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Greece at the Point of no Return
Wolf Richter www.testosteronepit.com
"The European Union is suffering under Germany,” Georgios Karatzaferis said on Friday. He is the president of the right-wing LAOS. With 15 members in parliament, the party is a minority partner in the coalition cabinet of party-less technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. Karatzaferis accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of trying to "impose her will on Southern Europeans." He called the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and Luxembourg "satellite states" of Germany. And he said that the center of the EU was no longer in Brussels but in Berlin.
But the true toxin in his outburst was the phrase: "I cannot accept this credit agreement." With it, he backtracked on his support for the austerity package agreed to amid flickers of hope the day before. And it pushed Greece a step closer to disorderly default and bankruptcy.
To avoid that fate, Greece must make a €14.5 billion bond payment on March 20, but it won't be able to unless it receives the next bailout payment, this one for €130 billion, a mind-boggling 56% of Greece's shriveling GDP. That payment process has to be initiated over the next few days, according to ratings agency Fitch, to give all countries and institutions involved sufficient time to deal with the administrative complexities of bailing out a country with taxpayer money.
On Thursday, for a few minutes at least, hope was flying high in the media: the three governing parties had agreed on an austerity package that included cutting the minimum wage by 22% and trimming the bloated public sector. But the fallout was immediate.
Deputy Labor and Social Security Minister Yiannis Koutsoukos, a member of the socialist PASOK, resigned in protest over the cuts in social programs; he hadn’t been informed about them, nor had anyone asked him, he said.
Unions called for protests and a general strike for Friday and Saturday. The measures throw the unemployed, retirees, and young people into misery, said Ilias Iliopoulos, head of the union for civil servants. "We will not accept that, there will be a social revolt."
Greece’s Police union threatened Troika inspectors with arrest. In a written declaration sent to representatives of the Troika, the union accused them of trying to overthrow democratic order in Greece, injuring national sovereignty, and robbing the Greek people of important goods.
The small tabloid Dimokratia featured Merkel in Nazi uniform (joe.ie). The headline, “Memorandum Macht Frei,” evoked the infamous text above the entrance of the Auschwitz concentration camp. And demonstrators burned a German flag in front of the parliament.
Friday, public transportation came to a halt in Athens. Leaflets were handed out with Wanted printed on them, offering a reward of €1 euro for the arrest of a "Troikan." Peaceful demonstrations were followed by violent ones where demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at police, who responded with teargas and clubs. More ministers offered their resignation. And on Saturday, the Prime Minister warned of collapse if parliament failed to agree on the austerity package. For more on the rough politics of bailout extortion, read.... Greece’s Extortion Racket Maxed Out.
As the situation veers toward hopeless, it follows the step-by-step procedure laid out by Otmar Issing, former member of the Bundesbank and the ECB—a procedure that has been happening for months.... Kicking Greece out of the Eurozone.
The Troika hasn’t always played hardball. For two years, it sent billions of euros to Greece to keep it afloat for a month or two at a time—though Greece had systematically misrepresented its deficits and debt since before it acceded to the Eurozone. In return for the bailout billions, the Troika asked for reforms. The Greek government promised them but failed to implement many of them. Politicians, ministries, and agencies refused to go along. The Greek people took to the streets. The bailout billions went up in smoke. The economy got worse. And Greece’s refusal to wholeheartedly embrace these reforms exceeded Teutonic patience and willingness to throw ever more money their way.
So the Troika is letting Greece twist in the wind. At risk are €130 billion—many times larger than the smallish amounts with which it had been spoon-feeding Greece. If the payment were €5 billion, it would be made, if only to delay the inevitable another month. But €130 billion, 56% of Greece’s GDP, won’t happen unless all conditions down to the last iota are met, humiliating to Greece as these iotas may be.
The Troika decided to let the inevitable happen, it seems. Their impossible-to-fulfill conditions offer plausible deniability. Mekel and colleagues can say “afterwards” that they tried everything, but that Greece simply couldn’t follow through. And Greek politicians are already planning for the “afterwards" as well. For that hair-raising debacle, read.... Greek Politicians Dive For Cover.
