Euro (misery, future, defeat, etc)

Today, Ireland counted its defeats and knew it has lost. Yes, we gained independance 88 years ago. Yes, we hate the Brits for not allowing us independancy centuries earlier. We emigrated -from 1894-onwards to the US (and anywhere else) cause we were hungry at that time (famine). Yes, we were the European Tiger a decade ago. Yes, we attracted a whole bunch of foreign investors (Apple Inc. included), and yes, we pleased them by our desire to succeed.

But now it is 2010 and we have a 30% budget deficit. Financial markets do NOT like that and require higher interest rates for Irish-Euro loans, like they did and do with Greek-Euro loans, and will do for Portugese, Spanish, Italian and French loans in the near future.

I'll tell you something. During the period 1997-2005 I gave a course in (mainly European) Banking. I presented my case regarding the Euro. The Euro was introduced fraudulently. It was a shambles. More than half the participating countries did NOT succeed in passing their entry exams. Only a few countries did! A few is not enough, the THEN powers to be decided. So the mediocre and the losers-in-progress participated. Look at the following picture:

		Inflation 95 96 97		LT Interest 95 96 97		Gov. Deficit 95 96 97		Gov. Debt 95 96 97
Ierland Engeland		2.5 2.5 2.8 3.4 2.4 3.0		8.3 7.3 7.3 8.3 7.8 8.0		-2.7 -2.7 -1.0 -5.7 -4.7 -3.3		86 83 80 54 57 59
Finland Zweden Denemarken		1.0 0.8 1.5 2.9 0.8 1.5 2.1 2.1 2.5		8.8 7.1 6.5 10.2 8.2 7.0 8.3 7.2 6.8		-5.6 -2.3 -1.2 -7.9 -4.0 -2.5 -1.8 -1.4 -0.3		60 61 59 80 81 79 72 72 71
Nederland België Luxemburg		2.0 2.1 2.5 1.5 2.1 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.0		6.9 6.2 6.0 7.5 6.6 6.2 7.6 7.0 6.5		-4.0 -2.1 -2.3 -4.3 -3.4 -3.0 0.4 0.6 0.7		80 79 75 134 131 128 6 6 6
Duitsland Oostenrijk Frankrijk		1.8 1.4 1.5 2.2 1.8 2.5 1.7 2.0 1.5		6.8 6.3 6.0 7.1 6.4 6.0 7.5 6.4 6.0		-3.7 -3.9 -3.0 -6.2 -3.7 -3.0 -5.3 -4.3 -4.1		58 60 60 69 72 72 52 55 57
Griekenland Italië		9.3 8.6 7.0 5.4 3.8 2.8		17.3 17.0 17.0 12.2 9.4 7.8		-9.3 -8.0 -7.3 -7.0 -7.3 -4.0		112 109 107 125 125 123
Spanje Portugal		4.7 3.6 3.0 4.1 3.1 3.2		11.3 8.7 7.0 11.5 8.5 6.8		-6.6 -4.4 -3.3 -4.9 -3.8 -3.1		66 69 71 71 72 69
Norm		2.9 2.5 3.0		10.6 9.2 8.6		-3.0 -3.0 -3.0		60 60 60

OK, not TOO clear, I know, and I do NOT have the time to make the table better I might turn it into a picture or something. I rely on the reader's interest to be able to read through the mess.

They show, in short, the countries that in the year 2000, were supposedly allowed to enter the EURO-zone. The red ones were supposed NOT to enter, the green ones were. Believe me, it's true, although the table is mediocre quality, I said I do NOT have the time to repair it. PM me to get the true table. or the truth, as you like.

What do we learn: Ireland is allowed (because their government debt was declining, but super-high at the same time), all other countries were allowed entry, including the countries we NOW KNOW are losers: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy etcetera. Do your own math. Suppose they would NOT have been permitted entry. Then what? Then they still would have kept their Escudos, Pesetas, Drachmes etcetera, and they would have been drowned in debt and be bankrupt. In reality they WERE allowed entry into the euro -zone and THUS the rest of the euro-nations paid up....out of solidarity?, out of pity?, out of politics?

Suppose they were NOT allowed entry. Would they have continued their policies? I do not think so. I think they would have tried to enter the winner's zone, to join the 'elected' ones, the super-heros. But instead, as losers, they were permitted entry and continued their loser's paths BECAUSE THEY WERE ALLOWED TO BE LOSER MEMBERS!!!!!. They joined the Euro-rollercoaster and continued to do their ever so much known bad things.

And the Euro-rest pays.

Hurray!

It's like permitting Haiti/Curacao etcetera to enter the Euro-zone.

(Not that I dishonour Haitians, they just had a set of bad lucks)

The origin of the pre-Euro situation was the origin of the final blow/the recognition of future failure/the end of the era of 'differing' but valued currencies.

In came the era of the euro. A completely lunatic idea of politicians (I was -at the time- NOT aware of the fact that politicians decided over marketable securities, like currencies). A few monetary nitwits in Europe (remember one of their names: CASPER DE VRIES, a super-duper SOB that cannot even appear on TV without disclosing his ignorance of matters that matter) were b(r)ought to tell their positivist-like story on the 'Good' (not the BAD and the UGLY) of the Euro and their millennium dreams when we were supposed to be 'blessed' with its existance.

