Thomas Piketty on the Euro Zone: 'We Have Created a Monster'

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/eur ... 22629.html

Thomas Piketty on the Euro Zone: 'We Have Created a Monster'

Piketty: The way Europe behaved in the crisis was nothing short of disastrous. Five years ago, the United States and Europe had approximately the same unemployment rate and level of public debt. But now, five years later, it's a different story: Unemployment has exploded here in Europe, while it has declined in the United States. Our economic output remains below the 2007 level. It has declined by up to 10 percent in Spain and Italy, and by 25 percent in Greece.
SPIEGEL: The new leftist government in Athens hasn't exactly gotten off to an impressive start. Do you seriously believe that Prime Minister Tsipras can revive the Greek economy?

Piketty: Greece alone won't be able to do anything. It has to come from France, Germany and Brussels. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) already admitted three years ago thatthe austerity policies had been taken too far. The fact that the affected countries were forced to reduce their deficit in much too short a time had a terrible impact on growth. We Europeans, poorly organized as we are, have used our impenetrable political instruments to turn the financial crisis, which began in the United States, into a debt crisis. This has tragically turned into a crisis of confidence across Europe.

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SPIEGEL: Do you expect France to take the initiative? The country seems to be focused more on itself these days.

Piketty: That's true enough! I believe that many of the ideas that could push us forward come from Germany. I deeply distrust the French way of thinking in national categories. Our elites, regardless of their political leanings, are incapable of thinking in truly European terms. Germany is different in that respect.

SPIEGEL: Now that sounds like praise for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Piketty: The truth is that France hasn't really played a role since the crisis began. We are afraid -- of the markets and of democracy. But fear doesn't get us anywhere. France has internalized Germany's dominant role to such an extent that it no longer feels capable of doing anything.

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[pErvinalia]

OPM, Marxism Marxism, Obama is a communizt!