Italy to leave the Euro?

[Solly]

Already Italy is being compared to Argentina, where a currency peg to the dollar made exports uncompetitive, sparking a recession and, ultimately, a fiscal crisis that forced the country to ditch the peg and devalue the peso. At this point such comparisons are scary possibilities, not likely outcomes. But it is only one of many plausible scenarios in which the economic ills of its members prove fatal for the euro.

https://www.economist.com

We need to dissolve the EU as it is and create a zone of free trade and friendship. State subsidies should not be allowed, and certainly not cross-state subsidies where Polish taxpayers support French farmers for their "social model" .

[Sandman]

They could halve their woes by removing Berlusconi from office and throwing him in jail.

[Dauphin]

Scrap the rebate. That will cure all Europe's ills!

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Sandman
They could halve their woes by removing Berlusconi from office and throwing him in jail.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Sandman
They could halve their woes by removing Berlusconi from office and throwing him in jail.

[Dinner]

And what exactly is Berlusconi supposed to have done that is illegal? Oh, I get it. It doesn't matter if he's broken the law or not you just are ranting.

[mrmitchell]

They could halve their woes by removing Berlusconi from office and throwing him in jail.

Berlusconi was flying in a helicopter with a foreign dignitary over a demonstration against him, and he said to the pilot, "I could drop a 100 euro bill out of the helicopter and make one of them happy." Then, his guest said, "Or, you could drop 100 1 euro coins and make one hundred of them happy." Always helpful, the pilot then suggested, "Hey...if you jumped out, you could make all of them happy."

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Oerdin
And what exactly is Berlusconi supposed to have done that is illegal?

Fraud before he was elected. Italy's laws don't allow a sitting President to be tried, and by the time he leaves office, the statute of limitations will be over. It's fairly certain that he's guilty, however.

[Kidlicious]

As long as nations can freely leave the EU there is going to be the real possibility of them doing so because of the common currency.

[axi]

Berlusconi is a travesty. He is in control of all of Italy's major TV stations, since he owns half of them and the other half are governemnt controlled. He is the owner of a major football club who gets to appoint his own minister (or secretary) of sports.

There are anti-corruption laws in my country that prevent such overconcentration of power. How come the Italians put up with this?

[chequita guevara]

Because it's Italy and corruption is a way of life.

[Imran Siddiqui]

He is the owner of a major football club who gets to appoint his own minister (or secretary) of sports.

There have been plenty of Prime Ministers who have the ability to appoint their own sports ministers who have been in the pockets of Agnelli's (ie, owners of Juventus). It's just another club that benefits here.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by axi
Berlusconi is a travesty. He is in control of all of Italy's major TV stations, since he owns half of them and the other half are governemnt controlled. He is the owner of a major football club who gets to appoint his own minister (or secretary) of sports.

There are anti-corruption laws in my country that prevent such overconcentration of power. How come the Italians put up with this?

Don't forget the newspapers, cinemas, construction, retailing, insurance, publishing or advertising.

[Spiffor]

Just read the article. It's mostly doomsaying based on the rant of a Northern League politician.

Now, the Euro does have its problems, and the article pinpointed them fairly well. But these problems can be solved in another fashion than ditching the Euro altogether. The internationalization of the labour market has been initiated for years, but this is the kind of things that take a very long time. The harmonization of economic policies have kinda begun, but they can become serious only when Europe becomes more politically integrated. The further political integration of the EU (or more accurately: of some parts of the EU) is a fairly likely scenario.

[Dinner]

Harmonization is one of the daftist ideas I have ever heard. Basically, high tax & high regulation states are whining because businesses give them the finger and move to low tax/low regulation states. The high tax losers are claiming the low tax states are unfair and that they should be forced to raise their taxes.

If France and Germany find they've priced themselves out of the market then the logical thing to do is to lower taxes and decrease red tape. The other states shouldn't have to destroy their national economies to keep greedy Frenchmen & Germans happy.