As a coin collector I must say: this was the worst artist's idea possible, to devise a set of coins (remember the Cock-like structure of Scandinavia-Finland on these coins. Do you think any DUKE/King or otherwise historic ruler would have permitted this stupidity? Oh, you did not see that wonder of reject craftmanship? Google is your friend type in COCK EURO and you'll find the answer).

In 2010 we experienced ten years (10 years, incredible as it may seem) of the Euro. Longer than I expected, but at least, the end is near. You do not believe? Again, Google is your friend, not a doctor, like me, but a friend anyway.

Sometimes, non-doctors from established universities (name me a few, cause I do NOT know them) are right, without super-important-well-established-A-journal-like-publications (sorry Martijn, natuurlijk is jouw super-entry uitgezonderd) are righter than right (is this 'allowed' English?).

BTW, I would and I could give a seven-hour lecture RIGHT NOW (1.00 AM),

on the Gold Standard, The market efficiency idea, mathematical Finance, Chinese currency, US currency for that matter, the system of payments to so-called 'Finance-wizards', the position of Finance 'advisors' in the NL, the outdated idea of tax-exempt interest payments when owning (?) a , or more house(s), Bleed your heart, tell me whatabout I'm gonna talk to the 4th year brats and man-brats with their Vuitton-menagery of 'things' they 'own' (cause their parents endowed them with them).

Come on!!

Our populist leader (Geert) lost his fans today (yesterday actually) by stressing the NON-popular vote. As he is dependant on these votes I foresee a drop-down of at least 4 PARLIAMENT SEATS IN THE NEXT VOTES ENQUIRY.

So far for the new 'Great dictator', as if Chaplin did not predict this in his movie.

So far for the nice-and-entertaining extras. We return to the ever-so-boring reality:

We already lost and paid for Greece, thereby allowing them (continued) entry.

We will soon pay for Ireland, Spain, Italy, France and Portugal (the same goes).

And we have committed 800 billion euros to do the trick...

I say NO.

I say: expell the losers. We should never have let them in anyway.

I say: you're aware or you're away (only two letters difference)

I say: Why am I NOT Trichet?

I say: kill monetarists (I mentioned one earlier in BIG letters), preferably slowly.

I say: INFRASTRUCTURE, meaning that each country must de-privatise private payments

I say: (and thus repeat myself): nationalise savings and payments organisations/banks

I say: the EURO is not for losers. Thus: expell the losers, again I repeat myself.

I say: financial markets are defined in terms of risk. Advertise THAT.

I say: ordinary citizens MUST be aware of risks

I say: financial products crossing the no-risk line MUST inform customers to be aware of that.

I say: they (the customers) MUST change banks to go from no-risk to risk!!!

I say: banks are infrastructure, the rest is capitalism for the shareholder(s)

I say: investors are investors, thus taking risks,. otherwise they do not exist

I say: a bank account MUST NEVER be an investor's account. I mean it!!!

I say: see the next bullet chain:

• Everybody not performing average or better knew joining the Euro-zone, while actually being last-in-class, was a gamble (I mean every sane-of-mind well-thinking individual with more than a pea's brain!, let alone people that were paid to have a mind of their own)
• Risk is not for ordinary, middle or lower class people. Do NOT tempt them they ARE!
• Banks are payments and savings, any 7th grade can do what they do
• Banks that are more than the above, deserve suckers and well-to-do suckers
• Banks are like accountants of the 50s. Not the ones that know nothing about Finance, but pretend that they do: the NOWADAYS accountants.
• We DO NOT NEED (nowadays) accountants, nor nowadays banking including unmeasurable risks included in their securitisation business.
• Securitisation: reselling mortgage assets for a price, dependable on the asset's riskyness. OK, true, but risk that is mostly unaccounted for by numerous banks. I told my students so, YEAR AFTER YEAR. I told them that asset insurance would only stretch as far as the insurer's capital. We saw the results. The insurer bankrupted, thus the banks did. In Europe governments saved the banks (UK excluded). In the US nobody got saved, and Lehmann died (as 100'ds of other smaller banks did).
• Securitisation (as well as naked short selling) should be forbidden, untill reasonable coverage of potential losses is proven. Will never happen.
• Why am I not in the Basle committe? You guess: I know too much. Smells like CIA...
• Problem: How to get influence , when you're too nosy a busibody-kind of person, aware of consequences and not too keen on maximising shareholder's wealth? Answer: Never!!!
• I rest my case!

I wish you happy dreams, a bonus in your pension(s), a government that does what you like, a financial advisor that tells you: Congratulations, a friend that invites you for dinner, a collegue who tells you he/she enjoyed your company, a parent/family member that says hi, a neighbour who says ditto, a wife/husband who says: thnx for a lovely evening, let's f@#$, a message from your bank that says: your balance is the same as last month....

Greets