My Letter to the NY Times re: What the Euro Has Wrought

Re: Germany Vs. the Rest of Europe

Dear Sirs:
The misconstructed euro indeed has incentivized its members to plunge themselves into unsustainable debt. Dr. Philipp Bagus has explained this phenomenon in The Tragedy of the Euro, a highly readable book for the general public as well as academics and policymakers. Dr. Bagus explains that the euro's structure allows the still extant national banks to print euros in a roundabout fashion, in effect setting the stage for seventeen counterfeiters to vie with one another to determine who can print money the fastest. This tragedy must be ended before Europe reverts to ancient animosities, trade wars, and violence. It is monstrous that, as an alternative to fixing the underlying problem of the euro's construction, demagogues call on Germany to place all of Europe on the backs of its hardworking citizens. German Chancellor Merkel aids and abets this animosity by attempting to strip Greece and others of their sovereignty. Neither unending bailouts or loss of sovereignty is the solution. The nations of Europe must abandon the euro as quickly as possible and revert to national currencies, but not succumb to beggar-thy-neighbor/race-to-the-bottom devaluations. They must reach an agreement to link their national currencies to gold or silver. Better yet, allow competing currencies, even private ones, to compete in the market.

Patrick Barron
20 McMullan Farm Lane
West Chester, PA 19382