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Greek Capital Controls To Remain For Months As Germany Pushes For Bail-In Of Large Greek Depositors
Two weeks ago we explained why Greek banks, which Greece no longer has any direct control over having handed over the keys to their operations to the ECB as part of Bailout #3's terms, are a "strong sell" at any price: due to the collapse of the local economy as a result of the velocity of money plunging to zero thanks to capital controls which just had their 1 month anniversary, bank Non-Performing Loans, already at €100 billion (out of a total of €210 billion in loans), are rising at a pace as high as €1 billion per day (this was confirmed when the IMF boosted Greece's liquidity needs by €25 billion in just two weeks), are rising at a pace unseen at any time in modern history.
Which means that any substantial attempt to bailout Greek banks would require a massive, new capital injection to restore confidence; however as we reported, a recapitalization of the Greek banks will hit at least shareholders and certain bondholders under a new set of European regulations—the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive—enacted at the beginning of the year. And since Greek banks are woefully undercapitalized and there is already a danger of depositor bail-ins, all securities that are below the depositor claim in the cap structure will have to be impaired, as in wiped out.
Now, Europe and the ECB are both well aware just how insolvent Greek banks are, and realize that a new recap would need as little as €25 billion and as much as €50 billion to be credible (an amount that would immediately wipe out all existing stakeholders), and would also result in a dramatic push back from local taxpayers. This explains why Europe is no rush to recapitalize Greece - doing so would reveal just how massive the funding hole is.
However, with every passing day that Greece maintains its capital controls, the already dire funding situations is getting even worse, as Greek bank NPLs are rising with every day in which there is no normal flow of credit within the economy.
This has led to a massive bank funding catch-22: the longer capital controls persist, the less confidence in local banks there is, the longer the bank run (capped by the ECB's weekly ELA allotment), the greater the ultimate bail out cost, and the greater the haircut of not only equity and debt stakeholders but also depositors.
To be sure, we have explained this dynamic consistently over the past several months. Now it is Reuters' turn, which reports this morning that, far from an imminent end to capital controls, Greeks will be unable to access their full funds for months, if not years:
Greek banks are set to keep broad cash controls in place for months, until fresh money arrives from Europe and with it a sweeping restructuring, officials believe.
But as explained previously, new money will only arrive if and when the same banks suffer a confidence crushing stakeholder and/or a depositor bail in:
Rehabilitating the country's banks poses a difficult question. Should the euro zone take a stake in the lenders, first requiring bondholders and even big depositors to shoulder a loss, or should the bill for fixing the banks instead be added to Greece's debt mountain?
And here is Reuters' realization of how our readers have known for months is a huge feedback loop dynamic:
Answering this could hold up agreement on a third bailout deal for Greece that negotiators want to conclude within weeks. The longer it takes, the more critical the banks' condition becomes as a 420 euro ($460) weekly limit on cash withdrawals chokes the economy and borrowers' ability to repay loans.
"The banks are in deep freeze but the economy is getting weaker," said one official, pointing to a steady rise in loans that are not being repaid.
Also last week Fitch calculated a Greek NPL number which we first suggested was accurate to much disagreement by the mainstream: it is now accepeted that more than half of all Greek loans are likely to be non-performing.
Fitch noted that the total amount proposed of 25 billion euros for the Greek bank recap is sufficient unless deferred tax assets stop being considered as core capital. According to Fitch, 45 percent of the four systemic lenders’ core capital consists of deferred tax assets. The agency estimated the capital requirements at 11.2 billion euros on the condition that nonperforming loans amount to 52 percent of loan portfolios, while the adverse scenario seeing bad loans at 60 percent would entail capital needs of 15.9 billion euros.
A 60% NPLs on €210 billion in loans would mean that up to 30% of Greek deposits of about €120 billion currently would be wiped out, or "bailed-in."
And that is the optimistic scenario. The likelihood is that the Greek economy has collapsed to a level where nobody is paying their loan interest or maturity. As such as an even greater NPL percentage is now quite probable. But one thing is certain: with every passing day in which Greece does not have a viable resolution of its banks, the NPLs will keep rising, and the ultimate deposit haircut will be that much greater.
As a result Germany is already demaning a bail-in of large depositors, those holding over the "insured" threshold of €100,000 with Greek banks, in a repeat of the Cyprus depositor bail-in template.
