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Greek Austerity And Economic Religion
Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,
There are many things going on in the Greece vs Institutions+Germany negotiations, and many more on the fringe of the talks, with opinions being vented left and right, not least of all in the media, often driven more by a particular agenda than by facts or know-how.
What most fail to acknowledge is to what extent the position of the creditor institutions is powered by economic religion, and that is a shame, because it makes it very difficult for the average reader and viewer to understand what happens, and why.
Greek FinMin Yanis Varoufakis has often complained that he can’t get the finance ministers and others to discuss economics. As our mutual friend Steve Keen put it:
Steve Keen said the finance minister was frustrated with the progress of Greece’s talks with the euro zone, adding Varoufakis had compared the talks to dealing with “divorce lawyers”. Keen said the finance ministers of Europe refused to discuss certain euro policies, according to Varoufakis. [..] When asked what [Varoufakis and he] mainly discuss at the moment, Keen said, “Mainly his frustration, the fact that the one thing that he can’t discuss with the finance ministers of Europe is economics..”
“He goes inside, he is expected to be discussing what the economic impact of the policies of the euro are and how to get a better set of policies, living within the confines of the euro and the entire European Union system, and he said they simply won’t discuss it. He said it is like walking into a bunch of divorce lawyers, it is not anything like what you think finance ministers should be talking about..”
They won’t discuss these things because they have found religion, in the sense that there is for them only one truth, to the exclusion of all others. They toe the preconceived line, because if they didn’t they would lose their positions.
They are undoubtedly also very hesitant to discuss economics with Varoufakis because they are aware of his prowess in the field. They are much less knowledgeable, which makes it tempting to hide behind numbers, behind Germany, and behind their faith that their views are the only right ones. Which is precisely what Varoufakis challenges.
You won’t see the Pope in a muslim prayer five times daily with his face to Mecca, or an imam celebrating Holy Mass. And that’s sort of alright, there’s nothing that says everyone should have the same religion. But when it comes to a field such as economics, and certainly when multi-trillion dollar decisions are being taken, and people in the streets are already going broke and hungry, that is definitely not alright.
The number one priority under such circumstances absolutely must be to find a solution, find it fast, and alleviate the suffering. Not to push through any particular policy or vision. Now, you can accuse Greece of not doing that, and the institutions and their pundits in the press do that on a 24/7 basis, but that view lacks substance.
The institutions demand more austerity measures for Greece, whereas it’s plain to see that austerity is what has led to the misery of the people. In particular, pensions cuts are apparently still a point neither side wants to give in on. But not only have Greek pensions already been cut by 40% or so, they are the last straw for many entire families.
Which means the entire pension system would need to be thoroughly reformed, not just pensions cut, or more, and more widespread, misery is in the offing. And there simply is no time to achieve that thorough reform before Greek repayment deadlines set in. Don’t forget, the entire Syriza government hasn’t been able (allowed) to do anything but negotiate. And is then accused of not doing enough.
This inflexible insistence on more austerity, and hence more misery, for the Greek people, is a good example of how religion driven the IMF, EU and ECB are. As I’ve written many times, it’s about power, not about money; it wouldn’t cost all that much, but could achieve a lot, to let Greeks off the austerity hook for a bit. All it takes is flexibility when entering the negotiations. But there ain’t much of that, if any, on the creditors’ side.
Which is why this Bloomberg piece on the IMF’s ‘enforcer’ for Greece Poul Thomsen should bring a smile to our faces.
A former IMF colleague of Thomsen’s, Ashoka Mody, last month in a Bloomberg View column called for the fund to “recognize its responsibility for the country’s predicament” and forgive much of Greece’s debt. There’s little sign that the IMF and Thomsen might bend the rules or cross their red lines now. While some issues such as short-term budget targets may be negotiable, the fund’s position is that any Greek agreement must bring debt down to sustainable levels and include concrete commitment to reforms, especially cuts to public pensions.
“We are open to new ideas and different ways to achieve a country’s economic goals. We are a pragmatic institution,” Thomsen said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “But we also need to be mindful of economic realities. At the end of the day it needs to add up. And we need to ensure that we treat our member states equally, that we apply our rules uniformly.”
For all we know that’s even the way he sees things. But the IMF is neither a flexible nor a beneficial institution. It’s a power tool for the wealthy. The philosophy behind the institutions’ view of the negotiations, and indeed their entire view of economics in general, is constructed to follow the preferences of the wealthy, who have a strong vested interest in centralized control over just about everything, because more centralization makes it easier for them to exert this control.
Syriza getting its way on reforms doesn’t fit in that picture; before you know more parties want some say in their futures too. Most of all, though, different ideas on economics in general cannot be accepted. Everybody has to follow the IMF line of ‘reforms’, asset sales, privatizations, labor protection and austerity. Certainly everyone who owes the Fund money. That’s its ultimate power tool.
That the EU follows that line merely means it’s and immoral and amoral institution, and a union only in name. The ECB follows the IMF line on economics, which means there’s no room for aberrant views, no matter how well founded and thought through. There’s no place in there for people like Varoufakis, or Steve Keen.
It’s not about knowledge or brilliance, it’s about keeping the faith, because that keeps the power where it’s at. Yeah, there’s a hint of Galileo in there somewhere. The ‘philosophy’ is neo-liberal mixed with let’s say, Keynes-for-the-rich, aka QE.
A nice example of how the IMF operates, and how far its power tentacles reach, came in a Guardian piece on Chapter 11 bankruptcy for countries, and why Argentina took its case to the UN, not the IMF:
When Argentina tabled a motion calling for the UN to examine the issue of sovereign debt restructuring last autumn, 124 countries voted for it; 11, including the UK and the US, with their powerful financial lobbies, voted against; and there were 41 abstentions. Llorenti, who is chairing the UN “ad hoc committee” set up as a result of that vote, says the 11 countries that objected hold 45% of the voting power at the IMF. He believes they would prefer the matter to be tackled there, where they can shape the arguments: “It’s a matter of control, really.”
