I have been meaning to write a short essay on the coming crisis in Europe, but, as with so many other things, haven't found the time to do a decent job of it. This essay from The American Enterprise by Karl Zinmeister seemed to obviate any need to do so. He made most of the same points I would have, and the article seemed to possess a wealth of data that I would never have had time to locate, even if I knew to look for all of it.

I subsequently found this critique (via USS Clueless) which, while I had reservations on several points, seemed well reasoned and rather devastating to Mr Zinmeister's puported data, and by extention to his arguments. Zinmeister's response to the criticisms was, to be charitable, disappointing.

There are few things more irritating than to see someone arguing - poorly! - in favor of position you hold. When you combine that with intellectual dishonesty, it compounds the problem. Therefore, in a follow up post, I will attempt to formulate a more credible reply.