"We want, if possible, an initial amount to be ready for the first needs of the banks," said one official at the Greek finance ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "That should be about 10 billion euros."
Others, including Germany, however, are lukewarm and could push for losses for large depositors with more than 100,000 euros on their accounts, or bondholders.
The amount of large depositors in Greece is about €20 billion according to Reuters calculations (far greater than the €3 billion in bonds issues which will certainly be wiped out in any major recap), which suggests that if a bail-in takes place, then some depositors with savings of less than €100,000 will also have to be impaired.
Furthermore, as we also explained a month ago, unlike in Cyprus where the biggest depositors were Russian billionaire oligarchs, who had zero leverage and even less sympathy with Europe's depositors, in Greece the situation could not be more different especially since the local shipping magnates keep the bulk of their cash overseas:
Imposing a loss, something the Greek government has repeatedly denied any planning for, would be controversial, not least because much of this money is held by small Greek companies rather than wealthy individuals.
"This is not like Cyprus where you can say these are just Russian oligarchs," said an insolvency lawyer familiar with Greece. "It's the very community everyone is hoping will resuscitate Greece, namely the corporates. You'll end up depriving them of their cash."
None of this should be a surprise either: recall in June 2013 we explained that "Europe Make Cyprus "Bail-In" Regime Continental Template." But while the French member of the ECB, Christian Noyer, is against depositor bail-ins, Germany is all for it:
The tone in Berlin is different, where some advocate not only that bank creditors foot the bill but also that the ESM steer clear of any direct stake, lumbering Athens with the banks' clean-up.
"The recapitalization will have to be done by the Greek government so that means more money in the third program," said Marcel Fratzscher, president of the Berlin-based German Institute for Economic Research. "It's a loan they have to repay but there is no risk-sharing on the European side. They will have to bail in the private creditors. I can't see how this could not happen."
The most likely outcome for the Greek banks is a wholesale bailout by the ESM. That, however, comes with major strings attached:
One option, according to euro zone officials, is the direct recapitalization of Greece's banks by the euro zone's rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
This could grant the Luxembourg-based authority a direct stake in the banks and greater control over their future.
That, however, would take Greece closer to the Cyprus model. Any such direct ESM aid requires that losses first be imposed on some of the banks' bondholders and even large depositors.
So Greece is damned if it does, and damned if it doesn't.
And here is why we made such a big deal of Greece handing over controls of its banks to the ECB as we reported in mid July:
To avoid such orders, Athens is battling to keep autonomy in deciding the fate of its banks. Ceding further control could cost it dearly. Bondholders are nervous.
Alas, Greece already ceded control, remember: that was one of the main conditions for the Third Greek bailout, all of which we explained on July 13 in "Greece Just Lost Control Of Its Banks, And Why Deposit Haircuts Are Imminent."
At this point the only leverage Greece may have, having squandered all of its true leverage when it decided not to pursue a "parallel-currency" system after the Referendum, is mere empathy with the rest of Europe's population; however with its ruling socialists backtracking on all their promises and in fact pushing Greece into an austerity program harsher than anything seen yet, not even the leftist parties in Europe care any more if Tsipras' government survives.
Indeed, Reuters summarizes the situation quite well when it says that "with its economy starved of cash and the threat of its departure from the euro zone hanging over talks, Athens' room for maneuver is limited. One euro zone official summarized the mood: "Whatever sympathy there was for Greece has evaporated."
Which is indeed the truth, and this time, Greece only has itself to blame.
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"Thats MY bike Punk."
Debo
RIPS
Oh. I get it. My capital; that you control.... right.
Large Greek Depositors
All 2 of them....
Thank goodness for them....we're saved!
Any large Greek depositor that didn't get his or her money out 6 months ago, deserves to get a haircut! Idiots!
Ghordius? In the meantime, IM ("Narrow Anglo-Saxon perspective)HO, Germany is fucking itself out of fear that Portugal, Spain, Italy and then France will want to dip into Germany's pockets. But that is how "Unions" work, as in The US where the richer States such as California, subsidize the pooer States, such as Louisiana?
Germany can't have it both ways. A weak Euro has created a massive German Trade Surplus so it seems time for Germany to decide what it really wants?
If the Greek people do not revolt, then they deserve everything that is coming for them.