Another thing I‘ve said before is that the IMF is a prime example of why we should steer away from supra-national organizations. We can’t make them run for our own benefit, they invariably end up being run for the benefit of the few, because their inherent lack of transparency and democracy makes them an irresistible target for sociopathic individuals, who seek control, not democracy, and for the elites whose interests they invariably end up representing.
There’s the World Bank, NATO, the IMF, the EU. The UN is somewhat more democratic, but only somewhat. Behind the veil it’s not at all.
Amongst the European finance minsters there should still be a few who may have doubts about what’s happening to Greece, what’s being demanded of it. And who realize that the purely political decision to bail out the banks that had lent to Greece, and shove their debts into the lap of all Europeans, who in turn pushed it right back into Greece’s lap, is at best highly questionable.
If these Europeans want to save their union, they need to be told that what they’re doing right now is the exact wrong way to go about that, 180º wrong. What happens today is not holding or pulling the member states together, it’s driving them apart.
Perhaps it is indeed ultimately a choice between the banks and the people. And perhaps it scares them stiff not to choose the banks. With their limited knowledge of how economies function, they must believe the story of how everything will fall to pieces if the banks fail. Besides, if they question it, they’re out.
But economics cannot be a religion, it cannot have this inflexibility and resistance to change. And neither can politics, not if we want our unions, our countries and our societies to survive, if we want to survive, and our children. Economics is not a science, though it very much longs for that status. It shouldn’t be a religion either, however.
There is nothing that says, or proves, that bailing out banks and forcing austerity on people (note the combination) is the best, or only, way to rescue an economy in trouble. That austerity is the way to rebuild an economy. These are mere ideas, conceived by people who studied textbooks.
What Greece is asking for is a simple bottom beneath its society, lest it completely falls to bits, lest all it’s left with is some right wing movement or another. But instead, the institutions’ approach to economics, to democracy and to power look to make a true solution for the Greek problem impossible.
That in turn would seem to make a Grexit, in some shape or another, the only way left to go. Why would anyone want to live in a world dominated by religious fanatics and their henchmen?
Finally, as for what the euro, and hence the eurozone, were intended to do, here’s Greg Palast from 2012, talking about father of the euro, Robert Mundell:
Robert Mundell, Evil Genius Of The Euro
“It’s very hard to fire workers in Europe,” he complained. His answer: the euro. The euro would really do its work when crises hit, Mundell explained. Removing a government’s control over currency would prevent nasty little elected officials from using Keynesian monetary and fiscal juice to pull a nation out of recession.
“It puts monetary policy out of the reach of politicians,” he said. “[And] without fiscal policy, the only way nations can keep jobs is by the competitive reduction of rules on business.” He cited labor laws, environmental regulations and, of course, taxes. All would be flushed away by the euro. Democracy would not be allowed to interfere with the marketplace – or the plumbing. [..]
The supply-side economics pioneered by Mundell became the theoretical template for Reaganomics – or as George Bush the Elder called it, “voodoo economics”: the magical belief in free-market nostrums that also inspired the policies of Mrs Thatcher.
Mundell explained to me that, in fact, the euro is of a piece with Reaganomics: “Monetary discipline forces fiscal discipline on the politicians as well.” And when crises arise, economically disarmed nations have little to do but wipe away government regulations wholesale, privatize state industries en masse, slash taxes and send the European welfare state down the drain.
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Tyler: Austerity is another word for balanced budget.
+1, "Austerity" is an ugly word, nevertheless apt to describe the pain that balanced budgets can cause
and I think Tylers know it well. the article they are posting is from Raul Ilargi Meijer, who takes the view from the Left, the view of those who suffer
and imho it's important to hear from them, too
in the article, Raul vents the frustration that Varoufakis has towards his EuroCrat collegues, the eurozone Financial Ministers, who don't engage with him on his field, economics, and don't divulge their plans to him
well, part of it is because he is confrontational... like divorce lawyers (and there is a cultural angle, too, Varoufakis was a professor in Australia)
another part of it is because he himself is not divulging any information, including the Greek financial situation, and this frustrates them to no end
and a further part of it is because the main bone of contention between them and him is that he is a Marxist, leading the whole confrontation to the basis of...
Austrian School and balanced budgets versus Neo-Keynesianism. or, strongly simplified, "The Right" versus "The Left"
and what I don't like in the article is the accusation of "Economic Religion"... where a Marxist proponing Neo-Keynesian solutions is involved
if on one of the two sides is "religion", then, sorry, the other side... is it, too
The inference I draw from your comments is that the IMF and Troika are supporters of the Austrian School. I see little evidence of that.
They are simply demanding that Greece continues with debt-slave policies to help ensure repayment of its debts to international creditors.
But the Troika and every debt pumping bank have fucked themselves believing the debt slaves they created can ever pay them back now.
It's not going to ever happen now cause it's gone way too far.
So the entire global debt built empire collapses under its own weight now leaving behind a new Dark Ages.
Just like the fall of the Roman Empire.
OT: Happy news today -
Banker jumps to his death from luxury apartment http://nypost.com/2015/05/28/man-falls-to-death-outside-luxury-building/
JUMP YOU FUCKERS
One logical outcome is for there to be a Big Reset.
I have predicted this for ~6 years and I still believe it will happen, although probably step-by-step by stealth not overnight.
Question: Why else would the elites be restricting the use of cash and even planning for its complete abolition?
Answer: to prevent anyody from avoiding the Big Reset. They want to impoverish everybody.
smacker, I'm sorry, but can't you see that all the calls for a restriction on cash come from the Left?
as often, I'm at loss with you. when it comes to ideologies, you don't even sound English, you sound like the classic/cartoonish "yeah, whatever" American
balanced budgets are not strictly Austrian School, but they are for sure not from the Left, or Neo-Keynesian
and capitalism as such is not known for saying that private property should be restribuited, and it's also not known for calls for debt cancellation
you jump from an extreme ultra-liberal point of view to other extremes, from my point of view. I miss... moderation (and some coherence, but that is debatable)
I agree, it's difficult to keep a moderate point of view in such extreme times, though. But extremes, imho, beget extremes, and "extremists are bad bedfellows"
Bend over and make yourself attractive to the investors. Who have been ordained by the almighty derivitives hairball. Prove yourself worthy to them!
