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I'm German and am very happy with the Euro and don't want the mark back. the problem ist that many people kind of understand the "Rettungsschirm" but don't und
by BvS 16y ago
I'm German and am very happy with the Euro and don't want the mark back. the problem ist that many people kind of understand the "Rettungsschirm" but don't understand the benefits of the Euro, especially that other European countries can't devalue their currency withe respect to Germany. This is a HUGE benefit for the German economy and therefore it makes sense that Germany pays more than other countries.
- chalst 16y agoBy "kind of understand", I think "don't understand" is most common. Knowledge that the "parachute"/"bailout" is refinancing as opposed to assuming the debts doesn't seem to be widely spread. Likewise the German opposition to default is not widely examined: weak German banks, esp. the Landesbanken, are heavily exposed to peripheral Euro debt (who was better placed to offer loans for those shiny German exports?), and the farce that was the stress tests would quickly be exposed if there were defaults in Greece, Ireland, let alone Spain. Why was the Germany finance ministry to openness about the stress tests. The problem is a hangover from a slack money culture that existed before the crash, and slack money requires more than feckless borrowers, it also requires irresponsible lenders. There may be a morality tale in here somewhere, but it's not the simple good country bad country one from the Bild.