Business and Administration

What if Europe were the United States? is a question we've played with often on this page, at a safe distance from the crisis across the ocean. Far from a frivolous query, it helps us unpack the difference between a monetary experiment (their euro zone) and a true monetary and fiscal union (our "dollar zone"). The United States has plenty of intractable problems. Deciding whether to keep paying Medicaid for Mississippians after the state has a particularly disappointing year, or century, isn't one of them. Where we have laws and permanent transfer programs, Europe has debates over backstopping bonds and trading month-to-month bailouts for promises of fiscally ruinous austerity. In short: If you want to understand why Europe looks like Europe, it can help to look at the United States. This analysis from the Wall Street Journal brings color to the comparison by matching the size of U.S. metro economies to the size of European countries. I did not realize...