The Euro must work but it's likely to fail
From Gideon Rachman, FT
Ever since a single
European currency was first mooted, I have believed that it would eventually
collapse. That belief is based on three simple propositions. First, a currency
union cannot ultimately survive unless it is backed by a political union.
Second, there will be no political union in Europe because there is no common
political identity to underpin it. And so, third — the euro will collapse.
Plenty of people have
attempted to convince me, over the years, that each of these three propositions
is simple-minded and wrong. But events keep driving me back to the idea that
the euro lacks the political and economic underpinning that it needs to
survive.
The Greek crisis is a case in
point. The most passionate pro-Europeans are right that the only long-term
alleviation of the problems of the weaker economies in the eurozone would be to
set up a genuine transfer union, in which tax revenues automatically flow from
rich areas, such as Germany, to poor areas, such as Greece. But that is never
going to happen because the Germans and Greeks do not trust and like each other
enough to merge their fates in a real political union.
The Euro is a very good thing. You can travel across Europe without giving money to banks to exchange your national money. Students can study in any school in Europe. We have the same rules. Euro is a good store of value for your savings.
However Italy cannot devalue and since it loses a bit every year vs Germay& The northern countries, Italy is getting poor slowly. Since there are no transfers from Germany Italy has a bit of an incentive to leave and devaue they currency again. Soon there will be no more FIAT's. If Italy exit they will devalue and the FIAT's can be back again at least for the domestic market.
With a Single market only the best will survive and the best is not FIAT.
When
I see a bubble forming I rush in to buy, adding fuel to the fire
George
Soros
FTSE joins the US &
German party
FTSE today closes at
6950, above 6930 from 1999
Some good advice from Guy Kawasaki
Don’t get married too soon. I got married when I was thirty-two. That’s about the right age. Until you’re about that age, you may not know who you are. You also may not know who you’re marrying. I don’t know anyone who got married too late. I know many people who got married too young.
Obey the absolutes. When you were young, it was absolutely wrong to lie, cheat, or steal. When you enter the workforce, you will be tempted to think in relative terms. As you grow older, you will see that right and wrong seems to change from absolute to relative. This is wrong: right is right and wrong is wrong forever.
Enjoy your family and friends before they are gone. Nothing–not money, power, or fame–can replace your family and friends or bring them back once they are gone. You probably have delusions of immortality right now—that’s natural. At least consider that while you may be immortal, those around you are not.
One more thing. When you were a child, you thought your parents were always right. Through high school and college, you thought your parents were always wrong. After college, you’ll realize that your parents were often right. And then, believe it or not, you’ll eventually become your parents. Wrap your young mind around that….
http://guykawasaki.com/my-advice-to-22-year-olds/
If i have to give advice to my kids i would give 2:
1.Be different
2.Even if you do what everybody does if you work hard, be the first to show up, be diligent and be a bit perfectionist you will do well no matter what. The power of working hard/well is unappreciated. Most people do the minimum. Always do a bit more and that makes a big difference.
I always wanted to be
different. I always wanted to be first.
Miuccia Prada
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different.
I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red.
Of course when we put our kids in the same schools with thousand of other kids where they are expected to do the same things and behave in the same way they tend to be similar to the other kids and of course easily replaceble
