[FRIAM] Italy, Greece and the Euro

[Owen Densmore]

This is not a  troll .. just a hope that those of us more aware of the
issues, especially those of us living in Europe, can clarify the constant
concern over the Euro.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/business/dealbook/worries-grow-over-euros-fate-as-debts-smolder-in-italy-and-greece.html

- Would it be better for all if Italy & Greece withdrew from the Euro
currency but remained in the EU?
- Is this being mishandled by the Eurocrats?
- Is this yet another Populist issue?
- Why is it so persistant?

>From the article:

Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank’s president, promised in summer
2012 to do whatever it took to save the euro, but the debt burdens of Italy
and Greece have become progressively worse amid the stagnation of their
economies.

Italy’s debt as a share of its economic output has risen to 133 percent
from 123 percent during that period. In Greece, debt has increased to an
expected 183 percent of the country’s total economy from 159 percent.

These figures highlight a harsh economic reality: Just as an individual
will struggle to pay off a punishing credit card bill if her salary stays
flat or falls, a country cannot reduce its debt pile without expanding its
economy.

And with Italy and Greece held back by the fiscal constraints that the
euro’s rules require and not expected to generate sufficient growth in the
future, the only alternatives are a restructuring of debt or an exit from
the common currency.


   -- Owen
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