regards, Ivan
hmm.. where have we heard that before???
I like your spirit, but the Euro isn't going anywhere as far as I can tell. As far as money being backed by gold, the entire global economy is based on faith, not gold. The staple dollar is not backed by gold, nor is the euro nor yen. It's all paper. After the latest No/Yes vote in Ireland, I think it's fairly obvious that the EU is about to become a federation. Governments don't give up power, and judging by their latest display, my guess is it will have to get much much worse before there is any chance whatsover that it would get better.
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with a European federation, except that it will be a socialist state with high probablity of falling to communism. As much as I despise California's politics, I think America is better off with California as part of our Union. Obviously our united states have benefited the country "United States". The union of states experiment has worked in the United States, but the experiment of socialism has failed everywhere.
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