[erebus_rex]

In 1953 Germany had half its WWI debt erased to rebuild the country and curtail violent attitudes.

Also, Greece did not dig themselves in this hole alone. Its a little telling that so many EU members kept lending to them despite ample signs of fiscal irresponsibility.

I agree with the general gist of your argument but you can't treat firms and nations and equals in this case. Greece's problem reflects a deeper concern of international debt structures and the concerns of the union against those of member nations.

[spangry]

I guess the Allies also learned from previous experience (the Treaty of Versailles), and thankfully listened to Keynes the second time around: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economic_Consequences_of_t...

"Keynes points to the material violation of the terms regarding reparations, territorial adjustments, and an equitable economic settlement as a blot on the honour of the western allies and a primary cause of a future war. Given that he was writing in 1919, his prediction that the next war would begin twenty years hence had an uncanny accuracy."

[chii]

a video i watched (which, i can't for the hell of me, remember the url or name), explained that the difference between the EU and the USA is that of national identity. People in the USA doesn't bat an eye when federal funds are sent to states whose revenue is below the national average. There's no ethos where a 'they' and 'us', unlike in the EU.

[jessaustin]

This is mostly correct, but the dynamic in USA is a bit more complicated. When one compares "donor" states to "recipient" states, by and large the donors are states with a political commitment to expanded federal spending while legislators elected by the recipients at least rhetorically favor curtailed federal spending. The transfers thus amount to a sort of "bribe" that allows spending bills to get through Congress. It's not clear to what extent the "spend less" position is actually a calculated pose to procure more transfers...

[kpil]

I think one reason is there are larger cultural differences, which is also reflected in government efficiency, corruption, and work ethics.

In particular, the northern 'ex protestant' nations are hesitant to piss away money on their southern friends. For a lot of reasons.

[Aeolos]

Have you heard of the "halo effect"? It's a very common fallacy where people mistake cause and effect. If a company is doing well, people will say "this company has great management and has a great, productive work culture." If a company is not doing well, people will say "this company has inefficient management, and has an unproductive, corrupt work culture."

They will say this, even if it is the exact same company say, right before a crisis and 6 months into the crisis. See [1] for more information.

When Germany's economy was doing worse than EU average, Germany was the "sick child of Europe". Now they are doing great and they are the "locomotive engine of Europe".

Besides, how do you reconcile these "ex protestant" work ethics with the breathtaking corruption of the VW scandal?

[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Halo-Effect-Business-Delusions/dp/...