Question for Britons

Are you happy that the UK is still on the Pound and not the Euro? I know that was some big debate a while back. I think now that countries like Germany and France might be regretting getting their currency mixed up with the likes of Italy, Greece, and Spain where history has shown them to go through periods of super inflation and things like that. It looks like Greece is in the pits right now. Just read about the protests and Unions and thing being against budget cuts even though the governments are way under water financially.

The Germans and French do not regret it. The Irish and the Greeks are starting to though.

There is no way that the UK will join, and I'm sure they're pretty happy about that.

Labour's best decision of the last decade, even if they didn't really mean it

If the EU had accepted Major's proposal that the currency be shared, but no central bank, then that would've been great - no fucking about at currency exchanges, just getting used to different prices.

But thank merry fuck we didn't buy into the whole centralized currency.

The way the Euro is going, it will either lead to an accelerated political integration (which the UK won't be part of), or it will fuck itself up completely.

But how could that work? with a shared currency and no central bank then Italy could start producing Euros and water it down for everyone who used it.

I remember the arguments for and against the UK going with the Euro, but the fact is that the Pound has been the most stable currency in the history of man and why would you want to mix that with countries who within the last 75 years have inflated currencies to insolvency?

This does not seem to be the case, although I have no idea why. I would have expected us to feel financial troubles such as those currently in Greece much harder with the euro.* But for some reason, that isn't happening (yet?). Does anyone know why?

*Although I still supported it for other reasons.

No, if Italy got the printing presses going the Italian Euro would be affected. The British Euro wouldn't.

It would be almost exactly the same now in the UK, except you wouldn't need to fanny about exchanging currency. We'd have effectively renamed the pound the euro, with nothing else changing.

Yeah, but you would have to exchange UK Euros for Italian Euros when you went there, right?

No, otherwise it would be utterly pointless.

UK Euros would be valid across the eurozone.

Shared currency not shared economy.

Now wait, would the Italian Euro be equal to the UK Euro? I am not following you here.

Would be worth the same.

If worth the same then if Italy started printing Euros it would weaken all euros then. An Italian has a million Euros, he can go to the UK and buy all kinds of stuff.

What is the matter with EP??

If Italy prints a bunch of Euros?? Wassamattawityou?!!

Is the Euro in UK the same as the Italian Euro??? D'UHHH!!

Why did you start this thread? You don't have a clue about Euros or foreign currency.

I have 1000 pounds or so in cash so I do know about about foreign currency. My point was that the Euro must have a central bank and not each country making its own euros.

I have a dick. Doesn't mean I know how to give blowjobs.

Reading this conversation effects physical pain. Right up to the 1000 pounds in cash line, ep was actually the most reasonable poster in here, which is saying something.

In simple terms, each country has replaced their money with Euros. The value is recalibrated.

So no more 10,000 lire for a pack of sigs.

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

I think y'all are arguing about the Euro as it exists today, whereas ecky and ep are arguing about some concept ecky is wishing for.
If I understand him correctly, this concept would have involved the following two steps:
1) Everyone rename their currency to [country name] Euro
2) All countries accept all versions of the Euro

So you'd be able to pay with Italian Euros all over Europe, or, in other words: you'd be able to pay with Lires all over Europe. If Italy starts fucking around, then prices as expressed in Italian Euros go up everywhere. So if you want to buy something in Germany with your Italian Euros, you're going to pay more but your price in German Euros won't change.

While I do have some sympathy for the idea (favouring a system with no central banks and all) I think it's pretty ridiculous in the way suggested here - insanely complicated to have, like, 16 prices for everything.

Oy!! People!! ep is asking about ecky's ALTERNATIVE plan (post #4) to the current euro situation. Stop quoting current facts at him.

No. It may be that 1 UK Euro may equal 1.5 Italian Euro's, but both currencies would accepted would be accepted in both countries.

Major's idea was that every Euro nation would share the same currency, but control their own version of it.

That way shopping and holidaying across Europe would become easier as you wouldn't have to exchange any currency, you can use what's in your pocket anywhere that would have signed up to it.

Probably would be easier to set up an electronic currency exchange format utilizing polymer discs with encoded user information.

You know, a credit card.

^I do, but they do love to cream a bit of exchange rate goodness from it...

This was my initial reaction too. But then I recall the Economist's little price box from when euro currencies were still separate. And during my life I've seen addition of bar codes and in the US a large info box with % of nutrition relative to some (probably wrong anyway) daily recommended requirements.

So maybe the idea could've worked.

Then again, items that remain on the shelves longer-term (say a month or more, instead of a week) would be fucked, so you're right.


Besides, John Major? (heh)

Missed this before...

Why would you have 16 prices? You'd just have one.

If a choccy bar in the UK costs 1 euro, you'd pay your 1 euro, if it costs 2 euros in another country, you'd pay the 2 euros.

The physical object remains the same, it just acquires the intrinsic value of the nations currency it is being spent in - so a 10 euro note in the UK is worth 10 UK euros, take it over the France and it's the same 10 euro note, only now it's worth 10 French euros.

Pricing wise, there would be winners and losers at first - if 1 euro buys you a can of lager in the UK, but a crate of them in Belgium, you're going to be visiting Belgium a lot - but then you'd start to see prices starting to naturally converge.

Wrong. Would never work out like that.

One can of lager vs a case. Never happen.

The Euro will NOT have some major jump in value from one place to another.