Few things are as galling as being right too soon. Back in 1970, dissident Soviet historian Andrei Amalrik wrote a book boldly called "Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?"
He predicted that it would not, which greatly annoyed the Communist regime. He was sent to Siberia for his temerity, and later forced to leave Russia for the West. Even worse, he was wrong. The Soviet Union survived until 1991.
Many pundits find themselves in the same situation today with regard to the future of the euro, the decade-old common currency that is shared by 17 of the European Union's 27 nations. They are suggesting that the euro could collapse any day now, and that the EU itself may follow. Making such bloodcurdling predictions is great fun, but they are getting ahead of themselves again.