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If your drug-addict brother in law needed money for his next fix, would you be a facist for not wanting to give it to him?
Greece has already implimented several rounds of austerity. The reason they aren't meeting the budget targets is because their economy is collapsing.
Germany is saying that they need to impliment austerity FASTER than the economy collapses. That sounds like a fucked up situation to me, and it does to the Greek people to.
Depends if rehab cost him all his possessions, his children and all his future earnings.
Oh, and to wit its all fraud, conjured falsities out of thin air called "financial engineering.". Create the itch so central fraud inc. can scratch it.
Enough total bullshit to make any sane man drink for national security.
Burn the fascist banks, lets see the market for finance-fag blood and piles of pinstripes that "nobody sees coming.". This you will see when the Fourth reich IMF tries to enslave Americans - or sooner!
Punishing the mass of innocent for the crimes of few never works. Banks are fucking up civilization. Again. They and their fraud syndicate of lawless government support will lose.
If you are a banker you had better take a really good look at your future, and if you want to live. I wish i was joking, you are first on the menu with the systemic breakdown coming like a freight train..
Was looking for on the ground sources from Greece to follow what actually happens there today, and bumped in to this page:
http://livingingreece.gr/strikes/
I have no affiliation to him and dont know the guy, but he has some useful neutral(?) info about strikes and what might happen from a strike perspective.
/R
some folks here are hinting at the massive size of the bailout this time.
Greece was being strung along for months at a time, for 5 or 6 billion.
Why give them 130 in one shot? If you give the money, there's no incentive
for Greece to do what the Troicycle is asking.
Something's not right here. Schauble is already talking about splitting the money
into 30+100. Now, he's thinking.
One of the benefits of this constant stress on Greece is doing is scaring the shit
out of other countries, so that's doing the EU some benefit. The Irish are behaving perfectly,
Kenny keeps paying, and the Portuguese are sucking up to Schauble
and saying 'we're good boys'.
The fact that the Greek government is largely intransigent, making the people suffer,
is not setting a trend.
Not setting a trend -- until it does.
The real trend you are blind to is fascism.
If money was just a little bit real you would have a little point.
Good discussions here, but 2 things I have never understood.
there are 2 trends on the alt media that I think
get repeated, but are not possible, IMO:
1 gold and silver will go stratospheric, TOMORROW!
King world news, and Max Keiser
buddy, it's a fix. since there's a shadow market and fake bids
are allowed on the stock market, the 300+ trillion of derivatives,
apparently under JPMorgue tutelage, is stacked against the price of gold.
2 Greece will be allowed to go bankrupt
I just learned that the ISDA, the guys who do CDS calls,
refuse to do that because the big players JP Morgue, Goldman, Timmie
will not allow it because it's a financial pandora's, and will cause
banking to freeze, the mistake of 2008. So, it's CTRL-P.
QE from the Fed and backdoor QE in the UK will take care of all
other problems of liquidity for those who bet on the wrong horse.
Even Keiser said, we've lost the bank war.
End of story. the only thing worth waiting for is a black swan that will
turn this stuff upside down.
This whole drama reminds me of Pericles and the Delian league. Only this time Pericles is Merkel and the Delian league is the Bankster Cabal defending collective Euro/Us wealth in the name of Pericles's organised Hegemony, aka the Euro construct, and its contagious spin-off into Greenback land.
When the Melians, inhabitants of small island, defied Pericles and his Hegemony and shouted : we are not for you nor against you, we are for our own freedom; Pericles, in the name of Delian League Hegemony, sent in his troops and killed every male Melian. The island was destroyed. It started the first debate in history about Justice; natural justice or equal justice for all both victors or victims.
IN this current stand-off, the people of Greece are the new Melians...choose your side.
I abide by Socrates, not Thucydide! Never betray the legacy of History. It always comes back to bite you; like Nemesis.
