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Will Culture Clash Splinter the European Union? - Room for Debate
The euro was supposed to unify Europe. Is it only magnifying the north-south cultural differences instead?
The question is misframed.The clash is not between nations but between bankers and governments.What looks to be financially possible is not politically possible.-
The Euro Widens the Culture Gap
Josef Joffe, editor of Die Zeit
September 12, 2011Josef Joffe is the editor of Die Zeit in Hamburg. He is a senior fellow at the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Abramowitz Fellow at the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford University.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University_Centers_and_Institutes#Freeman_Spogli_Institute_for_International_Studies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Institution
So that is what is talking.
"Culture doesn’t matter, Karl Marx orated; it is the “substructure,” the economy, that determines how society arranges its way of life. The tottering euro proves this great thinker wrong once more. It's the culture, stupid! The PIIGS – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain – should never have been admitted to Europe’s common currency."
"Alas, this is not how politics works. Europe will neither jump into full political union, nor fall back into renationalizing its money in line with national cultures. So what next? The answer is easy. Greece will default and lenders will take a haircut of at least 50 percent. For Greece, the debt burden will shrink accordingly while the rest of Europe will recapitalize national banks that have been hit hardest."
Still fighting Marxism.
""Culture doesn’t matter, Karl Marx orated; it is the “substructure,” the economy, that determines how society arranges its way of life." One of the things Marx got right.
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The Lazy South? Think Again
Theodore Pelagidis, economist, University of Piraeus
"The impression that is cultivated today — that there are distinctive cultural characteristics of the European north that are different from the European south — does not hold. It would be equally silly to say that Finland’s culture in the late ’80s was deeply different from what it is today. However, it is true that the current severe economic recession intensifies the impression of a chaotic north-south cultural distance, even more as the salvation of the euro zone and its banking system requires bailing out the south."
No one likes to lose their income. That is the result of change.
Thus there was no change when it was required.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/the-moral-hazard-of-underwater-zombies/
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On a happier topic, I think Brad DeLong has come up with a brilliant hypothesis here. Regarding European policy makers,
They now have a choice.
The thing is, this model has much wider applicability. It applies to the GOP after the 2008 crisis — and their gamble has paid off! . . ."
They can admit that they were wrong. Then they will probably have to resign, and then be snubbed worldwide. Nobody likes a loser.
Alternatively, they can double down. Their reputations right now are underwater. What do they have to lose reputationwise by saying more absurd nonsense? And there is a chance that tomorrow the confidence fairy will appear, wave her magic wand, and the V-shaped recovery will start.
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The Euro Widened the Culture Gap - Room for Debate
What the sinking euro tells us about the divide between 'Club Med' and Protestant Northern Europe.See the above.
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Showing a Need for Deeper Ties
Yannis Ioannides, economist, Tufts University
The obvious but not the tolerable.
Yannis Ioannides thinks contraction is a necessary thing. We are committed to the crash of the Euro.
Whether there will be a surviving rump is being decided now.
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The E.U. Will Last
Mareike Kleine and
Andrew Moravcsik, political
scientists
A cheerful noise. Hope is not policy.
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Part of the Blame Game
Vanessa Rossi, Chatham House
" . . . Who had the right to what and with which and to whom."
This does not help resolve the question.
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Why It Now Costs $25 to Get Into MoMA - Room for Debate
If enough people are willing to pay any price, then why shouldn't museums charge as much as they want?
"Charge What The Traffic Will Bear": J. D. RockerfellerThe Museum Charges admission to generate income. "Rent" on its collection. They should on those grounds raise the charge until the yield peaks. I will buy an artists membership or just pay the charge a time or two a year. I have been disappointed in the show my last few visits. I will use the Metropolitan much more. -
Museums Are Expensive, but So Are Movies and Theater - Room for Debate
The real problem is that many people are struggling because of the sluggish economy.The real problem is that the museum is under the control of business men. -
The E.U. Is Viable Despite Member Differences - Room for Debate
A long list of applicants before Europe’s gates testifies to the significant benefits of membership.The costs are what are in the eyes of the decision makers.It may be viable but it will die of unpaid costs. -
Laziness in the European South? Think Again - Room for Debate
In Greece, workers put in more hours than in any other European nation. But this work does not all translate into the G.D.P.People really object to losing income. It does not happen if they can fight it. -
Will Online Faith Communities Replace Churches? - Room for Debate
Can online communities like Jesus Daily take the place of offline religious life, like what happens at synagogues and churches?I went through these presenters. None of them think there could or should be replacement.Your spiritual life is yours.I will deal with that as part of the price of cohabitation. -
Social Security as a Ponzi? It's a Bad Metaphor - Room for Debate
Ponzis depend on fraud, but there is no organization more scrupulously honest than the Social Security Administration.It was not used a metaphor.It was used as a description. It does not fit.There is no purported ownership of capital by the beneficiaries.It is supported by a dedicated tax.Benefits end with the death of the beneficiary.It is as it was designed to be, old age income insurance. -
Cheering On the Death Machine
"the crowd of Republicans who gathered at the Reagan Library last week to watch their presidential candidates debate actually applauded
and cheered when a moderator noted that Texas had executed 234 inmates under Gov. Rick Perry, by far the most under any governor in modern times."We tried it and did not like it. -
Fears Rattle Big Banks In France
Best to insure the depositors and let the bond and stock holders suffer.
PARIS — French banks moved toward the center of the European debt storm Monday as investor concern about their ability to handle a potential Greek default raised the possibility that France’s government might need to shore up the banks’ financial positions.Management must mend their ways or leave the game.
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