April 28, 2010
It would have been helpful to point this fact out in an article reporting on the Greek and eurozone financial crisis. While Greece did have serious fiscal problems prior to the economic crisis, the other countries now facing difficulties were not similarly troubled. Spain, the most important of the troubled countries, actually was running surpluses prior to the crisis. The difficulties now facing these countries is largely the result of the economic downturn, which has seriously worsened their fiscal situation.
The European Central Bank (ECB) could make the money available to these countries to sustain their economies through this downturn. (They would print it.) The ECB has opted not to go this route because of peculiar superstititions about inflation. It would be worth pointing out to readers that this crisis is largely the result of superstitions by Europe’s central bankers, not fundamental economic problems.
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