There are some things that reasonable people can largely agree on regarding the eurozone’s problems: the monetary area is stuck in a crisis that has brought about unbearable unemployment to southern Europe. That problem cannot be solved satisfactorily through deflation since that would make bankruptcies soar among over-indebted households and companies. The crisis was triggered by the US financial turmoil and Germany accumulated large current account surpluses after the introduction of the euro that are the mirror image of the distressed countries’ deficits.
在歐元區問題上,理性的人們在幾個方面大體上可以達成共識:該貨幣區深陷危機,給歐洲南部國家帶來了難以承受的失業率。通縮不是解決問題的理想方法,因爲它會讓債臺高築的家庭和企業大規模破產。危機肇始於美國金融動盪。德國在歐元問世後積累了大量經常賬戶盈餘,與此相對應的是困境國家的赤字。