Re: @ wolfetone
Actually I wasn't defending the Euro. I was stating some facts:
1) Being in the Eurozone helps to make Ireland appealing for company HQs that have to deal with the Eurozone itself (as long as it exists), and to find employee willingly to relocate. Being paid with a weak currency always at risk of devaluation doesn't make a job appealing.
2) Ireland got a lot of help when it entered a big crisis because it was in the Eurozone, and it couldn't be left to itself easily - just like Greece. Now Irish economy is growing - despite the Euro or thanks to the Euro?
Moreover, devaluation helps only if you're a manufacturing exporting country and/or you can offer a lot of cheap labour. Otherwise, it just cripples your economy further, because everything you import costs a lot more, and you can't attract production from outside. Even if Greece returns to the dracma and heavily devaluate it, what will it obtain? Would manufacturing move to Greece (hint: corruption and other issues alike don't help)? What could Greece export more? Just Greeks savings would be wiped out, and all imported goods would cost a lot more, pushing fixed income people even more towards poverty.
Same of Ireland - what benefit would have devaluating its currency? Some more tourists? Cheap Guinness abroad? I don't like it anyway <G> But it could lost company HQs, exactly because of the weak, unstable currency.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
