EU and Greece

(16:10) Guest: Wade Jacoby, Professor of Political Science at BYU  There are undoubtedly leaders of some European countries shaking their heads right now and wondering if it was such a good idea after all to switch to a common European currency. They’ve been forced to agree to yet another round of bailout funds for Greece, whose debt crisis has been dragging on the rest of the Eurozone for years. This latest bailout is only temporary – lasting four more months – and requires Greek officials to commit to tough reforms, including sharp tax hikes and budget cuts. Such harsh measures have already pushed Greek unemployment to over 25 percent in the last several years. If Greece’s economy were allowed to collapse the other 19 countries tied to it by a common currency would also suffer. You have to wonder if this is an eventuality those countries foresaw when they signed on to use the Euro.  There would be some consequences for the rest of the Euro zone.  “..having a weak country like Greece join stronger countries like Germany and the Netherlands, it weakens the value of the Euro,” says Jacoby.  “It’s a pretty complicated thing to do. It can be done, but it’s not easy,” says Jacoby on setting up a new currency.