Repatriation of German gold ahead of schedule

I think being competitive in world trade umm, err, trumps all other considerations from a national perspective. Yes, the local area where I live is NOT very export-sensitive compared to many others, but this is a national concern, not a local one. Cheaper Beemers is NOT a national goal. Nor are cheap European vacations. Selling our exports competitively into world markets is.

NOTHING has EVER compared with manufacturing in creating a strong middle class, and it's not looking like anything else will. The benefits of cheap imports are overwhelmingly to the coastal areas. The damage is in the heartland.

 

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I'm not sure such a thing is even possible. Consumption is consumption. Production is what employs people. It's why I avoid imports whenever I can (which takes work). It's the economically patriotic thing to do.

 

I believe Germany does not like the Euro as it holds them back.
Germany is by far the strongest economic country in the Euro.
And with having to take bond debt from countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy, France .. makes them have the willies.

Where would the Euro be without Germany ?
and conversely, where would Germany be without the Euro?

As long as Germany's economy is strong and doesn't need propping up by the ECB et all it's just holding them back for more growth.

Let them have their gold, and they can eat their cake with gold leaf on it too.

 

They like that it holds them back. They would never be able to sell their exports or get international contracts with where their money would be compared to the rest of Europe.

Dead. No Germany, no EU.

 

Quite possibly so, but keep in mind that the EU is also about political integration. So without discussing politics here (hint hint ) a European Union without France for example would be kind of pointless as well.

Christian

 

It's a double edged sword. Germany gets the benefit of export with a weakened Euro, but they also get stuck with buying PIGS debt (Ireland excluded now) as proxy to the ECB. Germany does the propping, basically funding the ECB.

It's a horrendous design flaw to hold so many different economies hostage with the same currency, disallowing them the ability to create/destroy currency as it benefits their national economy. I can't imagine any rational economist would have advocated such an unwieldy bureaucracy.

Both Germany and the rest of EU would be better off without the Euro, but then how would the Troika steal all their national treasures?

 

But that is exactly what was done with the 13 original states in the USA. Don't forget that at the time the USA was created the word state was synonymous with nation. It was a federation of 13 (now 50) independent nations all agreeing to use the same currency.

 

Eurobashing is not exactly new, but if you guys don't stop posting political comments here (that is what, for example, PartisanLines.com is for), this topic will be closed.

Christian

 

Christian,

May I ask, how is the continued expansion of the Euro Zone being received in the "original" countries? Is it controversial? Generally accepted as positive? Trouble? I've found collecting commemorative 2 Euro pieces a pleasurable thing. Not that it's easy over here. It involves rummaging through "book stock" and "bins" at shows. I have a millimeter sized Dansco album page for them.

 

Glad you only expect an answer to the numismatic aspect of your question. So solely from a euro collector's (or rather this collector's) point of view, we have too many of these €2 commems. Every euro area country is allowed to issue two per year. There are 23 countries (19 EU members plus 4 non-members with monetary agreements) that issue euro coins. So in theory that's 46 every year; fortunately some euro countries issue hardly any commemorative €2 coins.

What I do find interesting though is the many different designs; in a way they reflect the European Union's motto "United in Diversity". But I also appreciate common issues - not so much the "big ones" where you have 19 identical designs with just the country names being different, but the occasions when two or three countries have joint issues. France/Germany 2013 (Elysée Treaty) for example, or next year's common issue of the three Baltic countries. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania just had a public design vote, and everybody could pick his or her favorite design. Cool.

Christian

 

Do you know of a website (and I am passably able to read German and Spanish) where this list of 2 Euro commems is kept up to date?

Wow, I just found an English Wikipedia site for it. The wiki site could use more pictures, though. Any other more thorough site would be appreciated.

 

With all do respect, bullion is an investment and heavily dependent on political climate of the world. Nobody is discussing party or bashing - but the statement that the "EU would be pointless without France" is also a political statement.

There are some personal attacks though. Someone called me a liar for having an opinion and theory that I've partially based my investment strategy on.

And Germany bringing that much physical metal inside their borders is both a strategic and political move - regardless of what you want to try to call it.

 

Or "due respect" even.

 

Germany brings back gold, creates gold coins, sells them at a premium, boom - more money!

 

Umm, yeahhhhh, no. That's not why they're bringing it home.

 

Also true. 1 of the big three is already leaving, loosing either of the two left would kill the Euro for sure.

 

Ever hear the old line, "Going into battle without the French is like going deer hunting without an accordion"?

 

I did like when they did the final German mark coin in gold. I sort of want one, I did buy the "ultime franc" but sold it to a Frenchman a couple of years later because the selling price was right.

 

This is a quote from a article in Harper's from November of 1964.

http://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/

There are a couple of other fun quotes but this is the only one I noticed about Gold. Fact of the matter is people desire it so politicians are going to be involved as politicians are people who wish to control other people. Although sadly they are not the best of people it seems a good part of the time.

Now turn back fifty years to a manifesto signed in 1895 by a number of leaders of the Populist party:

As early as 1865–66 a conspiracy was entered into between the gold gamblers of Europe and America. . . . For nearly thirty years these conspirators have kept the people quarreling over less important matters while they have pursued with unrelenting zeal their one central purpose. . . . Every device of treachery, every resource of statecraft, and every artifice known to the secret cabals of the international gold ring are being used to deal a blow to the prosperity of the people and the financial and commercial independence of the country.

 

That worked for Kelly's Hero's....