In the aftermath Sparta destroyed Athens...
Let Greece leave in orderly fashion; no dictat, no financial retribution.
But how the Greek people resolve their own corrupt Oligarchical construct stays THEIR problem.
wonderful, poetic, thoughtful comparison
"Let Greece leave in orderly fashion; no dictat, no financial retribution." Yes, please.
Though I fear our modern Melians just want a yearly contribution from the Delian treasury...
As Michael Hudson repaeatedly points out the military war and the financial war being perpetrated by the Imperium are the same war.
Whether by default or by debt and austerity, Greece will be sacrificed - just as Iraq and Libya were sacrificed and just as Syria and - if they can get that far - Iran will be sacrificed.
And just as you, dear reader, whether you are an ignorant, opinionated bigot, a deluded religious nutcase or an intelligent and compassionate witness to the ongoing venality, will be sacrificed if it is deemed to be necessary to the survival of the Imperium.
The Greeks will give their pound of flesh, and more. How Goldman and the banks set them up for the "skinning" is, even now, forgotten as everyone projects blame and dives for cover to save their own sorry ass.
Have a nice day - - -
To me the whole "PIIGS" thing reminds me of taking a canoe trip with the old man. Everything starts out great...but then...six hours after you were suppose to get to the car to take you back to where you started...the sun's gone down and you're gettin' hungry. So you convince yourself: "the car is right around the next corner." And so it is with "European economic recovery." It's "right around the next corner." Soon it's 4 AM...you're wondering "how the HELL long is this river?" You're thinking "do we just pull over and call it a night? WTF?" Soon you're simply asleep while floating...only to wake up to a roaring noise and realize "man i think we missed the car cuz that sure sounds like Niagra Falls!" And..."it's over." Moral to the story? "Just pull over, man. Just...pull over."
here's a close-up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMzs1RdvewU&feature=player_detailpage
Paying taxes is like giving crack to an addict.
Nah, it's more like giving a rare and expensive birthday gift to a morbidly obese snivelling brat who cares not a fuck what it took to provide it to the ungrateful little bastard and you watch as he abuses and quickly destroys it knowing it's pissing you off, then flips you a gesture of pure disdain as be demands something far better from you next time if you expect another invite to his birthday party next year.
You Sir are a poet. Hat off.
Why do Greeks hate Germans, and MerKel? This show is being run by the banksters for the banksters. Banksters have done an amazing job of ducking public scorn.
The hoi polloi think Bankster-Tool-in-Chief is on their side, they think the only qualified Republican candidate is a kook. What an insane world this is.
I was at the bookstore browsing pop econ books. Even those critical of banks repeat lies such as the PIIGS governments have to bail out their banks.
Oh God, don't get me started on Economists. Those fuckers are all Keynesians. It's part of their rite of passage. They can hardly hide their boners when they hear Uncle Ben and Paul Krugman talk
You are right ... sadly, the GOP continues to be controlled by neocons and banksters. Can it be any more obvious?
The Greeks need about $18 billion, not $190 billion next month. The Germans and Europe will drag them until they give in because most of the money is coming right back to them. And becasue the game is bigger. Everyone knew how this game would play out when they allowed Greece in the Eurozone. Greece has a population bubble moving toward the retirement gold mine and all of these structural changes need to happen now as Greece does not have the future population growth and economic power to support millions of 50's sitting in the sun. This lack of young works for the Germans as there are only about a million males between 18-40. Things could continue to get ugly, but you cannot stage a revolution without the demographic fire power. Turkey, on the other hand is loaded for bear when it comes to demographic fire power and this is one of the reasons Core Europe will not allow Greece to go. Portugal has gotten the message and the religion and the irish, who are relatively loaded demographically as well were smart enough to force the Germans all in from the beginning. There will be no default. The Greeks missed that boat years ago. If the Greeks are going to arrest anyone it should be their own politicians who knew what was coming years ago.
pmm009
hmmm interesting slant I had not heard before...the demographics gaming thingy
The Germans have had two years to get their banks who are exposed to Greece out of Greece in some way. What Germany is doing is trying to get the Greeks to leave voluntarily via default or on their own. They could care less about the rest of the EU banks who are stupid enough to still be invested in Greece. Greece can not possibly pay any of the debt back, they have a population of 11 million and change. The only way that they could possibly pay it back is to sell off their islands, they have more realestate than people. Add to the fact that what percentage of that population is working adults and children and retired and it goes down to a very small percentage.
i guess we'll see...
