This doesn't square with the reigning short-termism, when expressed in financial terms.

Most recently, in 2011 PriceWaterhouseCoopers conducted a survey of FTSE-100 and 250 executives, the majority of which chose a low return option sooner (£250,000 tomorrow) rather than a high return later (£450,000 in 3 years). This suggested annual discount rates of over 20%.

A modest running cost, discounted at 20% annually, hardly matters in financial terms today (to wit: €1000 a year, discounted at 20%, is €5000 - as a cost, this is meagre).

I think the problem is not actually one of cost-benefit calculations, but has more to do with short attention spans. Nobody wants to think about having to come back 5 years from now to see if the problem stays solved, even less about being bogged down with monthly check-ups. People want to move on to the next shiny.

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker