Source: Forbes
When too many own something
They all own nothing
Free riders abound
So it is with the Euro
No matter how sound.
With a license to borrow
Borrow they did
It wasn’t too hard
With a shared credit card.
The Greeks now regret
Running up so much debt
The creators of math
Strayed from the path
Of Maastricht Convergence.
They created democracy
But fell into hypocrisy
As each tried to exist
At the other’s expense.
A tragic divergence
From the path of convergence
Deficits between 13 and 3
Percent of GDP.
Concerns then turned to cumulative debt
Which the vigilantes tried to make them regret
They looked to Italy, France, and even Germany
Since none took the rules too seriously.
They borrowed from their own banks
And each other’s too
The banks said thanks
What else could they do?
Many banks fed the property bubbles
That eventually led to troubles
And transmitted them to sovereign pain
In Ireland, Portugal, and mainly Spain.
Europe’s southern tier
Was called Club Med
Now the club of austerity
Hangs over their head.
The Germans said,
“You don’t deserve charity
What we recommend is severe austerity
You must shrink your way to prosperity.”
The Euro was a straight jacket
They couldn’t escape
And only one central bank
With a single mandate.
I don’t know how this will turn out
This division between north and south
But I think I shall begin
By predicting the south shall rise again.
You may think it oddly funny
But I’m still saving
My confederate money.