In One Chart You'll See Why Nothing's Getting Fixed In Europe

Why is nothing major being done to address the massive human tragedy that is the European economy?

This chart from Danske Bank will give you a good hint.

Danske Bank

Nothing can get done without the approval of Germany, and frankly, Germany would be insane to mess with the current status quo, given how much its outperforming the rest of the Eurozone. Just insane.

Who else can boast that its unemployment rate is substantially below where it was before the financial crisis?

So, tight money, low inflation, austerity. It's working great for the country that has the power.

UPDATE: Felix Salmon asks what, exactly, the downside would be for Germany to be more accommodative, through a more activist ECB, and a system of greater transfers between nations.

This is an interesting question. One aspect of the German social model is that everyone gets work, but nobody gets a raise (or at least they're small). This model only works in a world of little inflation, so it's understandable that Germany is so on guard against anything perceived as inflationary.

That being said, you'd think that a stronger periphery would mean stronger export markets.

On the flip side, a stronger Eurozone could mean a stronger Euro, which could work against German exporters.