Greece Exit: Fall Back to Better Leap Forward

Historian Eric Margolis argues that Greece must exit the EU to save the euro

At the LewRockwell.com, Mr. Margolis writes,

What would happen to Greece if it quit the euro? Financial chaos, capital flight, riots, and bank failures. But after the apocalypse, Greece would eventually revert to its 1960’s status: a poor but proud nation living off tourism, shipping, agriculture and fishing.

Devaluing a new drachma won’t do much for a nation whose main export is olives and feta cheese. Besides, the Greeks have severely damaged their tourist industry by endless strikes and surly service.

Angela Merkel is rightly concerned that Greece’s exit from the euro would be a blow to Europe’s political unity. This aspect of the crisis is as important as the economic/financial dimension.

But Merkel should also recall the timeless dictum of Prussia’s king and renowned general, Frederick the Great: "he who defends everything, defends nothing."

Greece should never have been admitted to the euro. It snuck into the currency union by hiring those miscreants at Goldman Sachs to falsify its financial books.

Admitting Greece to the euro zone was a bridge too far. Euro membership should be limited to those nations that have solid finances and honest reporting. In short, a club of northern European nations that follow Germanic good government. Unprepared nations, like Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova or Ukraine do not belong in the euro zone. Most have no business in the EU either.

The European Union and euro zone expanded too far, too fast. Retrenchment is now in order. As the French say, "fall back to better leap forward."

Amidst this crisis, what many forget is that it was caused by politicians borrowing too much to buy votes and shady bankers lending recklessly to boost their own bonuses.

If there is one thing we learn from the Euromess it is the Golden Rule: governments must raise any and all funds they spend.

Borrowing from the money lenders is poison. More empires and nations have been ruined by unsustainable borrowing than by wars. Politicians should not be allowed to borrow except for well-defined, long-term projects, likes roads or bridges, in which revenue streams and repayment schedules are clearly defined.

Well, government spending which has led to massive borrowing has been the main culprit that has brought upon this crisis. And to reduce government spending means to allow forces of productivity to flourish. And productivity comes from the free markets. It’s the only way.