The euro did not derive from a union but was used to build a union, and that still poses great-unresolved challenges.

Sir, I refer to Philip Stephens’“Trump, Italy and the threat to Germany” June 8.

Stephens writes: “Germany has been a “taker” — importing stability from neighbors and allies.” Indeed, but Germany has also imported the economic weaknesses from neighbors benefitting from a euro lower than what it would be if responding solely to Germany.

Yes, “The euro did not cause Italy’s economic ills, but it does close off the old escape route of devaluation”, except of course for those economies that, on the margin are the strongest, e.g. Germany.

Knowing they were benefitting unduly from the euro was perhaps the reason why the ordinarily much more disciplined Bundesbank Germans supported that insane notion of assigning, for the purpose of the capital requirements for banks, a risk weight of 0% to euro partners like Greece. For a while growing public indebtedness hid the costs of a stronger than suited for the weaker economies euro, but that lifeline has now clearly run out of steam.

What should the eurozone do know in order to survive? The answer must be finding a sustainable solution to the immense challenge that existed from the very start, when elites decided to build a union based on the euro instead of having a euro derived from a union.

Americans dream as American. How many Europeans dream as European?

When will we stop investing with so much power not so much caring whimsy central bank bureaucrats, to try to bet against the markets... with our money?

Sir, back in the eighties, in Venezuela, some friends and I purchased one year of the harvest of many mango trees. When time came, with much love and care, we send each mango beautifully wrapped, first class freight, prepaid in Pounds, very expensive, on British Airways to Harrods. The mangoes were a success! “We’ve made it!”… Forget it!

The same day we got paid in London, back in Caracas, a big shot in the government decided that the value of the Bolivar was too low, and instructed our Central Bank to do what it could in order to revalue it, about 20 percent. And down went the Bolivars per US Dollar, and so down went the Bolivars per Pound, and so we were unable to recover our investment. Had we exported a few more mangoes, I would have lost my shirt.

And that is why my heart goes out to all those who make efforts and take risks, and then see those efforts turn into nothing, only because of the excessive powers accumulated by some whimsy central bankers who, at their desks, care little to nothing about the real-real economy… only about their GDP growths, their deflations… or whatever monster is in fashion... and go and bet against the market... with our money.

Obviously I was reminded of this incident, when reading about what the Swiss National Bank has been up to, January 16. Where do they get so much power? Are they never held accountable for anything?

For instance, on a related issue you know Sir is very close to my heart, where do these bureaucrats get so much power so as to be able to order banks to have more equity against loans to the risky”, than against loans to the AAArisktocracy? That makes us “risky” mango exporters have less fair access to bank credit, when in fact, at the end of the day, sometimes it is their actions that pose the greatest risks to us?