I'm not inventing anything, by the way...

ECB Tried to Force Ireland Into Bailout, Minister Says - Bloomberg

ECB officials, who say they are politically independent, told Ireland on a Nov. 12 conference call that it should seek outside help to rescue its banks and contain a debt crisis, according to a person briefed on the discussion.

It is simply unconscionable for a central bank to say "look for outside help" regarding its own banks.

ECB Tried to Force Ireland Into Bailout, Minister Says - Bloomberg

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank can't afford to set its monetary policy to help individual countries.

Unless that country is Germany, that is. Also, the ECB is saying monetary policy trumps banking supervision.

Asked whether the ECB pushed Ireland into accepting a bailout, he told lawmakers in Brussels today that "we couldn't adjust our policy to take into account the situation of Ireland."

Considering Ireland has 1% of the EU's population...

European Union officials "were leaking in the papers that Sunday, quite incredible pressure on this country," Ahern said today, adding that he won't stand in the next general election for personal reasons.

An ECB spokesman declined to comment on his remarks.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman