Mirror: https://archive.is/NYbH2
“We need somebody who says, OK, guys, we’re in deep shit,” Francken said.
Europe’s joint projects have so far not been successful, in part due to insistence from each nation to supply part of the overall product. “Just name one European project, an integrated project that has been a success.”
I mean, what is your bar for success?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panavia_Tornado
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurofighter_Typhoon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A400M_Atlas
France walked out on the Typhoon. The A400M had some issues (at least when released, dunno if all that got ironed out). But…all of them got built and work.
And failures are kind of also part of the cost of doing business. We’ve had plenty of defense projects fail here in the US. Ain’t gonna have a 100% success rate unless you’re either refusing to do development with risks or not willing to cut your losses and walk away from a project that’s got an unsatisfactory outcome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Abandoned_military_projects_of_the_United_States
Isn’t it also in the US that they have to build the parts in many different states to convince politicians to vote for spending on it?
Why can’t they just put a big negative number in their balance books and continue with their day like the US does when it feels like it?
there’s a saying “if it can be done, you can afford it”…it means that money is never the problem for currency-issuing entities, like “Europe”. They always have enough Euros.
What is needed are the resources to do the thing - labour, material, organization.
A state can gently steer the resources using money as an inducement. Or it can just do it with power and laws.
Of course, creating Euros in this way means that the Euros aren’t being created in the same way they are now - which is by paying them to those who already hold Euro bonds, and that makes them upset, and that’s why it will take a while to happen.
That was a genuinely helpful perspective, thanks!
France has been trying since the 50s. It would be ironic if the UK would be post brexit but they cant find the money. The Finns could give it a go.
