So far as I can follow, the Greek electorate now have the choice between voting Yes and agreeing to the IMF austerity package, and voting No and having their leaders agree to any “face-saving” variation, however miniscule, before accepting the IMF austerity package. You can be quite sure that the international elite will thoroughly humiliate Syriza by making abundantly clear that if they offer any change at all, it is absolutely miniscule. A change of nominal leader of Greece may result from the referendum, but nothing that changes the life of anybody who is not a politician. Either way in six months time we will be exactly back where we are now, only with opposition to the IMF broken as the next wave of pillage of the public sector comes.
The Euro project will continue to be extremely strong. New money will be funnelled into the pockets of bankers. It is important to recall that 100% of these bailout funds go to bankers, none of it goes to the Greek people and none of it stays in Greece. The same bankers will become the beneficiaries of servicing of new loans provided to vast corporations to buy up Greek public assets, cheap.
It would require a particular heartlessness to be indifferent to the demise of the idealistic hopes that backed Syriza. But in the end it proved they did not offer any actual choice of any significantly different outcome. There is no real choice on Sunday, no difference in outcome from which way people vote. Beware Greeks bearing rifts.
Mary, thanks for the James K Galbraith link. He seems to have John Kenneth’s ink flowing from his pen. And, of course, a Keynesian style economy is the only way forward. We’ve suffereed too much of this rich bankers poor people shit. Greece’s Grexit could be the way forward for the rest of us. Let’s get rid of all these warmongers once and for all.
I am informed that a support fund has been set up for Greece which has already exceeded £1 million. A friend is sending me the link which I will pass on when I get it.
If you’re in Birmingham there is a demonstration today outside Waterstones at 12 pm. Let’s follow Left Unity’s slogan “Austerity Kills, Kill Austerity.” See you there!
What’s happening to Greece is not a mystery. It’s part of a well worn plan. The only thing that’s new is that it’s happening in Europe, and blatantly.
In 1999, Joseph Stiglitz was fired from his job as Chief Economist of the World Bank for criticising their globalisation policies. In 2001, he gave journalist Greg Palast an interview detailing how the international banks deliberately and systematically take control of a country and strip its assets. First, encourage corrupt politicians to borrow more than the country can repay, then use the unrepaid debt to impose this 4-step plan:
(1) Privatisation (or ‘briberisation’) – Arrange for the country’s leaders to make themselves vastly rich by privatising state assets.
(2) Capital Market Liberalization – the nation’s cash reserves flow out of the country and the IMF demands these nations raise interest rates to 30%, 50% and 80%. The high interest rates demolish property values, savage industrial production and drain national treasuries.
(3) Market-Based Pricing – In other words, raise the price of food, water and energy beyond the ability of the poor to pay for them. This inevitably leads to what Stiglitz calls “The IMF riots”, enabling the country to bring key assets under the ‘protection’ of the military.
(4) Free Trade – global corporations take control of the country’s infrastructure, plunder the raw resources and force its citizens into individual debt trying to pay for their own water, etc.
http://www.gregpalast.com/the-globalizer-who-came-in-from-the-cold/
As promised.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/greek-bailout-fund/x/11378911#/story
You can even claim a perk should you wish. If the target is not reached you get your donation back. Please subscribe to this historic bailout. It can work.
1.6 Billion Euro won’t go far – Tsipras was asking last for 30 billion over two years even if you thing the IMF analysis of over 50 billion is just another plot.
“Greece’s Grexit could be the way forward for the rest of us.”
James Galbraith does not want Grexit and neither does Varoufakis – the latter is repeatedly making the point that the referendum is about austerity not Grexit – it is Merkel and other European leaders that are using the threat of Grexit as a means of pushing for austerity. Tsipras has been rather politically inept in forcing himself into this position by calling the referendum in the first place. Only the economically naïve and illiterate think that Grexit will solve anything – it would in all likelihood lead to runaway inflation and instability – and do nothing to reverse the austerity and encourage the investment in the Greek economy that is desperately needed.
And all this talk about past overspending and profligacy and who was responsible really is just hot air – I’m afraid it has already happened and wherever the money went I very much doubt it can be recovered. Even if Greece wanted to repay its debts – the reality is that its economy is in such a state that it cannot do so – and without substantial investment the ability to service even a portion of its debts will continue to shrink.
If the creditors had any sense they would exchange their current debt and provide new debt where the interest and repayments were linked to the future growth of the Greek economy – when companies get crippled by debt but there is the potential for an underlying sound business then the sensible route out is usually a debt for equity swap (e.g Eurotunnel), something similar is now required for Greece as a whole.
