I personally don't believe that the Euro is a viable currency in the long term. In fact, it would surprise me if it was still around, being used by all members of the common market in 10 years. In my view, they expanded too fast, incorporating countries in Eastern and Southern Europe that were well behind France, Germany and other developed economies. The modern countries have spent too much subsidizing weaker nations.

The rise of the Euro created questions of individual sovereignty amongst member nations, questions that are being raised more strongly now because of the economic slowdown, which has hit Europe even harder than the US. If Germany or France defects from the common currency, then all bets are off. In fact, such a move might call into question the very existence of the European Union itself, being that these two are flagship members. This isn't as far-fetched as some will have you believe.

"Euro" has the negative associations that come with being an abbreviation for "Eurotrash." When I hear the word, my first thought is of waifish men in overly tight black leather wearing shirts that read "DJ" against a background of bad techno. The Euro displaced some interesting names for currency, such as my favorite, the Irish "punt," which made spending them sound like a kind of surrender.