The Ferrari analogy

With prime-minister Zapatero's criticism of the European Central Bank's policy soon a discussion will arise in Portugal as well regarding the euro. The question will be: is the euro a good or a bad thing to us?

The answer is: it is too much of a good thing. The euro is to the Portuguese what a Ferrary would be to a poor man. Indeed, if we were to give a Ferrari to a poor man, one of two things would happen. Either the Ferrari would ruin the poor man (maintenance costs, circulation taxes, insurance, parking expenses, etc.) or the poor man would ruin the Ferrari (poor maintenance, outside overnight parking, etc.).

We are still in Portugal at the stage where the Ferrari is ruining the poor man. The Spanish are already one step ahead: the poor man is now ruining the Ferrari.