The U.S. Needs German "Ordnungspolitik"

The resignation a week ago of Jurgen Stark, Germany's representative on the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), was due to a failure by the ECB to follow the German concept of Ordnungspolitik. In the German view, Ordnungspolitik - which may roughly be translated as the politics of order - demanded that Greece be treated harshly because of its failure to follow even the most basic rules of euro membership, while the ECB should avoid risking its credit standing by investing in the debt of tottering Mediterranean countries. It's a very useful concept;