But, by cushioning against sufficiently calamitous risks, the same advantages allow the US to procrastinate.

If we procrastinate, the dangers posed by climate change will confront us as we talk, debate, and plan.

Europe cannot afford to procrastinate and pretend. Either the eurozone s members find agreement on an agenda of governance and political reforms that will turn the currency union into an engine of prosperity, or they will stumble repeatedly from dispute to crisis, until citizens lose patience or markets lose trust.