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To: padre35
why aren’t the Europeans doing that to weaken a too strong currency?

The German hyper-inflation of the 1920's which led to the rise of the Third Reich is a very strong feeling in the German psyche.

You will rarely hear Germans complaining of a strong Euro (effectively the German Mark) which is rooted in the strength of the northern teutonic German financial discipline.

This inflation “angst” is still deeply rooted in the mind of the German. In fact the Germans, Dutch, Austrians and Finns will all try to keep inflation as controlled as possible.

Because we in America have lost that sense of financial discipline, the Arabs are starting to sell their petrodollars and buy US assets.

11 posted on 11/24/2007 12:00:00 PM PST by jrsmc
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To: jrsmc
You will rarely hear Germans complaining of a strong Euro (effectively the German Mark) which is rooted in the strength of the northern teutonic German financial discipline.

That's correct. And with a regained higher productivity, the Germans can stand a higher valued euro than the Italians, the Spanish or the French can.

The German hyperinflation of the 1920's which led to the rise of the Third Reich is a very strong feeling in the German psyche.

I'm sorry to be picky, but this canard does not get more correct because it is repeated time and time again. The Nazis gained power on the back of the 1929 crash and the deflationary policy of the politicians at the time. Mass unemployment, not hyperinflation was the reason Hitler came to power.

Also, I'm sure most Germans who had lived through the inflation in the 20s never forgot it, but by the time the new West Germany and its strong D-Mark came to be so many tragedies had come to pass that the 20s inflation was in all likelihood relegated to distant memory. What was much more resent was the Lucky Strike economy in the vanquished Germany, and the hyperinflation that made cigarettes more valuable than the currency. Although, that is very seldom talked about this was the situation that the new minister of finance Ludwig Erhardt never wanted to see repeated.

18 posted on 11/24/2007 12:20:32 PM PST by ScaniaBoy (Part of the Right Wing Research & Attack Machine)
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To: jrsmc
You will rarely hear Germans complaining of a strong Euro (effectively the German Mark) which is rooted in the strength of the northern teutonic German financial discipline.

I thought that when the Euro was implemented, the Germans called it the "teuro" (expensive).

40 posted on 11/24/2007 5:03:26 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
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