Ghordius; You would understand where I'm coming from a lot better if you re-assessed what is Left and what is Right.
[hint] a lot of people/orgs who are generally seen to be Right by orthodox propaganda are actually Left.
Truth is, in Europe we hardly have anybody on the Right any longer. Same thing has happened in the US and UK. They're all shades of the Left fighting each other over which nail on the coffin to bang in next.
anyway, when it comes to a Big Reset, and Greece, there is a very interesting precedent
the Original Constitution of Solon, in Athens
Solon was a poet (read: modern wealthy rockstar) in Athens, and debt was such a problem, Athenians were so at loss, that they gave all power to the only man that saw solutions
his first act was to draw a constitution, instead of just ruling as a dictator. there was a lot of astonishment about this
his second act was to call for all Athenians that were sold as slaves to be bought back at state expenses, and forbid any debt to be put on humans as collateral
his third act was to reform the lending business, with many, many restrictions and regulations
his fourth act was to restore some of the lands that originally belonged to the tribal communities to them
his fifth act was to note that there were three parts of Attica: the hills, the plains and the coasts
(read for an approximate analogy: Scotland, England and Greater London)
(read for a different analogy: the small (producing) business, the big (producing) business and the commercial exchanging business)
(another analogy: the smallholders, the great landlords and the... foreigners from all over the world)
(or just: the Knights & Clans, the Lords and the Merchants)
where he divided each zone in ten, and mixed each tenth from the hills with one of the plains with one of the coast
the first (and only) case of political "reverse redistricting", then each "tenth" district was not thinking in particular interests anymore
and, at the end, after establishing Timocracy, i.e. the "Influence On Politics Based on Tax Contribution" he astonished the ancient world again by...
... sending himself into exile. (The first denizen of Elysium, if you want). So that he could not be pressured to change the constitution
Solon gave us many insights in human nature and politics which we regularly forget
Throw those pathetic Greeks out of Europe already. What are we waiting for, they are just a worthless third world country.
Whenever anyone talks about what "countries should do" I know they are part of an even more dangerous religion: Statism.
What if we had no governments? Then individuals wouldn't be forcibly extorted to achieve the whims of some sociopaths at the top of the pyramid...
ok, but... HOW? You have a classic New World perspective, in this: "There Is Enough Space"
Here, in the Old World, we have an older perspective: "There Is An Invader Beyond The Horizon"
further, no state... does not change human nature. it just exchanges the state soldier with the private mercenary
have a look at the history of the various India Corporations. Private, with private armies and private navy vessels
Wellington, the victor over "statist" Napoleon... worked for the Right Honourable British East India Corporation
an early example of what corporations would do if your wish was granted and all states would magically vanish
the private, individual "sociopath" exists. there is a name for him: pirate
and he sees himself as a right honourable entrepreneur, mostly engaged in trade and salvage business
Vulture Capitalism.
Hey someone has to do it.
Just not everyone...
Actually Ghordius, Varoufakis was a Professor at UT in Austin before becoming Finance Minister. I don't know if he is a "Marxist" besides we usually call it "Marxian Economics" and it might be the best way of analysing this mess because it is clearly caused by Income Distribution and Capital. We could look at Kaldor or Pasinetti Distribution Theorems to see how far Capital and its returmns have become concentrated and diverted into non-productive use.
As for Greece - a country 2003-2007 which was 4th largest arms importer on earth - filling politiciam bank accounts with bribes. Why did Greece need 6 FREMM frigates from France ? Defence Spending is $1000 per capita which is UK terms would mean $70 billion instead of $60bn. Greece had the highest defence spending in GDP terms in the whole EU
Then the bribes paid for Olympic Stadium, public projects - Siemens etc bribing politicians.
It is not economic theory that explains why the Political Class have stolen from the public leaving them with the Debts and the rich have parked themselves in Luxembourg or London or Switzerland. Why isn't Papandreou in jail ? Is it his US connections, his American mother , his education in Toronto, USA, London ?
The situation is simply the same as when FDR imposed sanctions on Japan in 1939 and cut off oil and scrap metal. It is a drive to WAR. Violence is the only future because Reason is dead
Sandmann, I allow myself to call Varoufakis a Marxist because he labels himself as such. But I am at loss on how to distinguish between a Marxist and a proponent of Marxian Economics
nevertheless, the issue, simplified, is that of budget policies
the current eurozone political consensus is that of the EU Fiscal Compact. which calls for balanced budgets. which calls, in the case of Greece, for a primary surplus
de facto, the current haggling between Greece's government and it's counterparts is on how much of a primary surplus
leaving the details of the Greek corruption a Greek Affair
(I did not know that Mr. V. was at UT in Austin, before. the cultural preference for confrontational bargaining does not change, though. it's most of the eurozoners that have a different cultural approach)
But... but... the people of Greece will leave before paying usurious costs THAT THEY DID NOT INCUR.
The argument is moot. The deals with the devils were made behind closed doors, a la TPP - which false leadership then insists that an uninformed and unconsenting populous adhere to because it is mandated by the democratic state.
This will not work. The people will leave. At least in Greece. They have relatives...
Maybe it is a bankster land grab... makes the most sense...
usury is actually the act of asking extreme rates for debt. and that "they did not incur" is... debatable. items: Greek armaments and the Olympics in Athens
sorry, I see some good points mixed with extreme ones, in your comment. btw, I have a godson, in Greece, and his point of view would not fit any comment in any blog
Lol, i´m a godfather of a Greek boy too, his father and i went to school together. My friend said he did not want some of his Greek relatives to be. Took some bribes for the orthodox priest of course since i´m definitely not orthodox.
Yanis Varoufakis is a self-described Marxist and is Marxist in the sense of someone who believes the interests of capital to be antithetical to the interests of the society.