California is a richer state? The state and local governments have trillions in unfunded pension liabilities.
http://watchdog.org/215668/california-pensions-crippling-burden/
"But that is how "Unions" work, as in The US where the richer States such as California, subsidize the pooer States, such as Louisiana? "
and how does it work, exactly? is there a gremium of econometrists that calculate how much poorer states like Louisiana "lose" because they don't have an own currency to devalue, and set up a bill for richer states like California to pay? no. it's "just politics", isn't it? of the kind also called "pork barrel" politics
as a reminder, the German trade surplus is still half inside and half outside of the eurozone
Was talking to someone recently who kept her money in the (greek) bank for patriotic reasons. Not a large depositor, 10s of thousands, but still, pretty mindblowing.
I had a conversation with someone about Greece yesterday. He thought the whole situation was better know because they came to an agreement. I try to tell him otherwise...This shows that the whole Greece and Euro show is just getting started.
I thought the ZH crowd all agreed that the Greek problem was solved when Puutie created that BRICs bank a few months ago. That bank should be able to supply whatever is needed by the Greek central bank to shore up the NPL problem. It would be entirely possible for that bank to take out the IMF funding that is really putting pressure on the Greek govt. Why is Puutie making these socialists suffer?
Your bank balance is nothing more than an unsecured loan from you to your bank.
Bitcoin user NOT affected.
And bitcoin is secured by absolutely NOTHING.
Banks have physical assets in the form of liens on properties for the majority of their mortgages and loans. If you get an unsecured loan from a bank, then the interest rates are higher to cover risk (ie credit cards).
Obviously you have never heard of Cryptography... Good luck down there wallowing in your ignorance.
What has cryptographypy to do with the value of bitcoin? It's like saying cash is safe becasue it's stored in a secure vault.
But cash stored in a secure vault doen't mean the value of that cash can't go to zero.
You witness ignorance every morning when you look in the mirror.
No , I just laugh at dumb a$$es like yourself. All value is subjective , there is no such thing as intrinsic value. Now , go back to your map of the Flat Earth , you will need it after the armageddon to locate that lake.
If bitcoin was as great as you clowns say it is, you would educate people on its greatness and not insult them. Just a thought.
The point was perfectly valid. The 'value' of bitcoin will go to zero far faster than the 'value' of gold will. I'm certain I can find someone on the globe who will trade me a potato for an ounce of gold. This will always be true, in all cases, no matter what happens. If I die and my stash lays undiscovered for a thousand years, eventually someone will find it and it will be worth something.
The same cannot be said for bitcoin. In a thousand years no one will even know bitcoin existed.
In a 1000 years time kids will be able to make gold at home. You need to do more research.
That's exactly the same thing alchemists said 1000 years ago.
And bitcoin is secured by absolutely NOTHING.
Correct.
Even the non-performing loans on held be the banks will have some value, even if not 100%.
That is incorrect , bitcoin is secured by Cryptography.
And by what are those assets secured? Nothing! There is no guarantee that you can sell them for the price you think they represent. The market decides what you get for it, the same is true for bitcoins.
"Greece got knocked the fuck out!"
Smokey
Your life, your money and your world, belongs to us peasant, now back to the salt mines.....
By right there should be NO BANK RUN whatsoever, because debt is effectively and practically created out of nothing, and any lack of reserve can be funded by interbank lending or central bank lending.
This is engineered falsehood.
Except when you take out a loan/mortgage, it's backed by YOUR physical assets. So despite what you might believe, the bank WILL seize your physical assets backing your loans.
What you talk about is UNrelated to what I talked about.
Please re-read my statement over and over again until you understand.
I'm referring to your "created out of thin air" statement. It might be created out of thin air for you to borrow, but that doesn't mean there's nothing attached to it.
Same with the interbank and central bank transfers. The central banks can't create capital out of nothing, without MASSIVE inflation. And since the Euro is not Greece's own, closed currency, there isn't much they can do about it. The bank's balance sheet also have to balance, and their loans need to be backed in some way, either through physical assets, or a high interest rate to cover potential losses (think credit cards).
so who was smarter? The banks loaned you money created out of thin air against your physical assets. When you deposited your money in the bank you loaned them money against thin air.
When it all comes down, you get thin air and they get your assets for doing absolutely nothing but pulling the wool over your eyes.
The debt death spiral is complete and has entered into a black hole state.
Happy Euro-ing.
We wait for zee Germans to arrive...--Snatch
They'll be coming for the gold unless it's already been 'ukrained' out of the country.