Indeed. The problem for SYRIZA is that you cannot expect to share a currency with 18 other countries who think your economic policy is wrong. If you want to be in the club you have to play by the rules, as Scotland would if it kept sterling after independence. The Greek people have never wanted Grext as the only people they trust less than those currently running the Euro in Brussels and Frankfurt are their own politicians in Athens. It is remarkable how people like Galbraith refer only to imposed austerity and not to public sector reform which all Greek governments have failed at. Varoufakis seems to have spent more time giving interviews to Paris Match than tackling tax evasion. The “Lagarde List” is as forgotten under SYRIZA as it was by the Government before
Greeks lost out in their rush to currency union (Euro denomination). The same bunch of “auditors” whom “audited Enron/Global Crossing/Parmelat/et al” probably were “auditing” Greece to ensure her joining the currency union. Fact that the systemic underlying problems of the Greek economy would be exacerbated to the detriment of the Greeks never crossed the minds of the crooks and banksters who were all too busy getting ready to feather their own nests.
Now Greek pensioners; are facing no pensions, the sick and infirm don’t get any measure of help, the social cohesion of a once united country (recollecting the riots because a sixteen year old boy had been beaten up in police custody) destroyed, the precious Islands dotted around the Greece sold to foreign banksters, …………..
There is still talk of more of the same nostrum! Definition of madness is to try the same tack over and again without taking note of the propensity for the same outcome as before.
Greeks should get out of the currency union, and default on their debts, and let the chips wherever these may fall. This should be the first step against the tyranny of debt, by a nation that has been brought to the edge of destruction because of the tyranny of debt, and the politics of banksterism
“Greeks should get out of the currency union, and default on their debts, and let the chips wherever these may fall. This should be the first step against the tyranny of debt, by a nation that has been brought to the edge of destruction because of the tyranny of debt, and the politics of banksterism” Fedup
Yep.
That’s what Stiglitz says.
Yep. I agree. It’s the only way.
Technicolour; “That’s what Stiglitz says”
So does the commonsense of this 85 year old, who was robbed of her education by the Germans;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/02/greece-austerity-germany_n_7716490.html
In Defence of Greece: 6 Myths Busted
http://wire.novaramedia.com/2015/06/in-defence-of-greece-6-myths-busted/
Fedup
It was not just non Greeks that were massaging the figures to allow Greece to join the Euro – the political classes and civil servants in Greece were all employed in the same game, and there wasn’t much opposition from the Greek population as a whole who were happy to see their soft drachma savings replaced with hard Euros. At the time it was the worst kept secret around – and hardly anyone was objecting either in Greece or the rest of Europe. However that is all bye the bye – it has happened and will do nothing to solve Greece’s or Europes’s current problems.
As for your proposed solution of Grexit and default – perhaps you could tell us how that will work going forward, and how it will not heap even further misery on ordinary Greeks. Perhaps you could point to a similar small country with a weak currency and non existent investment that has turned itself around in the past. Come on spell it out in simple terms how the economy and ordinary Greeks lives would improve? Especially since that is not something that even Syriza have tried to explain.
Could someone point me to where Stiglitz is pointing to Grexit being his preferred option? He certainly argues against the foreign creditors seeking to impose further austerity against Greece – but as far as I can see he also knows that Grexit would inflict pain and suffering on ordinary people as well, a point that the revolutionaries here don’t wish to recognise as some have no problem with ordinary people suffering for the “cause”.
Did Greece not help Germany right off 50% of it’s debt in 1953?
RD: He agrees neither is easy, both carry risks, but he’d vote ‘No’
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/29/joseph-stiglitz-how-i-would-vote-in-the-greek-referendum
“RD: He agrees neither is easy, both carry risks, but he’d vote ‘No’”
I don’t disagree with that – but that is not the same as saying he is arguing for default and Grexit as you appear to have claimed.
“Did Greece not help Germany right off 50% of it’s debt in 1953?”
Couldn’t agree more – I’m afraid Angela needs to realise for the good of Europe as a whole that Marshall Aid or its modern equivalent can be granted to States who committed lesser “crimes” than Hitler’s Germany. But of course Keynesians were in charge in 1953.
I wasn’t claiming he was arguing for ‘Grexit’; ‘taking its destiny in its own hands’ certainly implies – necessitates? – default.
Greece did get a haircut before http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-bondholders-to-take-50-haircut-2011-10-26
it might not have been the right deal, but the Greek fovernment did agree to it, like the West Germans agreed in 1953. The diffrence is that the Germans kept their deal, depite changes of government, including final instalments conditional on unification. The Greeks keep making different deals and then not sticking to them. EU leaders would be happy to agree to further debt releif, as Juncker made clear he had already offered before Tsipras called the referendum.
What can Merkel do when Obama knows what colour her knickers are?
Robert Crawford
Given the actions of the Federal Reserve in recent years I’ll think you’ll find that Obama understands Keynesianism rather better than Merkel.
The FED. is not the American Government.
University of Missouri at Kansas Economists, Michael Hudson and Bill Black, give a clear perspective on the reasons for the Greek financial crisis and more importantly the means to escape from the unpayable mountain of debt on the Greek citizens.
http://michael-hudson.com/2015/06/greece-on-behalf-of-europe/
According to some press reports Greek nationals are flooding back to Greece to vote in the referendum, with most opting for a yes vote.
