Posted on 11/21/2010 6:43:34 AM PST by fightinJAG
[snip]
Mr Delors told colleagues that any crisis would be a beneficial crisis, allowing the EU to break down resistance to fiscal federalism, and to accumulate fresh power. The purpose of EMU was political, not economic, so the objections of economists could happily be disregarded. Once the currency was in existence, EU states would have give up national sovereignty to make it work over time. It would lead ineluctably to the Monnet dream of a fully-fledged EU state. Bring the crisis on.
Behind this gamble, of course, was the assumption that any crisis could be contained at a tolerable cost once the imbalances of EMUs one-size-fits-none monetary system had already reached catastrophic levels, and once the credit bubbles of Club Med and Ireland had collapsed. It assumed too that Germany, The Netherlands, and Finland would ultimately under much protest agree to foot the bill for a Transferunion.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...
This article has over 1200 comments at the site. Obviously, hit a nerve.
His niche is to provide the Eeeyore perspective on everything. I can't think of any of his dire warnings that ever actually came true.
My own view is that the EU became illegitimate when it refused to accept the rejection of the European Constitution by French and Dutch voters in 2005. There can be no justification for reviving the text as the Lisbon Treaty and ramming it through by parliamentary procedure without referenda, in what amounted to an authoritarian Putsch. (Yes, the national parliaments were themselves elected so dont write indignant comments pointing this out but what was their motive for denying their own peoples a vote in this specific instance? Elected leaders can violate democracy as well. There was a corporal from Austria
but lets not get into that).
There’s no doubt that sharing the monetary policy does not work when each individual government has a different fiscal policy. I would be angry if I was a French or German citizen who’s government will end up bailing out all the weak sisters who don’t want to tighten their belts. Europe is a boiling couldron. The originators of this European Union eventually want an economic engine that rivals our own. They want all of these countries to give up their sovreignty by guile.
as with EMU’s, their eye is bigger than their brain
What’s the next step in Europe?
A united continent under the leadership of Germany with the capital at Berlin?
Or perhaps a united continental system under the tutelage of France with the capital at Versailles?
I think we’re heading quickly to another European war.
Fiscal federalism or feudalism.....:o)
yup, europe is certainly overdue for another war.
Or perhaps a united continental system under the tutelage of France with the capital at Versailles?
Let them add Berlin to the capital city route...
Brussels, Salzburgh and Berlin
Since the entire bureaucratic administration ...a cast of thousands...and nummerous pantechnicons already perambulate between Brussels and Salzburgh.
Federalism is the concept or policy of distributing power and sovereignty out to federated entities rather than keeping it concentrated in some central government. For example, federalism here in the United States means empowering the States rather than the U.S. federal government. Federalism is a Conservative principle. What the EU leaders are attempting to do is not federalism.
“yup, europe is certainly overdue for another war.”
Hogwash, war in Europe is impossible. My leftist freinds and our leftist media, and our leftist overlords have been pounding the idea into our heads for decades that the Europeans are collectively much more enlightened than we can ever be, especially when it comes to the subject of war.
Why start an excerpt at some random point well into the article, with the name of some unknown person? What’s wrong with beginning at the beginning?
most of europe cant stand each other at all, they’d kill each other as quick as look at each other.
The problem is that the macroeconomic degeneration of the Western Democracies is a Greek tragedy in slow motion. I would recommend the Princeton University Press book by Rogoff “This Time is Different.” It is an excellent, readable and digestible study of sovereign debt defaults.
I remember in the 90’s when Ambrose was covering the U.S. political scene and was one of the few really nailing the Clintons, the Dixie Mafia, the Vince Foster and other scandals. We ignore him at our peril.
Shabbat Shalom.
Europe may be due another war, but this time I’m not sure they can count on us for help.
Between the economic conditions here, and the trashing of the U.S. over that past 30-40 years, I certainly don’t feel any desire to help them out.
I could be wrong though.
You’re so right about his coverage of the Clinton’s!
After he moved back and begin to cover financial/economic matters he has been very negative toward the EU and Euro. So much so that you might equate him with the “boy who shouted wolf too many times”.
However, regarding the Euro and trying to have a “one size fit all” without economic unity is crazy. You can only paper over things with freshly printed money for so long. If the markets move against Portugal, Greece, Ireland and, gasp, Spain and Italy you will hear the fat lady singing.
JMHO
Did you mean Strasbourg, the seat of the EU parliament?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.