Why did the Greeks think they would be treated humanely?
They deserve everything they get after Tsipras rolled over gave them everything.
Come to think of it, the Troika should start a dogshit sandwich line right in front of the central bank in Athens, just to let them know who hands out the free lunch from now on.
Same shit they did to us on Cyprus. Months and months of not being able to access significant amounts of money. Who's next if they get away with it in Greece? Protugal? Italy?
I am hoping the other European countries are looking closely at this and thinking that it could be them next, it is like being thrown with cold water, these countries should be thinking about a get out strategy, or just how to destroy Brussels and the dictatorate in the EssU.
I am still surprised that when they were were sold out by the local government, the pitchforks never came out ! It was the time to tell them then that it was not the will of the people.
Spain!
The pain in Spain .... stays mainly in the plain !
Japan
All you need is NPL ratio data , once it crosses a certain threshold then bank closure becomes mathematically inevitable. Greece NPL bad data was 2 years behind during the Cyprus bail-in , now Italy and Portugal are exactly where Greece was 2 years ago , so ...... 2 years max before the real shit hits the fan.
Anyway , Bitcoin user NOT affected.
interesting the first part of your comment, would like to upvote for that but the bitcoin comment says no. if i'm a poor greek or anyone else for that matter it's likely i can't afford or prudently will not spend/waste money on internet or mobile. now, if i also have some skill such as food production etc. i have no use for bitcoin but i would trade for something useful. that includes pm's
"but i would trade for something useful. that includes pm's"
Yeah , pm's are edible. They can also be confiscated , try getting them through an airport. With bitcoin you can send a million dollars to the middle of a desert in australia in a couple of seconds from anywhere on Earth. Bitcoin does not acknowledge borders or Capital Controls.
this is true and it will be a valuable weapon for the elites and has been up until now, the masses of humanity however, better start getting a bunker they can defend
Shitcoin....that which came out of a NSA incubator is obviously designed to circumvent "the system".....
"No one will take your gold or silver for food and supplies in a crash....blah blah" is the delusion that western idiots who've never been through crisis or loss of property or dealt with the black market in other countries. Maybe some basement trolls who have nothing to offer won't take gold/silver....but the farmer with food, the guy selling ammo and ur,pharmacist will definately take gold and silver. And an ounce of silver will buy you a weeks worth of food, not a loaf of bread
Belgium!
Placing the blame doesn't help the creditors get there money back.
Debt reductions early on would have provided creditors with the lowest losses.
Tip - Don't lend money to people who can't pay it back.
It's called prudent lending.
But that money only existed in digital, and was backed by nothing, and went to the banks that created out of thin air in the first place, it called a CON. And its theft.
This has all gone on way too long. And yes, the creditors are to blame in this case for ever having lent Greece more to begin with. Now we're at a third 'programme' and it's not over...it'll never be over, it's just prolonging the inevitable.
In this case the third time is not the charm, it's just throwing good money after bad....
The hopeful and the clueless serfs will never understand, as they continue to be ass raped by their overlords.
Banksters Inc. = 1 You = 0 for ever and ever!
Is that 0 the peasants a-hole where the Bankster Inc stick their 1.
It was Diesel-boom himself who stated Cyprus was the new template.
In Cyprus the bail-in was justified with the presence of the ugly Russian oligarchs and in Greece it will be justified with the reckless leftist Syriza. I would not agree that a bail-in will affect accounts below 100.000.-. Any gap will be covered with (German) taxpayers money. The message to the EU citizen is that in the forthcoming years a bail-in "will come to a bank next to you". There was little public information about the calculation behind the 3rd "rescue" package which purportedly should amount to 85 billion. I would not be surprised if that number has been calculated based on the assumption of 1% primary surplus in 2015 and growing surplus in the two following years. My rough guesstimate is that the VAT increase will cost an additional 6 billion p.a., the 2015 bank "holiday" up to 30 billion and the non-payment of bills by the government another 10 billion, causing an additional aggregate financing gap of about 50 billion in 2015-2016 thus increasing the capital requirements from 85 billion to 135 billion. It remains to be seen if the 3rd "rescue" (aka sinking) package is going to be increased from the outset or if the EU will permit the ship to founder sometines during 2016 after the 85 billion will have been consumed.
The CABAL is after something very big under the area of Greece.
