Most people in the UK are wondering whether the pound will eventually be swallowed up by the Euro. While some people want this to happen, a lot of people are very much against it, which makes the video called “The Euro – The Facts” very much of interest.
It is presented by a former UK police superintendent, and while the video is six years old that doesn’t make it any less interesting or intriguing to watch. The video starts with a look back at how the Euro first came into being back in 1999. If you didn’t already know before watching this video – which runs to around five and a half minutes – Britain is one of only three countries that made the decision not to agree to join at any point.
The narrator goes on to explain how the economy in these Euro countries is now a single entity. He also describes how the European Central Bank – which is in charge of the Euro economy in all these diverse and very different countries – is run, and by whom.
As you continue to listen to how the bank is run and the jobs it has to do, you can start to see how their policies can affect millions of people in many countries. This is fantastic all the while things are working well, and arguably they have been for the first few years of the monetary unity that was achieved when the Euro came into being.
But now that the world at large has come up against a period of downturn, rising interest rates and shaky economies, will things continue in this way? This is one of the most interesting things about watching this video when you think that it was created some six years ago. It is fact laden and very straightforward to understand, and you can also look at how it works in relation to how the world we live in today. Things may not be rosy in the UK of 2008, but they aren’t rosy anywhere else either, including the Eurozone.
The way the bank operates – completely independently of anyone else, including national governments – is quite alarming when you think about it. What’s more, it is also the bank we would be operating under if the pound gave way to the Euro.
Whatever side of the fence you are on personally about whether or not the UK should join the Euro, the video puts forward an excellent case for not joining. The problem is that it is an irreversible decision; once made, that’s it. You cannot elect to go back to the pound at a later date. The currency would go the same way as the French franc, the German mark, and many others besides – into history.
The table that you will see at around the halfway mark of the video is a sobering thought when it comes to deciding whether or not we should join the Euro. The table shows us a list of single currencies that have been invented at some stage in the past which aimed to unite several countries together. Every single one of these currencies failed.
The most thought provoking part of this video is when the narrator tells us that if any of the member states which have surrendered their currencies to the Euro experience problems in the stability of their country due to the way that the ECB is running things, there is very little they can do to change it. They must simply get on with it – even if it means their people lose jobs, money and their way of life as a result.
You can view this video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=a6Kt2dbwvxo and it will certainly give you a lot to think about. It is well produced and doesn’t go for the whistles and bells in presentation that a lot of videos feel the need to do.
But the revelations of this video don’t end there. We discover the extremes of this monetary union, where Germany experiences recession and Ireland is doing exceptionally well. Some countries are desperate for higher interest rates while others want them lowered, and the nature of the ECB means that someone will undoubtedly lose.
This doesn’t bode well for the future. Let’s suppose ten countries had successful economies and one was struggling dreadfully. The ECB wouldn’t sacrifice ten countries to save another one, so the struggling country would be powerless to get itself out of trouble.
This video offers more food for thought than you can get on many other websites put together. Do we really want to join?
I for one DEFINITELY don’t want to join the Euro. I think it’s a waste of time, and since this recession is making everyone in that ‘zone’ struggle, why on earth would we want to join it and make things even worse for ourselves?
I worry though that because the pound is so low, this government might think it’s now or never. Well I for one want ‘never’! Let’s hope they’re listening otherwise they will do even more damage to this country than they have already. And we all know they could do just that if they’re not careful…
This was a great video to watch and it really made me think more about the Euro. I hate the single currency and would never want to be a part of it. Someone else commented on here that even people in France who have the Euro are still using the franc. It might be a small minority but it does show the strength of feeling people have about it.
This is a simple video that really gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to the Euro. It made me think of Greece as well, which has thrown the whole of the Eurozone into trouble. I will be watching with interest to see how the whole thing is resolved – if it ever is.