Ireland must give up the euro

In view of the menace of recession, the Irish economist David McWilliams wonders if it would not be better to leave the Eurozone: "If a Martian economist landed in Ireland he'd see straight away that Ireland is caught in a currency arrangement which will make our recession much deeper than necessary. This is an economic fact, not a political slogan. The euro is now part of the problem, not part of the solution. ... We find ourselves in the bizarre situation where we can't reflate our economy either by printing money or by borrowing. ... As a result, unemployment will rise to a much higher level and house prices will fall much further than necessary in the next few years. ... The only way Irish people straddled with huge mortgage debts (the legacy of our stupid binge) will be able to pay these off is with a bout of massive inflation. It sounds radical but this is the truth. ... When an economy is in a nosedive, it is the democratic responsibility of the elected government to do something about it. In bad times, ideas that seem extreme in 'normal' times are sometimes entertained."

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