There seems to be an anomaly in, under or over the area of Greece that the CABAL is frantically trying to conceal and or access.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2818610/Secret-vault-discovered-underneath-Amphipolis-tomb-Discovery-reignites-hope-Alexander-Great-s-mother-lies-inside.html
This is not all. Romania: http://humansarefree.com/2010/11/another-true-history-chapter.html
[I]n the summer of 2003, in an unexplored area of the Bucegi Mountains, a team from Zero Department (a top secret section of the Romanian Intelligence Service -- SRI), had made an epochal discovery, which could had completely change mankind's destiny.
The United States of America exercised colossal diplomatic pressure on the Romanian Government, which intended to disclose the findings to the entire world.
The implications became far more complex due to the brutal interference of the Order of the Illuminati, which sought to take control of both the location of the discovery, and the joint Romanian - American expedition.
The expert on strange phenomena, and also the leader of operations for the Romanian State, Cezar Brad, is the “hero” of the shocking events that occurred in the Bucegi Mountains. He also had two memorable meetings with a leading representative of the Illuminati, and top Bilderberg member. In the area of Yemen as well.
Its def possible, friends from the Cluj area say that one of the nearby airports(50kml has been flying in troops and equipment 24/7 for over 6 months now
Deviate from hard money Capitalism at your own risk !
Ah yes!! Being fucked in the ass by Monedas. You got a love it, that 'hard money CapiTALISM'. Teil me again, who is the DEVIANT here. You are such a cute troll.
Instead of technicalities let's talk realities. Greece is a template for all of the indebted countries including the United States. It is a microcosm or petri dish for the rest of the world. The establishment/elite/TBTFs/central banks are using Greece (used Cyprus first) as a financial Alamogordo to see what happens when they try these things and will then be more prepared when they effect the same policy in larger countries. The bail ins are coming to a place near us in the not too distant future.
Darn, Mutti and friends just don't get it. But the Greek populace does. Tsipiras' utter cave-in to the avaricious Troika may just have the result of galvanizing and radicalizing the entire population into individually defaulting on their loans, if for no other reason than that they have to buy what food and medicine is available first. The German strangle hold on Greece has become a matter of total survivability, and that comes before any loan payment. It is an individual decision that everyone should understand.
So here come the banks to sieze collateral. Kick families out of their home. Board up small shops. Oops!! Not!!!!! That isn't going to work so well when 50%, 60%, 70% of loans are in default. Christ, this will only gain momentum. They may end up with 100% of bank loans in default. So how the hell do the ECB and the Germans think this shit is going to come down. The Greek Army will surround entire neighborhoods and drive the people out? The Germans will send in panzer divisions? How about chemicalized artillery. After having their referendum outcome obliterated by the Europeans the Greeks may just give the back the EU a great big "fuck you"!
Some quick math tells the story. At a 100Billion and counting of NPL's, and assuming an average debt of $100,000, that means a One Million Loans are already impaired and are increasing at the rate of 10,000 loans per day. This is going to to criticality fast. This shit show is far from over. Perhaps the modern day Greeks really are Sparta!
Let's get some things straight:
- Syrizia came into government promising to stop austerity, to say no to the EU and ECB, to stand by Greeks, and didn't.
- Tsipras and Game Boy, Varoufakis, said they would will never cut pensions or cut workers, but will.
- Tsipras dares all of European to go to a referendum and let the Greek people to decide, and so he did, the Greek people said 'No', and did nothing with it.
- Tsipras betrayed everything Syrizia promised,
- Tsipras betrayed the Greek people,
- Tsipras betrayed his party, and whatever principles he had,
- Tsipras could have given Greece a better a future by exiting the EU, but didn't,
- The Greek people stood there and did nothing as their Prime Minister betrayed them,
Why then is anything that is happening now relavent? The Greek Government has done nothing for Greeks, and Greeks have nothing to help themselves.
If Greeks want act and live like babies, they will be treated like babies. There is nothing here to feel sorry for the Greeks, they now own this disaster lock, stock and barrel FINITO!
THE FAT GREEK LADY HAS SUNG....SHE STANK, AND THE OPERA WAS ALL CRAP. JUST ADD THIS TO THE LONG LIST OF ALREADY EXISTING GREEK TRAGEDIES, PER USUAL!
TIME TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT DEVELOPING TRAGEDY....
Time to give this news story a rest. Give the Greeks a bit a time to start another tragedy, and I can assure they will at that. But for now, how about a focus on Italy? Their debt has just popped from 132 to 136%, Greece went kaput crossing 160%.
