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Of course your plan is even more of pipe dream.

But on the ECB: There are 16 member states  of the ECB. If they wanted, they could send 16 Keynesian economist to Frankfurt. They don't do this. Instead they blame the ECB, a beast of their own creation.

by IM on Tue Feb 8th, 2011 at 10:11:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Of course your plan is even more of pipe dream.

Oh, I don't expect the extortion to actually change ECB policy.

But when they default, that will cease to be Ireland's problem, and the Germans who get burned can take it up with Messrs. Stark and Weber, who bear the lion's share of the blame for the ECB's stupidity.

But on the ECB: There are 16 member states  of the ECB. If they wanted, they could send 16 Keynesian economist to Frankfurt. They don't do this. Instead they blame the ECB, a beast of their own creation.

Oh, but that is the whole point of this strategy: Pressure the €-zone countries into sending loose-money governors to the ECB.

That said, it really is undignified seeing you try to fob the blame off on someone else - anybody else - other than the last twenty years of German policymakers. The inflation mandate was a German idea - in fact, a German condition for joining the € in the first place. So was the General Stupidity Pact, by the way. And there is no doubt that German policy positions wield a disproportionate influence in the ECB. For that, you only have to look at its actual interest rate policy over the ten years of its existence as a functioning central bank: They have consistently favoured German macroeconomic policy at the expense of the interests of peripheral countries.

When you follow the money, you end up in Frankfurt.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Wed Feb 9th, 2011 at 01:13:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Tell that the Weber. Shouldn't his resignation put a little dent in your "the germans runs everything" conspiracy?
by IM on Sat Feb 12th, 2011 at 05:41:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Merkel runs Germany.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 12th, 2011 at 09:31:43 PM EST
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I thought the Bundesbank?
by IM on Sun Feb 13th, 2011 at 07:54:44 AM EST
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Weber's ouster is good news. Now we just need to get rid of Stark, and we'll have a shot at getting somebody sane in office.

But it doesn't change the fact that the ECB has been consistently favouring the surplus countries - of which Germany is the most prominent and powerful - and has for far too long been pandering to German inflation neuroses.

Incidentally, you should be happy about this outcome. Weber was the most significant obstacle to Ireland's debt being repaid in full, due to his insane insistence that the ECB shouldn't carry it at below market rates until the crisis was over.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Feb 13th, 2011 at 12:31:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Actually, all 27 EU member states. See the ECB General Council page.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Feb 9th, 2011 at 02:24:43 AM EST
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