Alas, it’s another sad day for Germany. Frank Schäffler, the one member the national German parliament who actually seems to understand the issues, was not successful in persuading his fellow party members to actually consider sanity as a response to the “Euro crisis”. It wasn’t for lack of trying. The leadership of Schäffler’s “Free Democratic Party” was pro-bailout anyway, for “political reasons”, as opposed to Schäffler’s economic arguments. However, I would had hoped that the rank and file members of the supposedly (classical) liberal party were on Schäffler’s side. According to polls, some 70% of the general population is, more or less. This seems to not have been the case.
All I can say in this humble medium is Thank, you, Frank Schäffler, for trying.
Economic facts are like physical laws: They won’t change even if you have every political reason to change them. Printing money won’t save the EU, it will only make us poorer. Bailing out banks won’t save the economy, it will only make the rest of us poorer. Centralization won’t help us, it will only make us less free. Mr Schäffler will be vindicated soon enough.