He is brilliant, but unfortunately is in the unenviable position of having to represent and negotiate on behalf of an openly corrupt and bankrupt nation that is literally at the mercy of the rest of the EMU dominated by neo-liberals.
The only way out for Greece is to default on its debts, exit the EMU and EU. Things will be very ugly in the short term, but they will at least have a chance of building a better place than the corrupt, neo-liberal, fascist hellhole it has become and which it is guarranteed to remain as if Greece remains in the EMU/EU.
"Austerity" occurs when the original promises cannot be kept.
They keep saying the pensions need to be "reformed." The pensions are unsustainable in the first place.
They need to be abolished, and the people need to starve. Then the people need to revolt, and take what was stolen from them.
Not the pensions. Their country.
Default and bankruptcy are painful words too. Greece can simply refuse to pay back the debts claiming insolvency. Yet Eurozone will not hear or discuss that either. I agree with this author, in that there is seems to never be a discussion of the income side if the balance sheet, only the debt side.
This discussion is one sided in that regard. The "bankers" have loaned to Greece at the same time controlling it's ability to pay back, Greece borrowed without consideration on its ability to payback. Much as the US has done. But when you dig deeper, you find the same policies the "bankers" set up economically have also destroyed income generation (i.e., the ability to payback). For example the Russian sanctions have significantly reduced farm shipments from Euro farms some of which destined for Russia. This policy reduces income, and the ability to pay back debt. Then you dig deeper and you find some entities are "exempt" from the sanctions, those favored by the "bankers".
So "bankers" pick who is exempt and who is not from income production ? And what economical school of thought is that from? When you see the Eurozone is being run by an unelected group of "bankers", selecting winners and losers, you get a bigger picture of the mess.
While no person or country should borrow beyond its ability to payback, that becomes more complicated when your bank controls and can cut off your income anytime they chose to. Today's financial markets thrive on 'debt instruments', maybe we should think about financial markets that thrive on 'income instruments'. But as the author eludes to that is not open for discussion.
On balance I agree with you. To me, this sounds like inviting your friends over for a great party. You drink and eat without regards to the future and now that is over, all that left is misery. With everyone in a hangover state who is going to clean up the mess. That is what the argument is about. The view of the problem is a distortion of the truth at best an over simplifications on the other. This has little to do with right and left because Europe has not had a truly right ideology for a very long time. Neither is this a free market because Europeans would not recognize a free market if it bit them in the ass.
What we have is a bunch psychopaths and sociopaths aligning themselves on a pseudo right and left paradigm which is nothing but a fantasy. They are blaming each other taking no responsibility. They will proclaim; It's the free market tyrants causing the problem. Except, where are the free markets? On the other side, the Bankster are accusing the Marxists of being irresponsible with their finances. This second class of parasite is not interested in helping anyone except themselves.
Europe has to come to terms with the fact that you can't have your cake and eat it too. The prognosis is not very good because both sides are blinded by their interest or ideology. Artificial prosperity always ends the same way. The wolves[banksters] understand this and will always come in to feasts. These guys are not interested in freedom and self determination unless is their own. On the other side, those who believe Marxists Keynesian economics [a farce] are also wrong and it is simply running into the arms of the wolves.
My advice to Greece is to get a grip, roll up you sleeves and get to work on rebuilding you economy and country without the need of a central authority to tell you what to do. Do it on the basis of sound money and small government. Take the power away from the politicians and sociopaths. Forget about free stuff. and implement a system where the individual is unshackle to create wealth and prosperity.
The problem as I see it, is the mindset. A mindset that advances the notion that you can get something for nothing. A mind set that looks for some powerful all knowing central authority that is going to make things right. The Globalists[banksters] are happy to exploit this weakness in order to control you. These bastards want to control the world and make slaves of all of us. If you had any sense, you would chase both these groups of parasites out of your life and country. STOP printing money! START creating wealth for both you, your family and more importantly your children. Until that happens you will continue on this endless Mary Go round of misery and you will never be free.
"This has little to do with right and left because Europe has not had a truly right ideology for a very long time. Neither is this a free market because Europeans would not recognize a free market if it bit them in the ass."
100% correct ... but
The problem is corruption - everyone wants something for nothing AND GETS IT. That ends when there is no more "something".
No ideology, religion or economic system can survive corruption.
TwoHoot,
Part of the problem is corruption, the other part is the notion that these sociopaths have about creating a better world. A world without sin where they can rule and what is left of humanity must serves their self appointed masters. Corruption is how they grease the skid. Until Human 2.0 that will never change and corruption will always be here.
Pardon my french but FUCK THEM ALL! I am so sick and tired of these bastards
Death is life, for the dead.
A little history
When you make a country pay debts it cannot afford you get
Adolf Hitler types that rise to the top.
Is that what the Euro pro peeps want?
They sure are going that way
Brussels has a warehouse full of "Adolf Hitler types" waiting to be put to use.
This really is not all THAT complicated. This is all bluster for everyone involved trying to avoid the elephant in the room
The Greeks are entitled to run their country any damn way they want.Having been allowed to join the EU, their decisions have consequences to the other members.
If anybody in the EU had an ounce of common sense and an honest bone in their body, Greece would never have been allowed to join, or politely asked to leave years ago
The fact that that hasn't happened yet speaks to the inherent criminality of intent in Brussels-and the obfuscation of that intent is precisely what has become "so complex"
that's fine but 2 things.
1) Greece should decide when and where to cut certain items. This should not be at the dictatorial direction of the banks and central banks who made bets that they cannot accept losses on.
2) not all austerity is created equal. the well off and oligarchs in Greece are not suffering. the austerity imposed upon Greece destroyed the economy because it was targeted at the lower and middle class both in terms of actual cuts (pensions etc) and increased taxes (enfia for example).
