Cementing the Union: Early US 'Attractive Precedent for Today's Europe'

[sysop]

After the War of Independence, the United States looked a lot like the euro zone, with some states crippled by debt. In the end, under a proposal by Alexander Hamilton, the federal government assumed all the debt, securing the country's creditworthiness. A new report argues it could be a good model for Europe.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-884223.html

[SHBasse]

It is an impossible comparison as the USA was a union on the way up and with plenty of natural resources, land and an influx of energetic purposeful immigrants.
EU is in a state of emergency as competitiveness is on the decline, the population is graying, the agricultural sector is a burden and the resources have been depleted centuries ago.
Much credit to the Germans who have managed to stabilize the situation, but now the focus must be redirected to regaining competitiveness.
By recognizing that even our European inventiveness does not help us as the inventions too are exported and utilized in China, we must come up with a new model that ensures that our national economies – not our internationalized firms – benefit from EU and national stimuli!
“The fundamental causes of the crisis”
http://unifiedscience2.blogspot.com/...-downturn.html

[thorpeman@sky.com]

Originally Posted by sysop

After the War of Independence, the United States looked a lot like the euro zone, with some states crippled by debt. In the end, under a proposal by Alexander Hamilton, the federal government assumed all the debt, securing the country's creditworthiness. A new report argues it could be a good model for Europe.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-884223.html

Two world wars didnt exactly harm their balance sheet, are you suggesting we need another world war & start mass producing arms for the side we hope can pay, say China?

[rustylink]

Although European poiticians resist the idea, the US Model of Federalism has much to offer. A close study of the early US political, fiscal, and Mmonetary experiences have many parallels to events in modern Europe. They offer, at the least, practical examples of how political, monetary, and ecoomic issues were tackled by the construction of a federal constitution; and how after much contradictory evolution into the current fiscal and monetary system.
Without necessarily wishing to slavishly adhere to american solutions, there can be little doubt that faced with the same issues the decison-makers of Europe should carefully examine and learn from the historical experices of 13 colonies that eventually grew and unified to become the worlds's preminent superpower.

[mae]

Once again this article proves Germans profound ignorance of American history.

When the USA had its Hamiltonian moment during the 18th cnetury it was overwhelmingly of

1) One heritage - British 70%
2) One language - English
3) One culture - Anglo
4) One legal system - British common law.


Very different from the EU of today.

Germans and this includes German journatlists are totally unaware of their superficially knowledge of American history.

And this leads to absurd comparisons such as between early America and the EU of today.

[HarryHavens]

I would agree that the current Euro situation is similar to the early years of the USA, but an important series of events were omitted to jump to Hamilton's rescue.

The Articles of Confederation contained a clause that allowed for changes and/or a complete revision. The result being the current constitution.

Even that did not go without a hitch, as the very clause in that new constitution used by Hamilton, was vociferously opposed by the anti-federalists, which of course led to the the Bill of Rights, the formation of the Democrat party, etc, and is a subject of division even in the 21st century.

That division being about the rights of the states as stated in the 10th Amendment. (Note: the 10th amendment is dealing with the plural form of states. The civil war was about the individual right of a state. This leads many to believe that the matter of states' rights were settled during that war, when it was the matter of state rights.)

Seriously, until the European Countries adopt a similar language to " The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States", discussion of Hamilton's ideas are futile in my humble opinion.

Harry Havens