I’ve even seen you running, Felix. Well, sort of. And you were by no means falling

From what I understand and what seems to be clear, Soros is basically saying integration and unity in Europe is the main source of trouble. That is just flat wrong.

He blames the unity-project as the bubble.
Wrong!!
It’s the bad fiscal discipline that is the bubble and the problem.

Krugman et al want more borrowing and diluting of money supply. Otherwise, their bankers cousins will run out of way to make money. This is the deadly bubble!!

Rather than assigning blame, Soros chooses to identify problems that have to be rectified, and maybe people will respond. But if you call them liars and scammers and say they rip off people, they will not do anything you suggest, because they will be addressing the names you call them, rather than the problems they might be causing.

Very simple, people vote themselves benefits with their favourite politicians.

Financial sector creates all sorts of bubble, debt, scams, etc.. to inflate the economy so the politicians can temporarily fulfill their promises at the same time ripping off rich rewards.

Now is the time that the mess is so bad.
Simple logic: lie begets lie, you have to create scam and bubble to fulfill stupid promises.

It’s that simple.

I have a feeling that the time for China will come a lot faster than one expected, their leaders don’t have to pander to voters.

A bet I am willing to make with both of you, and I can cook wonderfull greek that goes well beyond tzatziki and mousaka.

The single Euro currency was, we now know, “a bridge too far”. But two Euro currencies may not be. Don’t kick Greece out, but let it and the other weak use the existing Euro, and let the ECB do what it has to for them. The strong migrate to another currency – also administered by the ECB – which adopts a monetary policy appropriate for them. The single market remains intact in all other respects.

It’s the elegant solution because it recognizes two key facts – the solution must be comprehensive and include all the weak in a single stroke in order to succeed, not be confined just to Greece. And, everyone’s debts are denominated now in the existing Euro currency – this is really the crucial item.

I’ll be the utter fool (again) – and bet the Euro pols find the right (third) answer in time to avoid disaster, and both our chums then lose – to me. Make me a 50:1 “dog”, though.

Doly, not that I comparing present day Germany to the one of ~80 years ago, but they did have horrible economic times (far worse than what Greece is enduring now), and they did (at least temporarily) expand their empire. I don’t think it will happen again, mainly because Germany doesn’t want that headache.

I don’t think it will lead to disintegration, either, because that’s not in Germany’s or the weak nations’ best interests, and they know it. There will be a solution (most likely partial) that nobody will like, but it will be better than the alternative.

The ECB can print money, I don’t know why they just don’t go ahead and do that, and make loans to the troubled countries, at high interest rates, even if they know re-payment isn’t imminent. It’s better for Germany than having Germany loan them the money directly. And as long as the US is sustaining deficits, and China ties their currency to the dollar, they won’t suffer too bad.

Breakup is not an option, and neither is default.

I actually thought Soros was right on target, and not just because he (like me) attributes bubbles to positive feedback loops in action, but he so correctly points out that economics is not a peer of physical sciences, as it relies on the unpredictable decisions of billions of people with imperfect information.

The root and the source of the problem in both Europe and US come from the financial sector as well as policy makers that work for politicians who in turn serve their voter base’s stupidity and ignorance.