Speaking of austerity:
We Are 'One Nation', Says Woman On Gold Throne Wearing Diamond-Encrusted Crown As She Announces Further Austerity MeasuresSuch is the rank hypocrisy in Britain. You can be sure that she and the family will continue to spend our money like there's no tomorrow. It has always been thus.
calvinism
Can't we collapse this shit already? The Greek shit reminds me of QE...keep pushing it down the line - the can keeps going. At some point, the billionaries are getting out and off to their islands (that we will find - don't tell them). After that we might actually get a collapse. This is the worst ever overlived sitcom ever. Ratings are low.
I stopped to listen to this man and his academic tautologies months ago. He thinks he sticks to his guns but in fact his is giving circus away inch-by-inch everyday. This is insult to intelligence to believe that it is going somewhere. It is clear dead end.
It's like house of cards Greece is small but important since the whole Europe is insolvent that's how much liability European TBTF banks loaded on since 2008 puting government on the hook. If bond rates "normalize" to say 5% (10Y) all are bankrupt (default) since consumer demand is dead and no growth at all but bubbles instead.
The last five months show that Syriza is a controlled opposition steered from Soros headquarters and Broookings institution under quiet acceptance of ECB.
The facts.
1. Government has no control over third biggest Army in EU, biggest Army per capita, no military cuts whatsoever, they even buying useless shit from US as we speak.
2. Government has no control over police, no cuts in pay or benefits no prosecution of rampant civil right violations by police against leftist parties and groups.
3. Government has no control over prosecutors and judges, only ONE investigation, related to theft of national treasure, of people connected to oligarchs and foreign banks was open while Syriza members made over thousand requests for investigations.
4. Government has no control over banks. It’s obvious because of ECB but Syriza members requested thousands of reports on banking activities or requests to stop oligarch from repatriating their stolen wealth abroad, no response.
5. Government has stolen retirement money and practically reneg on immediate election promises regarding increase of employment, while paying off so far troika gangsters against their own stated policies and election promises.
6. Government did not nationalized state assets sold to foreign investors for peanuts as declared in their own stated policies that obtained parliament vote of confidence.
7. Government did not use Russia lebe=verage in NATO context and did not worm up frozen relationship with Turkey as extremely strong bargaining chip in current geopolitical situation potentially weakening of NATO southern flank.
I stop here but it’s no all.
The Syriza violated their own manifesto hundreds of times during last 5 month proving that it is a fake political entity negotiating cash deal for their own leaders while collapsing their own country.
It’s pure political theater for “benefit” of raped Greek peasants.
As I said before on ZH before no Greek blood on the street no revolution against EU totalitarianism disguised as brotherly love.
All of this is happening because we bailed out the banksters. Had we not bailed them out in 2008 on, then none of this would be happening right now. They have grown so strong by causing the housing crisis, on purpose I may add, that they now get to do whatever they want. Small countries without a powerful army are in danger of being plundered by these theives.
The United States the most powerful country in the world right now is also in danger. We never had any austeriy measure and we spend even more now than we did during the crisis. The central banksters have so much faith in their economic hold that they keep giving more and more money to banksters to stir up trouble around the world. This little game is about to come to an end now that the BRIC nations plan to give them competition.
This is precisely why the banksteres want to start a war with Russia even if it leads to world war 3. They see the real threat behind another bank where countries can go for aid which means that the oligarch banksters won't be able to push other small countries around. In my opinion if the banksters want to force another country into austerity then maybe they should start with their own country. Their real country which I will neglect to mention on purpose was created with bailouts and continues to be totally and 100% supported by bailouts. This is why the poor in America suffer so much.
I prefer to describe this Greek debt pantomime as a display of cultism and group-think.
These mindsets are deeply embedded at all levels in all societies and are virtually impossible to eliminate because that would oblige people to conduct themselves as independent thinkers which would then expose many of them as know-nothing-nobodies.
Yes. They recite Catechisms because they are unintelligent puppets who need Groupthink
Open the doors and see all the Sheeple...
Failing to live within a budget .... breaks up more marriages .... than infidelity !
Varf wants to split hairs on economics, but his counterparties are lawyers in a bureaucracy
First rule of negotiation: know who you're dealing with. Playground stuff.
Guess Game theorists aren't as smart as they think. Then, we're all wise in our own conceit.
If he'd learnt from Chess (or Go) instead of the Compleat Strategist, he'd know that Greece's part is as positional pawn sacrifice.
(with the caveat that "they're not trying to fix anything")
Hardly a SIFI, if Greece wasnt where it is on the Med this 'agon' wouldn't get any billing at all. If you think of pipelines, Damascus and Sevastapol you'll not ask why Greece needed ships.
The worldwide battle is over whether a handful of oligarchs will be allowed to impose feudalism on the masses. So far the masses are allowing it to happen.
Sucking Greece into the Euro lead inevitable to bankruptcy, to the benefit of the major economies which took all the benefit of trading with a weaker currency.
Greece was purposely debt loaded for the purpose of control, except a non Goldman govt came into power and ruined the whole show.
Greece should never have been in the Euro, austerity is pointless as it will not fix their debt problems at all. They will still heap debt upon debt and still have to trade with a Euro way to strong for their economy.
The smartest thing would be to face reality....default, crash burn, get out of Euro...and build all over again, with maybe China and Russia renting some ports and so on....BRICS+G
Austerity is my favorite subject.
True austerity is akin to miserly. It means expenses <<< income.
No government is even close to being austere. Hell, most aren't close to having a balanced budget, expenses = income.
Generations have been educated to believe that governments (and citizens) can lead a life where expenses > income.
Just think of what we hear on a daily basis; free education, free healthcare, free daycare, free phones, free food. What's free for someone, is an expense for someone else.
As I have mentioned a bunch of times on this site, Greece needed to cook their books to get into the EU. During the global boom Greek finances weren't sound enough to meet the EU requirements. Greece cooked the books and the EU lowered the requirements during a boom cycle to get them in. It was never going to work. Actually it will work but it requires Germany and the IMF and others to pay for Greece to have a free ride.
"Just think of what we hear on a daily basis; free education, free healthcare, free daycare, free phones, free food. What's free for someone, is an expense for someone else."
The great contrick beloved by so many governments.
"The institutions demand more austerity measures for Greece, whereas it’s plain to see that austerity is what has led to the misery of the people."
WTF are you talking about? Debt fueled socialism has lead to the misery of the people in Greece. I don't care about the bankers loosing thier shirts in Greece but I can't wait to see the entitlement minded populace learn their lesson the hard way.
Greece is on the verge of becomming a third world nation in the midst of the first world. It should serve a shining example of what eventually happens to a debt ridden welfare state. I'm personally on the edge of my seat hoping for a complete default. The bankers and the Greek population will both finally get what they deserve.
Harsh words but so true.
Heh, The irony is I'm in the US. :-)
We're next.
Greece is in the process of becoming a third world country, followed by Spain, Portugal, Italy...... Germany and France will survive because they gave themselves the advantages at the expense of the losers
The masters know exactly what they're doing and why. Greece is to be foreclosed on and repossessed, the Greek people are to be driven into exile or extinction, and they are to be replaced with a proletariat from the Third World that it is hoped will be more grateful for drudge work in the pleasure domes of rich thieves. That's their plan for every country in Europe.
Why bother keeping around white workers whose children could wind up start the firm that drives you out of business? When they could be replaced with Africans tomorrow morning at cents on the euro if it weren't for the proles acting like they owned the place?
There's no cult leader telling otherwise decent people to do horrible things. The banksters and their bootlickers simply could not care less if Greeks live or die. On the contrary---it's stomach-turning, the pleasure they get from making the white proletariat suffer.
Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog
Yet another statist coercive collectivist socialist parasite spewing socialist propaganda shit.
Herer are the facts:
1. the greeks did the bond selling and loan taking AND not repaying, that makes them the blood-sucking lieing cheating deceiving defrauding parasites and thieves
2. the noble virtuous greek people arose in demonstrations and voted out the polititicans who defrauded and stole the loot ONLY AFTER the greeks were required by their victims to pay back what they stole and defrauded under euphemism of "borrowing"
3. the noble virtuous greek people COULD HAVE voted out the polititicans who defrauded and stole the loot, BUT they did not because they were very happy to be getting free money for do-nothing-useful government jobs, and retiring at 45 with lush government pensions - ALL PAID FOR WITH THE MONEY STOLEN AND DEFRAUDED FROM CREDITORS
The greeks must repay every cent, OR suffer total ruin, this is morality and justice, AND a lesson to other corrupt degenerate socialist parasite societies.
Exactly
Greek solution.
Start war with Turkey
Lose
Get Euro Marshall Plan bailout.
The Greeks keep making the mistake that the bankers care about Greece recovering. They are interested only in liquidating Greece and to buy it all up, pennies on the dollar. The Greek people's needs are of no concern to them. They want to take everything they have. And then it will be Spain, Portugal, Italy etc. The only chance the Greeks have is to default and look for countries that would benefit from their recovery. Otherwise they will be finished and left with nothing. Syriza has no control of anything because the banks have no interest in negotiating anything and it is just a big waste of time and the people just keep losing. Either the banks will take everything or the people will default and start over.
Well said.
Without defending any position of the too-big-for jail-betting&Ponzi-industry and their representatives/puppets ones should state that Varoufakis is kind of a tragic person – he just came to late to delight his counterparts with new discernments - in hindsight.
The new policy style of Mr. Varoufakis - if comprehensible or not - doesn’t work very convincing while rejecting basic measures to fight tax fraud (...just a show is delivered). E. g. not even demands for cadastral offices are fulfilled or even the proposal is pursued to put some air pictures as first overview/inventory for the purpose to tackle tax evasion.
To he contrary: The new government continues shielding tax evaders by ignoring communicated lists and Greek ship owners remain unmolested by Greek revenue offices, defrauders are rewarded by 80-percent tax abatements. Defaulting borrowers at the state owned and tax-money saved Piraeus Bank are generously equipped with debt cancellations gifts about 20.000 € - honest, but soberly looked it means that on balance Athen is shifting debts from Greece to taxpayers elsewhere within the EMU.
After finishing a continuous period of more than 9 years party and after former Greek governments were able to take recourse to German tax payers for its own expenses it doesn’t seem neither the perfect point of time for Varoufakis to discuss about bills nor to debate on principles nor to introduce marxism.
Citation: „But not only have Greek pensions already been cut by 40% or so, they are the last straw for many entire families."
What remains unmentioned: Between 2000-2008 real wage salaries, pensions and other benefits jumped up by an average of 40 percent and more – but at the same time the competitiveness of economy declined at same speed.
Beside of this: Most recently the legal pension age in Greece is like in debt founding Germany 67 years– the latter after all a high productive country. But according to the Greek employment minister Jannis Vroutsis about 76% of the public servants are still retiring younger than 61, around 32 percent younger than 55 (dates from 12/2014). A similar pattern is seen at the social security IKA.
And speeking without malice another incidental:
The working age population in Greece consists – or rather should be based on a average statuory retirement age about 65 - around 5 million people.
The number of public servants in Greece is estimated about one million (...about statistics the government in Athen is allegedly still wandering around in the dark...).
Considering 35—40 percent (at least official) rate of unemployment (...forgetting ??? percent tax evasion...) this fact means that every third Greek is paid by the government as civil servants (parastatal companies not included...).
Or in other words they are on balance founded by German, Dutch, Slovac etc.. taxpayers. I shall spare you to enumerate the comprehensive list of bonuses and former 600 entitlements to enter premature pensions & supplementary pensions.
It's not surprising that Mr. Varoufakis and his fellows in Athen pay special attention to the (still) „last straw for many entire families“: Statistically each Greek familiy should somehow benefit from this systems of early granted and exaggerated civil servant’s pensions. With other words: Greece is a society of civil servant pension recipients. Many of them still in best working age – others 110 years and older (;-)).
I don’t see any justification why other countries taxpayers and future late & low pension recipients should be in charge for Greeks displeasure to comply with already in 2010 taken commitements in terms of reducing the public servant sector (or other privileges). Even less if considering the lower costs of living and tax resistance in Greece.
