The most frequent sentiment among readers these days is this: surely the years before 2008 were a bubble? In those giddy days, gross domestic product and other economic indicators were overshooting. So why even try to return to pre-crisis growth trends? The times of debt-driven growth are over. The more modest projected growth rates are the new normal. Get used to it and move on.
When I read such comments I am always reminded of Andrew Mellon. During the early phase of the Depression, the US Treasury secretary recommended liquidating the entire economy. Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed and he was prevented from doing so. Unfortunately, these days the Europeans allow their policy makers to do just that.
Let me acknowledge straight away that there is some truth to the bubble argument for a few individual eurozone countries – but not if you look at the eurozone as a whole.