Germany has benefitted far more than any other nation due to the fact that were in not in the Eurozone the DeutscheMark would have been considerably higher thus affecting their export markets. The EU is supposed to be a common club, I don't see it as a measure of success that one part of the club does a whole lot better at the expense of another due to the undue influence of Germany over the whole. That's a failure and it's another direct cause of the problems I mentioned.
I've stated many time before that we are in between a rock and a hard place. Leaving is no panacea but neither is staying in, far from it in fact. My view on balance is that we have a better chance to survive and prosper outside the confines of the EU. We can determine our own policies according to our own needs and in a fast moving world this is vital. There are no guarantees of anything but if things go wrong at least we can decide how to react and proceed. Take a look at the problems in Greece for example to see how impossible their situation is in the EU with no power to take the decisions which are right for Greece.
As for Plan B, what's the EU's Plan B in the face of its severe problems? They no more have one than the UK does. In fact their refusal to countenance a change of direction is the root cause of the referendum result IMHO. All I know is that, on its own, the UK will be able to decide and implement whatever policy is deemed appropriate far more quickly than the EU ever would. We'll be able to make the decisions we need to make in the circumstances we find ourselves in and we can't do this in the EU.
No, that doesn't guarantee anything but I'm old enough to realise that nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes. We can all suggest what we'd say if it all goes wrong but there's no comfort in that. None of us know what's going to happen, we can only make decisions based on our knowledge, experience and intuition. You speak as if the outcome will be clear, quantifiable and unequivocal, when you've admitted yourself that after decades of practice the EU is far from perfect. Who'll be the arbiter of what the definition of success is? GDP? Earnings per head of population? Unemployment levels? Quality of services? Quality of life?
If the EU becomes a Utopia and the UK descends into Third World status in the next few years then of course people will say it's a disaster and we should have stayed in. If the reverse is the case then they'll say the opposite. What does it matter what people say? We have argued for the right to determine our membership, we've decided to get out and what we need to do now if stop arguing about what's done and get on with trying to ensure we get the best possible result from it.
I think we're more likely to be better off out than in and if I'm wrong about that well so what? You think the opposite and if you're wrong so what? We have our views, I've explained mine and that's the best I can do. If I had a crystal ball I'd have used it.