Europe Does Have a Safety Net, It's Called the European Central Bank

A Washington Post article on the crisis in Greece and its potential impact on Europe's economy told readers that:

"growth in China slowing and U.S. officials looking to tame record government deficits .....[is] leaving Europe, in a sense, operating without a safety net."

Actually, Europe has a perfectly good safety net. It is called the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB, if it chose to act like a central bank, could guarantee the debt of Italy, Spain and other heavily indebted countries. T...