Buying time, the German and French governments have agreed to provide guarantees to their own banks who purchase Greek debt. This does nothing to stem the massive deficits that plague the Greek government. This will encourage the Greeks to take no steps toward solving their own fiscal problems. In time, the problems in Greece will spread and magnify. Ultimately, both Germany and France will be looking for someone to bailout themselves out. The ticking time bomb that is the bankruptcy of the European welfare state inexorably continues to tick. The bailout proposed by Germany and France reveals the weakness inherent in the Euro union and makes it easy to forecast the future collapse of the Euro and the bankruptcy of most of Europe.
The simple truth is that you cannot retire folks in their mid-50s at nearly full compensation and provide everyone in your country with free health care. It's a nice idea that sounds good, but it implies bankruptcy. Germany and France are the suckers, for the moment, and they will be looking for other suckers in time.