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis,has said that if Greeks vote no the nation will be in a quandary, we have smashed up our printing presses, and can no longer print Drachmas,said Varoufakis.
He continued, we did so to show our commitment to the Euro.
Thjanks for that Salford Lad, Rob G. and Mary. Selling islands is an option to Greece, but what if they prefer a Russian bid to that of a US or German bidder?
I think that Greece should vote NO but make it clear to all tax exiles and past scoundrels, be they Papademos ex supporters or those who hid behind the Junta to rob Greece by not paying their taxes, thjat they can never return to Greece unless they pay up, that they will not be interned in Greece and that their last will, by default, includes the Greek States tax demands.
Osborne and Cameron have helped these tax exiles and evaders for decades by operating tax havens under British jurisdiction, so have the Swiss. Why can’t Osborne include a Greek Exile tax in his budget, payable by all who have purchased property in London?, to be transfered to the Greek economy, after he has taken his cut, off course, that what >ankers do
Further, after dithering on the issue of international control over tax havens and their clients respective tax laxity, as indicated by our frustrated US allies/negotiators on the subject of tax evasion, would Mr. Osborne like to dazzle us with another promise to ‘sort this problem out once for all’.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/at-this-late-stage-theres-still-a-way-out-of-the-greek-crisis-2015-07-03
I propose a four-step path out of the Greek crisis.
First, I recommend that the Greek people give a resounding “no” to the creditors in the referendum on their demands this weekend.
Second, Greece should continue to withhold service on its external debts to official creditors in advance of a consensual debt restructuring later this year. Given its great depression, Greece should use its savings to pay pensioners, provide food relief, make crucial infrastructure repairs, and direct liquidity toward the banking system.
Third, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must use his persuasive powers to convince the public, in the style of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that the only thing they have to fear is fear itself. Specifically, the government should make clear to all Greeks that their euro deposits are safe; that the country will remain within the eurozone (despite the false claims by some members of the Eurogroup that a “no” vote means a Greek exit); and that its banks will reopen immediately after the referendum.
Finally, Greece and Germany need to come to a rapprochement soon after the referendum and agree to a package of economic reforms and debt relief. No country, including Greece, should expect to be offered debt relief on a silver platter; relief must be earned and justified by real reforms that restore growth, to the benefit of both debtor and creditor. And yet, a corpse cannot carry out reforms. That is why debt relief and reforms must be offered together, not reforms “first” with some vague promises that debt relief will come in some unspecified amount at some unspecified time in the future (as some in Europe have said to Greece).
A jubilee is an idea that dates back to Biblical times. The idea was that every 50 years or so there would be this moment where debts would be forgiven. The jubilee has not gotten a lot of traction in the modern world, but right now, Iceland is actually trying it.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
A jubilee can be a dessert or a special event. In Biblical times, a jubilee was a year in which debts were forgiven, and that kind of jubilee never got much traction in the modern world. But Planet Money’s David Kestenbaum has this story about one country giving it a try – Iceland.
http://www.npr.org/2014/12/11/370156273/iceland-experiments-with-a-jubilee-of-debt-forgiveness
Steep downside. It’s a lot like student loans repaid with minimum wage jobs. USdotgov can’t even bring themselves to lower interest rate to prime.
They make billions off the interest.
“The most corrupt large-scale bank bailouts were engineered in the U.S. by Democrat President Barack Obama and his Lieutenants Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers following from (George W.) Bush administration efforts. The decision was made early on to fully restore Wall Street while leaving the major players who had destroyed the global ‘real’ economy in place. The European powers-that-be replaced key players and imposed more onerous restrictions than had the Americans. This differentiated treatment between ‘internal’ lenders and ‘external’ borrowers defined state behavior both within and across Western nations. The difference in part confirms the perceived importance that Wall Street, large American, French and German based banks, play in neo-imperialist endeavors.
Now
In this time when liberatory politics are handed down by the Supreme Court and liberal Democrat Barack Obama is pushing stealth ‘trade’ deals through Congress the rule of money couldn’t be more evident. Evolution of the Reagan / Thatcher ‘liberation through markets’ finds a global corporate class preying on neo-imperial subjects through newly-constructed mechanisms of economic subjugation. This self-realizing professional class now has the same right to sleep in cardboard boxes and beg for money as the economically excluded, the privatized and those held captive by markets. Self-realized German politicians join self-realized Greek pensioners enjoying ethereal rights while engaged in global class war.
http://beta.counterpunch.org/2015/07/03/greece-and-global-class-war/
It’s a pattern of abuse rewarded without a whimper. If Greece says ‘yes’ it will be jus the beginning. If ‘NO’ they may be able to take a clean slate and start over, rather than waiting 2 decades as Japan did.
Typically after a bankruptcy, lenders see you as new 7 years after your cardinal sin.