Even if I share some points of view with Varoufakis I get the impression that self-reflection and self-criticism are generally no Greek strengths. Some Greeks and friends who used to live in Greece already confirmed my little suspicion.
I have to disagree here. Grece got to this situation first and foremost by its own fault - both government and people`s. They are not victims. One day of national-wide strike can take hit of several perccentages of GDP. Greek people were striking at regullar basis. We already know they cheated their way to the EU by faking economic data as well. We know that huge tax avoidance, social system of overpaid of countless government workers and corruption they have is among the worst in EU. There are much poorer countries in EU that even trumphed annual GDP of germany including during crysis, if euro is such a problem why were not those affected? Single currency is FAIR, if its too cheap or too expensive for someone its because it expose real economic policy and corruption. ZH`s that advocate gold standard should agree here. Its about own responsibility and doing its own homework. Only fault of EU is that it doesnt have some sort of mechanism to prevent contagion and kind of economic commitee to prevent bubbles upfront(and of course plan B to leave EU at worst case scenario).
"They are undoubtedly also very hesitant to discuss economics with Varoufakis because they are aware of his prowess in the field." >> Really?! Same guy that advocated tourists to act as a tax reporters? Idea that even here on ZH we had a good laugh on? I have yet to see a single sensible solution from that guy.
"The institutions demand more austerity measures for Greece, whereas it’s plain to see that austerity is what has led to the misery of the people." >> OK so which one is it? Either we are Keynesians or Austrians here. What is the other solution, printing money? And again whose fault is it?
"This inflexible insistence on more austerity, and hence more misery, for the Greek people, is a good example of how religion driven the IMF, EU and ECB are." >> So are the ones on the "other spectrum" - like those at the FED.
"But economics cannot be a religion, it cannot have this inflexibility and resistance to change." >> I think today we do have a resonable proof of what works and what doesnt.
"That in turn would seem to make a Grexit, in some shape or another, the only way left to go." >> This is the only statement I agree with, obviously for different reasons tho. Otherwise whole article is a rubbish. Bye.
Exactly Greeks don't want to endure the pain of going without the government cheese. They don't want a recession or depression in standard of living, even if it's temporary, but it's necessary, what are the alternatives? Well leave the Euro, but Greeks won't smooth it out leaving the Euro either, and they know this, so what's next best thing to do for Greeks? Play the victim card and ask to forget all their debts. Blame the Euro, blame everybody but themselves. Greece grew on government spending along with it corruption. That's what really grew Greece and the government was a large mal-investment. Higher interest rates exposed the Greek lack of productivity. This article is quite amusing because it invokes religion fanatism as a defense for Greece. Recessions and depressions are going to be misery, but hey, if you do things right, you can make things better again.
there is only one thing going on here:
The chickens come home to roost.Greece is broke and wants to up the limit on their Credit.
Lenders have been burned before by Greece and the bad advice of US treasury taxcheat Timothy Geitner in 2011)
Now there is NO MORE foolish MONEY.
simple.
Greece fucked up and will have to face the consequences.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said he feared Greece leaving the euro zone....
so perhaps Jack Lew will bail out Greece ?
or perhaps the US should better shut the fuck up....
that might be an even better Idea!
WR;)
Wow Raul, you write such a good article demanding religion-free economics and then blow it all up in the end, with your belief that too much free market is even worse.
Tell us about Switzerland next time, and why the ability of Kantons to set their own tax rate while using the same currency is "vodoo economics", where Kanton Zug unfairly extracts money from Kanton Zurich! /s
Raul - you lying sack of shit. How ca you eve use the term "austerity" when the debt levels in Greece (or any other European counry run by the feckin neo Bolsheviks) are 200 to 300 % of GDP...?
Austerity is not the problem.... spending by Gov't is the problem. No system is perfect but free market capitalism is the best, along with the equivalent 2nd amendment rights.
Feckin period. You just be getting scared as the neo Bolshevik / neo Kenysian immoral bullshit is coming to a disastrous end and you want to escape the rope.
LOL: "Why would anyone want to live in a world dominated by religious fanatics and their henchmen?"
Economics is a subset of warfare. Economics is based on organized crime. Most people want to believe in the best organized gangs of criminals' bullshit that somehow that is not the case. Most articles on Zero Hedge, as well as most comments made under those articles, continue to presume in false fundamental dichotomies, and the related impossible ideals, as being their "solutions" for the problems which are actually due to thousands of years of civilization being based upon backing up lies with violence, which became the currently established systems of legalized lies, backed by legalized violence, whereby the public "money" supply is created out of nothing as debts, while that fraud is enforced by governments, whose political processes long ago became vicious spirals of the funding of politics controlling governments, to make and maintain systematic government of the money, by the money, for the money, where money is measurement backed by murder.
Greece is merely a leading edge of the overall global processes, of runaway criminal insanities. OF COURSE, the monetary systems are STATE RELIGIONS. The monetary systems are based on a long history of being able to back up deceits with destruction, and enforce frauds, whereby the vast majority of people gradually got used to living inside of those debt slavery systems, which were automatically driving their numbers to become debt insanities, due to the inherent structures of those debt slavery systems.
It is NOT about whether not anyone may or may not "want to live in a world dominated by religious fanatics and their henchmen!" It is ACTUALLY about the social successfulness of applying the methods of organized crime to control civilization, in ways that end up with the majority of people adapted to believe in bullshit, which takes the form of the economic systems appearing to be religions. Economics only appears to be a state religion to those who do not recognize the social facts that civilizations necessarily operate according to the principles and methods of organized crime. In my view, the article above, as well as most of the comments above, do not get that, because they do not want to get that ...
Of course, the two dominate state religions are the monetary system and national security, which are combined as the money/murder systems, operating on the basis of the maximum possible frauds and deceits. Anyone who does not get that is indulging in believing in the bullshit about those forms of state religion. The paradoxes with respect to the biggest forms of organized crime being governments, controlled by the best organized gangs, being banks, for generation after generation, have developed social situations whereby almost everyone has personally adapted to living inside of their state religions, based on the long history of backing up lies with violence, so that people are socially successful to the degree that they are able to function as the best available professional liars and immaculate hypocrites, within the dominant state religions.
