The Euro Crisis

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One of the many factors that contributed to the onset of World War II was the perilous economic conditions that had built up over the preceding decades, combined with the house of cards mess of treaties crisscrossing the European region. A functioning economic community in Europe is absolutely aiming to avoid a repeat of what happened 100 years ago. If the goals were purely economic, it would never have gotten off the ground.

Hence why Australia and New Zealand have never got around to developing a shared currency - there are no compelling political or defensive reasons to do so, as we take out our conflicts on the sports field rather than the trenches.

 

I heard one speaker a few years ago now - can't remember who, he was some important diplomat or something - who suggested that Australia and New Zealand should take a leaf out of the China/Hong Kong book but instead of going one government, two systems take the two governments, one system. (It was, curiously enough, in a seminar on European politics.)

 

I also imagine geography has a lot to do with it. There are many places you can live in Europe where you'd be very close to another nation, and having a shared currency is extremely convenient. If you live in western Australia, you're as far from New Zealand as the east coast is from the west coast in the US, and even if you live in eastern Australia, you need a plane or a boat to get to New Zealand. I imagine the number of people crossing a boarder from one European nation to another far exceeds the number of trips people take back and forth between Australia and New Zealand.

 

Maybe, but 75% of Americans I met when I lived there thought NZ was part of Australia (and another 10% thought NZ was somewhere in Europe), which may be an indication that the two countries are so similar that they might as well be the same country.

 

I've met Americans who think Canada is the only country in the world without a national capital (where they got the idea Ottawa doesn't exist I'll never know). I've met Americans who asked me if I've ever seen a train before, and how difficult is it to live in a house made of ice.

Point being, America's perception of the world isn't something I take very seriously. I would imagine that Aussies and New Zealanders would be glad to point out hundreds of differences between the two countries. I also would imagine that given the huge population differential (23 million to 5 million) New Zealand would vigorously oppose any political union with Australia unless there were a REALLY stunning benefit to NZ.

 

Beware, that perception may just consider you threatening enough to bomb you.

 

Not Canada. Dudley Dooright would never threaten us Americans. He's a good guy. Now that Snidley Whiplash ... he's a different story but he clearly wasn't Canadian (I think he was German).

Besides, we can't bomb Canada ... it would ruin the executive fishing vacations.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Euro crisis, Greek elections on their way. I fear trouble, no matter what the outcome of the election itself.

 

Na, we're pretty much the same - just like American's and Canadians are the same, despite the maple leaf in Canada's McDonald's logo.

 

I really hope you just met a really dumb cross-section of America, but it's a faint hope.