Say goodbye to the EU

The thing is that the European Union is doomed financially. And that means it is doomed politically. CNBC reports.

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warned Europe's debt crisis risked plunging the global economy into a "lost decade," and said it was up to rich nations to shoulder the burden of restoring growth and confidence.

But the rich nations are only rich relatively, not absolutely. They are facing the same demographic and monetary challenges that the off-the-cliff countries have, but the rich nations are not as close to the cliff. But they are headed there and they know it. And there is no one to bail them out.