“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, millions killed because of this obedience. . . Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.”
—Howard Zinn
There's a ring of truth to that, although it is a bit too simplistic. The problem isn't so much obedience, but apathy
I call bullshit. It's not apathy at all. Plenty of people care, but they're being silenced and ostracized. No country willingly goes to its own death, it has to be prodded
I call bullshit. It's not apathy at all. Plenty of people care, but they're being silenced and ostracized. No country willingly goes to its own death, it has to be prodded
Yeah, really, who cares? Shut up, fag, I'm watchin' Ow My Balls!
Yea, but who cares?
Of course the Greek parliament is going to approve ALL Merkozy dictated and Greece is going to receive the 130 billion bailout and euro will jump. In the long term though Greece is going to be fucked and refucked
Of course the Greek parliament is going to approve ALL Merkozy dictated and Greece is going to receive the 130 billion bailout and euro will jump. In the long term though Greece is going to be fucked and refucked
Of course the Greek parliament is going to approve ALL Merkozy dictated and Greece is going to receive the 130 billion bailout and euro will jump. In the long term though Greece is going to be fucked and refucked
Buncha players made a sure bet that Greece could do what it said it would. They were wrong. Man up and take your licks. There is no citizen alive who should be forced to pay a penny to shut up these crybabies, Jeezus.
I think I'm gonna be sick... BARF.... look out below!
Discharge all Greek Debt, Don't give them any more debt and they'll be OK.
Worked well in Democrat Detroit. Free homes, food stamps, welfare, healthcare - what could go wrong?
Ubetcha!
Shoot the Chrystler Super Bowl commercial....
in New Orleans!
Nice.
see Illinois and Kalifornia...
So Greece needs a bailout to pay the payment on the previous bailout?
This is a dysfunctional cycle of enabling; liar-liar loans and second and third "chances" to address the symptoms of a problem whose root causes have yet to be addressed or even admitted to.
The enablers and co-dependents meeting at catered conferences in posh hotels to maintain the addiction cycle and discuss how their citizens shall be punished via austerity for their leaders ineptitude.
The EU and Euro should go away but it won't. The Irish and others had to keep voting until they got it right.
And they're not even a bank!
The so called "citizens who will be punished" never deserved the vote buying handouts they were given on the backs of the next generation. Screw them.
Greece is barely a warm up. The fun begins when Italy and Spain default.
Or not... At the rate their going that could take 2 years.
That sounds about right. But it will be the end of the Euro.
Greece defaults and the Europonzi goes under. The banks will be bankrupt, and the ECB will collaterize Milky Way wrappers to cover the liability.
Therefore the ESM will be implemented mid 2012, to print money for the banks
Xenophobic poison. Blaming others helps distract the Sheeples from the real culprits and problems.
At what point will the sheeple be held responsible for electing "their leaders" and believing that their pay-out would be bigger than their pay-in?
brettd
THAT is the question for the ages...I had the same thoughts about Iraq at the beginning of the war...why are we paying for their poor leadership choices...keeping freedom is a never ending chore and I fear most will not do it well.
Nothing ends without there being a new beginning. Time lines are for men but also for power constructs. We see one reaching tipping point beyond which the manipulators become the manipulated by their own uncontrollable momentum; like a keystone cops movie in a runaway car without brakes. Only, these aren't movie extras, these are the real thing.
BTW : Its NOT the amount stated, the Euro handout, as most of it is circular and comes back out of Greece to banks. Only 19% feeds the country. So Wolf R needs to redo the math.