"There is no doubt that if we had a Federal Republic - if we had a United States of Europe - we would not be here, discussing the Greek crisis, the Eurozone cri

"There is no doubt that if we had a Federal Republic - if we had a United States of Europe - we would not be here, discussing the Greek crisis, the Eurozone crisis, banking unions, or anything of the sort. I think most Europeans would agree with this, and most Europeans would want to live in a United States of Europe." - Varoufakis I enjoyed Varoufakis' comments on the "United States of Europe" and the idea that a European Federal Government might have prevented or at least lessened the adverse impacts of the financial crisis. From my limited understanding of the EU, it does seem that the ECB was not created with enough potency to act outside the interests of the largest (financially-speaking) members of the EU. Thus the German and French agendas and economies were furthered at the expense of the Greek, Spanish, and Italian economies. My counter to this argument, looking at the US, is that our government and the Federal Reserve have become increasingly controlled by the interests of corporations and the owners of capital (banks). It is the government's job to provide a counterbalance against the profit-seeking interests of corporations by (1) creating and enacting regulations to protect constituents who might be harmed otherwise and (2) investing in infrastructure, R&D, and education - sectors that require large investments and that have no short-term, easily-observable returns, but that are absolutely vital to the long-term success of a country. The US government simply fell down on the job, repealing the Glass-Steagall act and allowing banks and consumers to take on unmanageable levels of risky debt. What is to say that a "United States of Europe" would not have fallen victim to the exact same systematic breakdown in accountability and ethics that we have seen in the US? Sure, a "United States of Europe" might have more power in setting monetary and fiscal policy throughout the EU, but fundamentally it comes down to the ability to weigh long-term prosperity next to short-term growth, and to combat the temptations of excess greed and corruption. If the captains of finance and business, and the leaders of a country cannot perform these tasks that are fundamental to the functioning of a healthy economy and society, then no amount of tinkering with the structure of the government and other regulatory institutions can help.