Month: August 2011

Vielleicht ist es den vom starken Franken geplagten Schweizern ein kleiner Trost, dass auf sie Schnäppchenpreise nur einen Steinwurf hinter der Grenze warten. Ein Sydneysider muss dafür drei Stunden nach Neuseeland fliegen.

If Europe and America are bent on committing suicide, there is nothing Australia can do to stop them. But we can decide not to join them.

As it turns out, the euro is not only an unworkable currency. It actually started as a French insurance policy against German power. But even as an insurance policy it has failed. Against their will, it has turned the Germans into the new rulers of Europe. And it has consigned France to be the weaker partner in the Franco-German relationship.

Europe has arrived at the crossroads. It can either go down the path to full-blown fiscal union – and the ECB is clearly ready for it. Or, preferably, it must end the Euro experiment now before any further damage is done. The Germans should leave the fringe countries with the carcass of the Euro – and reintroduce the Deutschmark. It’s the only chance to avert an even greater European debt disaster further down the track.

The decline of manufacturing in Britain is a serious issue that has been encouraged by government intervention. To use another government intervention to reverse this development is trying to cure insanity with madness.

After a decade of experience with European monetary union in practice, Sarrazin is sceptical about its future. “All attempts to legislate for fiscal stability, limited debts and no-bailout rules have not proved watertight. As it looks now, Europe is on a slippery slope towards becoming a full-blown transfer union,” he said. For someone who has first-hand experience in creating such a permanent transfer mechanism within a country, this must be a frightening prospect.

Of all the probable results of Australia’s inevitable population growth the social impacts of migration are probably the most controversial. This is unsurprising. Migration can change the face of a country and alter the social and
ethnic composition of entire cities or individual neighbourhoods.