You’ve heard that the Euro was created to provide two benefits for Europe:
1. Unite Germany, France and other countries in a peaceful political situation, to prevent repeats of World War I and II
2. Create a macro-zone to compete against the economic strength of the U.S.
So how did we get to this … austerity and meanness of spirit, as typified by the grim expressions sported by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble in talks with Greece?
Because the Germans don’t view the Euro as a utopian idealistic way to help promote peace and prosperity for all of the EU nations.
Instead, Germany sees the Euro as a way to weaken its currency to increase exports. As Ben Bernankenotes today: