Imagine
you're a member of a club of 27 - or even just 17 - members. And each
of you has a representative on the Committee which runs the outfit -
representatives who differ from each other quite significantly in a
number of ways. Well, the question is - Do you think this would make
for an effective decision-making team? No, I thought not. So, now
imagine a period of crisis. Even less effective, I'm sure you'd
agree. This, of course, is the EU/eurozone set-up. In the real world,
one would have an Executive Committee, comprising a much smaller
number of representatives than 27 or 17. And I guess the EU and
eurozone have had this since time immemorial in the duumvirate of
France and Germany. This, of course, has now auto-dissolved,
following the election of M. Hollande, leaving an executive team of
one - Germany. Who shows little sign of wanting to actively manage
the development of the club, preferring to say Nay (well, Nein,
really) to every proposal that comes forward for consideration. Even
though all the other members think that Germany was complicit in
bringing about the crisis. As a result, the rest of the Committee is
beginning to get restless. And even more worried than usual. So,
rebellion is in the air, led by Spain, which faces bankruptcy in the
absence of even more charity than it's already had over the last two
decades. There's been an Emergency Committee meeting today (one of a
long series of these) so we, naturally, await the outcome with breath
bated.
Talking
of Spain, here's the take one observer there:- Spain's
real estate boom: that's the cause of our troubles. It's all our
fault. Or is it? Experts have proven repeatedly that real estate
booms are as uncontrollable as earthquakes. Of course, the Spanish
economy benefited from the influx of capital from the centre. But the
centre also benefited from higher returns from the periphery.
Property
bubbles were not an anomaly in the eurozone. They were a direct
consequence of the single currency – they were its intended
consequence.
To create capital flows from rich to poor countries was the whole
point of the project. Rules were set in place to make it almost
impossible for governments to stop it even they had wanted to. The
euro did not cause the crisis but it was ill-conceived to deal with
it.
So instead of obsessing with enforcing the flawed rules of the
eurozone we should be looking into ways of changing them.
More here.
Talking
of ugly creations, here's a list of the ten most unappealing
buildings in London
While
the EU management team applies itself to the challenges (including
death?) which beset it, down in the real world the Spanish government
is looking for new ways to collect taxes. And they've hit upon the
Catholic Church. No one who reads any history of Spain will come away
without an understanding that it was only recently that the Church
ceased to be as powerful as it had been for centuries; but it's still
just as rich. Partly because it pays little by way of tax. But things
look like they're about to change. And not before time.
I
took delivery of James Michener's Iberia
this week. The paperback edition, which Amazon (rightly) calls 'cheap'. I'd read some of a friend's copy a while back and
was looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the book. For
obvious reasons, I decided to go to the Santiago de
Compostela/Galicia chapter, which is the last one of the book's 938
pages. Rather disappointing, it has to be said. At times, rambling
and at times tendentious, the thing that really switched me off is
Michener's narration of all the ridiculous myths that abound along
the Camino without the slightest hint at scepticism. Or even
rationality. One can only assume that, though a Quaker and not a
Catholic, he swallowed them all whole. Let's hope the other 810 pages
are more satisfying. Or at least less annoying.
Talking
of writing - and nothing to do with Michener - here's an excellent
site for those who want to make sure their work is both clear and
short. And here's their thesaurus of alternatives for pretentious first thoughts. Interesting to ask how many of the words in the left hand column are Latinate and how many on the right are Germanic in origin.
Finally
. . . I have an email address for all those sites which demand that
you register before they will deign to respond to you. The first half
of this is 'dross'. So it is that companies who've bought my data
come to address me as 'Dear Dross'. Which tickles me. BTW - Don't click on the loudspeaker icon. You get some awful American pronunciation of the word 'drarrss'. Just joking. Honest.
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