Germany Rethinks EU Role – alternative currency

[jpinpb]

For some reason, I thought way back when they were contemplating the Euro that Germany was not into it b/c their currency was so much stronger. In any case, I heard this on NPR and wanted to pass it along. I was surprised to hear about towns having their own currency. I was wishing we could have that kind of option here.

Listen here or read below

From Stalwart To Skeptic, Germany Rethinks EU Role

The financial calamity of the European Union’s sovereign debt woes has shaken the pillars of the postwar ideal of a united Europe. The debt crisis and the global downturn have left many European countries looking inward these days and viewing Brussels as increasingly irrelevant.

Germany, long a postwar champion and financier of European integration, is flexing its muscles more independently. And more of its citizens are questioning the country’s leading role in the European project.

On a recent day, Christian Gelleri buys a sandwich and a glass of Hefeweizen at a rustic, sun-filled outdoor beer garden along the Inn River in the Upper Bavarian town of Stefanskirchen.

But the 40-year-old isn’t paying with euros. The bar also accepts chiemgauer, the thriving local currency named after a region in Bavaria.

A Euro Substitute?

The alternative currency is not some gimmicky fundraiser. It may look a little like Monopoly money, but the chiemgauer is real. One chiemgauer equals one euro. It’s been around for eight years, almost as long as the euro, the common currency now used by 16 of the 27 EU members.

Gelleri, a high school teacher who established the chiemgauer, is proud that more than 600 regional businesses — from drugstores to architects — now accept the microcurrency.

“The chiemgauer is connected to the region. You can’t speculate with it, you can’t buy stocks or options or shares with it,” he says.

In other words, you can only spend it in the area. Organizers insist the currency is meant to promote a “buy local” mentality and is a complement to the euro. The chiemgauer is not backed by federal or local governments, though some banks are offering loans and checking accounts in the currency.

But the fact that there are more than two dozen regional currencies like this in Germany — the most anywhere in the world — underscores the German ambivalence toward the euro.

Adoption of the euro was supposed to lead to a deeper, more coherent fiscal and political union. But the single currency hasn’t really delivered on either.

And intended or not, the microcurrency trend plays into German nostalgia for the deutsche mark, the national currency that the euro replaced.

Rest of story: Germany Rethinks EU Role

[briansd1]

The Germans have caused of a lot of problems also.

This is an interesting view of the German economy.

What would be preferable for European economic prospects (and hence German exporters) — a Spain that could rebalance and return to growth or one mired in indefinite stagnation?

[briansd1]

The Germans have caused of a lot of problems also.

This is an interesting view of the German economy.

What would be preferable for European economic prospects (and hence German exporters) — a Spain that could rebalance and return to growth or one mired in indefinite stagnation?

[briansd1]

The Germans have caused of a lot of problems also.

This is an interesting view of the German economy.

What would be preferable for European economic prospects (and hence German exporters) — a Spain that could rebalance and return to growth or one mired in indefinite stagnation?

[briansd1]

The Germans have caused of a lot of problems also.

This is an interesting view of the German economy.

What would be preferable for European economic prospects (and hence German exporters) — a Spain that could rebalance and return to growth or one mired in indefinite stagnation?

[briansd1]

The Germans have caused of a lot of problems also.

This is an interesting view of the German economy.

What would be preferable for European economic prospects (and hence German exporters) — a Spain that could rebalance and return to growth or one mired in indefinite stagnation?

[34f3f3f]

There was (is) a similar currency experiment in the UK, which of course does not use the Euro, so it may not be just a reaction against the common currency. Bartering is also being experimented with. You might expect German hesitance due to the burden of many other members states’ fiscal and budgetary crises. The economic union was thought to be beneficial, since it removed trade barriers, eliminated currency issues, and allowed a freer flow of goods. The trouble starts with the administration of standardization of tarifs, regulations etc, that need centralized control. This runs against the grain of national sovereignty. Europe is one thing, the European Union another, and the individual member states something quite different. But, I think abandoning the Euro is unlikely as no doubt it would be very complex and costly.

[34f3f3f]

There was (is) a similar currency experiment in the UK, which of course does not use the Euro, so it may not be just a reaction against the common currency. Bartering is also being experimented with. You might expect German hesitance due to the burden of many other members states’ fiscal and budgetary crises. The economic union was thought to be beneficial, since it removed trade barriers, eliminated currency issues, and allowed a freer flow of goods. The trouble starts with the administration of standardization of tarifs, regulations etc, that need centralized control. This runs against the grain of national sovereignty. Europe is one thing, the European Union another, and the individual member states something quite different. But, I think abandoning the Euro is unlikely as no doubt it would be very complex and costly.

[34f3f3f]

There was (is) a similar currency experiment in the UK, which of course does not use the Euro, so it may not be just a reaction against the common currency. Bartering is also being experimented with. You might expect German hesitance due to the burden of many other members states’ fiscal and budgetary crises. The economic union was thought to be beneficial, since it removed trade barriers, eliminated currency issues, and allowed a freer flow of goods. The trouble starts with the administration of standardization of tarifs, regulations etc, that need centralized control. This runs against the grain of national sovereignty. Europe is one thing, the European Union another, and the individual member states something quite different. But, I think abandoning the Euro is unlikely as no doubt it would be very complex and costly.

[34f3f3f]

There was (is) a similar currency experiment in the UK, which of course does not use the Euro, so it may not be just a reaction against the common currency. Bartering is also being experimented with. You might expect German hesitance due to the burden of many other members states’ fiscal and budgetary crises. The economic union was thought to be beneficial, since it removed trade barriers, eliminated currency issues, and allowed a freer flow of goods. The trouble starts with the administration of standardization of tarifs, regulations etc, that need centralized control. This runs against the grain of national sovereignty. Europe is one thing, the European Union another, and the individual member states something quite different. But, I think abandoning the Euro is unlikely as no doubt it would be very complex and costly.

[34f3f3f]

There was (is) a similar currency experiment in the UK, which of course does not use the Euro, so it may not be just a reaction against the common currency. Bartering is also being experimented with. You might expect German hesitance due to the burden of many other members states’ fiscal and budgetary crises. The economic union was thought to be beneficial, since it removed trade barriers, eliminated currency issues, and allowed a freer flow of goods. The trouble starts with the administration of standardization of tarifs, regulations etc, that need centralized control. This runs against the grain of national sovereignty. Europe is one thing, the European Union another, and the individual member states something quite different. But, I think abandoning the Euro is unlikely as no doubt it would be very complex and costly.

[Arraya]

[quote=jpinpb] I was surprised to hear about towns having their own currency. I was wishing we could have that kind of option here.
[/quote]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States

[Arraya]

[quote=jpinpb] I was surprised to hear about towns having their own currency. I was wishing we could have that kind of option here.
[/quote]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States

[Arraya]

[quote=jpinpb] I was surprised to hear about towns having their own currency. I was wishing we could have that kind of option here.
[/quote]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States

[Arraya]

[quote=jpinpb] I was surprised to hear about towns having their own currency. I was wishing we could have that kind of option here.
[/quote]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States

[Author]

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