There are NO solutions outside of those realities. All "solutions" based on anything less than the debt controls being backed by the death controls are merely more bullshit, guaranteed to continue to backfire badly. Moreover, things are way worse, because "money" made out of nothing as debts was primarily used to "pay" for strip-mining the planet's natural resources, while turning those into garbage and pollution as fast as possible, in ways whose accumulating costs are adding up to become bigger overall than the originally privatized profits from doing that.
Greece is merely a symbol of those things happening, in ways that the vast majority of people do not want to understand. It is impossible to exaggerate the degree to which the monetary systems ARE ABSURD STATE RELIGIONS, due to the degree that the vast majority of people do not want to understand that money is measurement backed by murder. Economics can only be understood as operating within the history of warfare, and warfare understood as organized crime on larger and larger scales. The only realistic solutions are to muddle through the madness of a society dominated by systems based on being able to enforce frauds, automatically becoming more psychotic, because of the root problem that enforcing frauds never stops those frauds from being false. But nevertheless, the methods of organized crime cascade fractally throughout the entire social pyramid system (which is actually a toroidal vortex system, that most people do not perceive)
For economics not to be a silly state religion, then the death controls that back up the debt controls have to be more scientifically examined. Of course, that is theoretically possible. However, the established systems are based on the ruling classes being the biggest and best organized gangs of criminals, who were able to control their opposition so that those basic social facts are never publicly admitted and addressed. The vast majority of people regard economics in a way that is effectively a state religion, no matter how blatantly absurd that religion is, regarding the ways that its frauds violate the basic laws of nature (which only work because those frauds are enforced.) Rather, the vast majority of people have adapted to think and communicate using the biggest bullies' bullshit languages and presumptions ... and that includes almost all of the content published on Zero Hedge, due to the degree that, despite Zero Hedge's content being somewhat more able to face the facts that the banksters are the biggest gangsters, there is still a tendency to promote impossible "solutions" that will somehow stop that from happening.
Human beings and civilizations necessarily operate as entropic pumps of energy flows, which necessarily match the principles and methods of organized crime. The social successfulness of the biggest and best organized gangs of criminals has reversed the meaning of that, which shows up in many abstract ways, such as that the meaning of entropy was inverted by inserting an arbitrary minus sign into the entropy equations of thermodynamics and information theory. Overall, human beings necessarily live as organized lies operating robberies, while those who do that the best are the biggest bullies, who have developed their bullshit in order to be the best liars. Currently, the best liars are the banksters, whose frauds are enforced by governments. Most politicians and bureaucrats are the puppets of the banksters, while most of the rest of the population are the masses of muppets, who have been conditioned to believe in the banksters' bullshit world view, despite that being as backward and absurd as it could possibly be, when one examines the issues at first glance, that "money" is being created out of nothing and disappearing back to nothing (while that fraud is enforced by governments.)
Inside of that overall context, Greece is merely one of the leading edges, on the periphery of the established systems, where the problems inherent to those systems are showing up first, in ways that we notice, because of how quickly that all developed, after Greece was able to join the European Union and adopt the Euro, which enabled a huge increase in the abilities to engage in government enforced bankster frauds, which then overshot, with dire consequences being noticed most by most of the people living lower down in the social pyramid systems within Greece. However, those are problems that everyone else also shares. That is so much the case that the vast majority of people are utterly unable and unwilling to understand that ... We are ALL living inside of state religions based upon the long history of being able to successfully back up lies with violence.
It is bullshit to deny those are the facts, and it is also bullshit to propose any "solutions" which will stop that from still being the basic facts. However, the currently established systems are almost nothing but a core of organized crime, surrounded by layers of controlled opposition, both of which spout the same bullshit! The double whammy paradoxes are that money must be measurement backed by murder, but the ways that was actually done were that those who were best at lying about that thereby became the most socially successful and politically powerful people.
Democracy operating through the rule of law should have been ways to operate artificial selection systems which were consistent with natural selection. However, the checks and balances that should have limited the abuse of power were undermined and collapsed, due to the degree the banksters were able to privatize the public "money" supply, through the vicious spirals of the money funding politics, to leverage the triumphs of the runaway organized crime operated by the banksters.
The essential issues were that human civilization always necessarily had to operate according to the principles of organized crime. Politics should have been about doing that better. However, the ways that was actually done "better" was through the best organized gangs of criminals, the biggest gangsters, capturing control over the powers of governments, and thereby being able to privatize the public "money" supply, which became runaway systems of frauds by those banksters, which were enforced by governments.
By and large, those established systems operate through the core groups of organized criminals, the banksters, and their buddies, as well as their puppet politicians and bureaucrats, being able to get away with their denials of the basic social facts that the monetary system is an absurd state religion, which makes no sense, other than from the perspective of being enforced frauds, due to the history of organized crime being central to everything else. Similarly, almost all of the controlled opposition groups which surround the banksters stay within the same bullshit world view, promoting impossible ideals, as the basis for bogus "solutions" that continue to cause the opposite to happen in the real world.
The only genuine solutions are to go through both steps, first to recognized that civilization operates as entropic pumps of energy flows, which necessarily match the principles and methods of organized crime, and then the next step of not promoting the same old false fundamental dichotomies through sets of solutions that are supposed to stop that from happening. However, doing that would take enough people going through enough paradigm shifts to recognize the degree to which everyone operating inside of the established systems of organized crime, and their controlled opposition, are necessarily professional liars and immaculate hypocrites.
There are no genuine solutions which can actually exist outside of the realities that money is measurement backed by murder. Any better realistic solutions require better organized crime, to operate better murder systems, to back up better money systems. That is what a genuine democracy operating through the rule of law should be doing. However, at the present time, we have fake democracies, in which the rule of law has already been almost totally subverted, since the public "money" supply has already been almost totally privatized, while most people have adapted to that by believing in absurd state religions, and wanting to continue to believe in that bullshit.