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Europe: The New Plan
Europe is on the cusp of change. An EU heads-of-state summit Dec. 16
launched a process aimed to save the common European currency. If
successful, this process would be the most significant step toward
creating a singular European power since the creation of the European
Union itself in 1992 — that is, if it doesn't destroy the euro first.
Envisioned by the EU Treaty on Monetary Union, the common currency, the
euro, has suffered from two core problems during its decade-long
existence: the lack of a parallel political union and the issue of debt.
Many in the financial world believe that what is required for a viable
currency is a fiscal union that has taxation power — and that is indeed
needed. But that misses the larger point of who would be in charge of
the fiscal union. Taxation and appropriation — who pays how much to whom
— are essentially political acts. One cannot have a centralized fiscal
authority without first having a centralized political/military
authority capable of imposing and enforcing its will. Greeks are not
going to implement a German-designed tax and appropriations system
simply because Berlin thinks it’s a good idea. As much as financiers
might like to believe, the checkbook is not the ultimate power in the
galaxy. The ultimate power comes from the law backed by a gun.
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