German house approves euro rescue

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

Germany's lower house of parliament has approved the country's contribution to a 750bn euro ($938bn, £651bn) rescue deal for the eurozone.

The upper house is also expected to back a German contribution of up to 148bn euros.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced widespread domestic opposition to her support for measures to help Greece and other struggling EU economies.
...
The Bundestag, or German lower house, voted by 319 votes to 73 in favour of Germany's participation in the bail-out, with 195 abstentions.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10136128.stm

[Zynx]

1. 195 abstentions? I wonder what that was about.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. As the article says, there's not much support for this

Abstaining is a tactical vote for future voting - they get to say "we didn't give German taxpayer money to profligate countries", while not taking full blame for blocking what may be the only way to save the Euro. 2 parties officially abstained - the Social Democratic Party (centre left) and 1 other.

[FLPanhandle]

2. If I'm a German taxpayer, I'd want out of the whole Euro common currency now.

They'll be bailing out Spain soon. That money is never coming back to their citizens.

[dipsydoodle]

4. The weaker the Euro

the more you will import. Good luck with that problem.

[pampango]

5. A weaker currency can be a problem but it makes exports cheaper and imports more expensive.

Usually the weaker your currency, the less you import because imports cost more.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Hence that is of benefit to Euro countries

and the USA suffers as a result.

[Cal Carpenter]

6. Germany has always been the winner in the Euro scenario

For all the benefits to Germany (at least their ruling class) the fallout is going to land on the everyday working people of Germany but especially of the other 'failing' nations. Those other, weaker nations are screwed because while technically they have central governments they have no central currency, and no control over the currency they use. They no longer have the option to use the tricks that most nations can use when they are having economic crises, debts and deficits, the way the US or UK or Japan can, for example. So Greece gets austerity measures handed down on them from what is essentially a foreign economic power. It's a really messed up situation.

If Germany were to pull out, there would be no Euro. But if Germany were to pull out, they would would no longer have the benefit of influence (even control) over these other countries which are basically Germany's markets for export - the very thing that makes Germany so strong.

Insofar as the regular people of Germany will struggle as a result of this this sucks for them, no question. But it sucks a lot more for the people in the countries who have no hope of controlling their own economies thanks to the action of their (often corrupt - think Italy and Greece) leaders who sold them out to Germany and the whole idea of this shared currency. As always, the brunt of this is going to land on the poorest people, those with no power at all, rather than the corporations or wealthy people who created this situation.

This whole thing demonstrates that economics and politics are really one and the same, and without any economic control there is nothing these other countries can do now but wait for the EMU and the IMF to hand down austerity measures and make their lives more difficult.

The question is, will Germany lose the market for it's exports if the people of these nations have no money to spend?

It's a whole new brand of colonialism.

[FLPanhandle]

9. will Germany lose the market for it's exports if the people of these nations have no money to spend?

Or worse, they are spending German taxpayer money to buy those exports to fatten the wallets of the companies.

[Cal Carpenter]

10. Well, it's not like the bailout money is going to the actual people to spend

The people are having 'austerity measures' imposed on them. This means things like pensions, social services, medical care, etc will be cut. It ain't that different from here. It's a trickle down bullshit bailout. So yeah, somehow the companies wallets will get fatter, but the standard of living of the people will decline.

[willing dwarf]

8. Hold your nose and approve

Rather like the TARP package. No one liked it, but at the time it had to be done. If the Eurozone falls apart, then all of Europe is fecked.

I can understand the anger Germans feel though-- their retirement age has been pushed up to 67, but meanwhile most Greeks are kicking back at 52. Feels like a rip off.

Germany finally achieved the dream of controlling a unified Europe. It's the price of responsibility. They are fulfilling their deep collective longing to lead, but the fulfillment of this psychic longing may be their downfall...A story old as time

[JackRiddler]

13. No comparison to the TARP package...

that and the far larger Fed bailouts were pure plunder by privateers. The nation that provided TARP and the bailouts was hammered - lends out to banks at zero percent, lets them buy Treasury bonds at two and three percent. What a deal for them!

In this case, the German state having benefited enormously from the euro is genuinely helping its own interest in bailing out the countries harmed by the euro.

[marshall]

11. Britain must be thanking its lucky stars for the pound

And thankful that they aren't fodder for the vampires.

[willing dwarf]

12. They are the Vampires!

Along with the US --Not the people of course, but the government. The US and Britain are really the United States of Goldman Sachs, and the United Kingdom of Goldman Sachs.

Britain is in deeper debt than California, and at least in California they have natural resources to be able to make something. The British Pound Sterling may have a good name, and the Brits might congratulate themselves for avoiding the Eurozone problems, but they are in deep deep trouble with their debt.

[JackRiddler]

14. Yeah, whatever. Give it a couple of months.

The euro is under attack although the continent's fundamentals are better than UK and US. This is the bond traders staging a classic currency attack in the Soros mode, just because the opportunity is there. Wait and see how things work out in the UK - especially when the new government chooses to cut the budget and deflate, and discovers that afterwards the national debt ended up rising!

[Kringle]

15. good for politicians, bad for Germany .nt