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I'm pro EU. But there are only two options: either you merge the EU into a proper union (shared taxes, no tax competition within the bloc, shared money streams

I'm pro EU. But there are only two options: either you merge the EU into a proper union (shared taxes, no tax competition within the bloc, shared money streams and bonds) or you disband it (or at least reduce some of its responsibilities). The issue in part is that the euro, while great to use for consumers, wasn't thought out properly. The Euro Germany needs isn't the Euro Greece needs. And that has significant effects throughout local economies. Tax competition can only be solved by throwing everything in one pot, and then dividing it again so everyone wins. But I can't see that happening with all the populism rising across the world.

kgwgk 9y ago
It’s not realistic to expect the countries in the EU to be “more united” than the states in the US.
- John_KZ 9y ago
  Correct. People try to make just about politics or the "naive masses" who follow the populists. It's not. South and East europe are damned to an eternally declining economy if they don't leave the EU. There is no interest from Germany or Frace to redistribute the wealth to the periphery so they can develop too. They took away their ability to devalue their currency, so all they're left with is adjusting tax rates. Bulgaria, Ireland and the Netherlands are prime examples of somewhat succeeding in that. Greece and Spain aren't allowed to do it because of austerity. If the EU decides for a flat tax rate, everyone but the big 2 are doomed. Unity is already hard for a country like the US, where everyone speaks the same language and could move to a different state overnight with no issues. For a union like the EU, pretending there are no borders is outright lying. What do they expect to happen? Have the entire EU move to Berlin when the last jobs in the South die out? Turn everyone in the South to a bartender for the Germans and everyone East to a cheap subcontractor for car parts? It won't work. I believe in a unified europe. I love freedom of movement. But that won't happen through the current EU and Brussels administration. We need a new, better union, or no union at all. What we have now clearly doesn't work.

kgwgk 9y ago

It’s not realistic to expect the countries in the EU to be “more united” than the states in the US.

John_KZ 9y ago
Correct. People try to make just about politics or the "naive masses" who follow the populists. It's not. South and East europe are damned to an eternally declining economy if they don't leave the EU. There is no interest from Germany or Frace to redistribute the wealth to the periphery so they can develop too. They took away their ability to devalue their currency, so all they're left with is adjusting tax rates. Bulgaria, Ireland and the Netherlands are prime examples of somewhat succeeding in that. Greece and Spain aren't allowed to do it because of austerity. If the EU decides for a flat tax rate, everyone but the big 2 are doomed. Unity is already hard for a country like the US, where everyone speaks the same language and could move to a different state overnight with no issues. For a union like the EU, pretending there are no borders is outright lying. What do they expect to happen? Have the entire EU move to Berlin when the last jobs in the South die out? Turn everyone in the South to a bartender for the Germans and everyone East to a cheap subcontractor for car parts? It won't work. I believe in a unified europe. I love freedom of movement. But that won't happen through the current EU and Brussels administration. We need a new, better union, or no union at all. What we have now clearly doesn't work.