C-P, not so fast. This tragedy is so far from over. I would not be so harsh on either Varoufakis or Tsipiras, or the Greek people as a whole. It is very easy in our virtual world here at ZH to say what the Greeks should have/could have done. Yet there are so many unknowns (like the behind the scenes rolls of the US and Russia or the Greek military). And in a twisted sort of way Ghordius is right about one thing. In this day and age of global consumerism people everywhere are loathe to give up their niceities. Just plain living is more tender and fragile than 50 years ago. It will take awhile for people to really turn on their masters. First they have to suffer pain and real loss. Then they have to endure and grieve. But if the masters just keep turning the screws theneven today's dumbed-down, over-indulged masses will revolt.
Let's wait and see.
And yet, in spite of all the betrayals you listed ... amazingly, remarkably, and stunningly ... the Greek people still haven't roasted Tsipras and turned him into Gyro meat? It would seem that nothing can wake them up.
C-P. (first, I am completely against any of these actions and policies because the Greeks have been bankrupt for over 6 years, anyway).
Tsipras basically 'did' everything he said he would do...it just never took hold, and there are probably Trillions of dollars against what he was doing.
Because the leaders (Tsipras, Varoufakis, etc) want to remain within the EU, that made it impossible to actually carry out any of what they promised.
It is all facade...since the Greeks have been bankrupt for over 6 years.
It is all game theory, for both governments and banks(ters).
They all tried to game the system.
Now end-game.
Next end-times for Greece, and possibly EU and Western Banking.
I believe the reason why Goldman Sachs, Mario D., ECB, EU was all setup was to try and use fiat and modern finance to fix Greece (and rest of EU), and it never could.
TPTB were hoping a monetary union could fix fiat, because none were/are/will be interested in a Federation.
Greece could never get out of their depression/recession under the single monetary union.
Once bankrupt and an economic Ghost Town, there is no fiat or finance that can fix or correct anything for the long term.
Heard about Houston, Heard about Detroit, Heard about Pittsburg PA ?
The greek people have been deluded by the promise to end austerity while Greece has to honor the agreement they made with the rest of the eurozone.
Sane people know that it is vital to balance the budget and regain competitiveness in their economy so that Greece can enter the market again and fund its financial needs on its own instead of asking for a bailout.
With the referendum they were deluded again, since the support programm ended at Jun 30, there was nothing to vote for.
Yes they could have exit the eurozone and see their savings and pensions wiped out through inflation of the drachma, hence that is why Tsipras asked for a new bailout.
The question really is "why did they do so much damage to the greek economy since Greece was doing far better then 5 years ago and would have been able to stand on its own feets again at the end of this year without interference of the troika".
Was it an attempt to try to destabilize the eurozone? has Greece been used for this purpose at the cost of the greek people?
Varoufakis outright lied about bank reopening and a deal that was done a few days before Juli 5.
"...and this time, Greece only has itself to blame"
Right with you up to there. Fascinating analysis. Crushing of the small capitalists is heart of the disaster that is capital controls and bailins - no inventory, no payroll, no floor on the economic collapse. But remember when Papandreou tried to hold a referendum and reported Sarkozi threatened his life? The suggestion to Tsipis that "tanks will roll in the streets"? Putin apparently yanking his offer to help Greece transition to its own currency?
There's more here than meets the eye, and nothing to be gained by jumping on the "blame the victim" bandwagon.
I wish Tsipis had been able and willing to take the bull by the horns and call Greece to a revolution, but he didn't, and while my initial reaction was revulsion and contempt, perhaps he was right not to. Perhaps the Greek people still had too many illusions, had not yet formed a broadly shared resolve to take history in their hands and face the consequences together. This article clearly shows they are not off the hook.
As for Europe, as this article clearly shows, Greece is a bone stuck in its throat. Tsipis may not have much sympathy but anger at the banksters, globalizers and American agents flaks and toadies can only continue to grow.
A key question is, as the middle ground disappears, where will the small capitalists who are being destroyed turn? Golden Dawn would seem to be a stupid choice - their members gave a resounding No vote, but their leaders showed themselves to be firmly in the pocket of the banksters. But are the small capitalists ready to make common cause with their desperate workers? Ready to say OK, we've lost everything but our place as the organizers of production and leaders of men, but we'll stand with them in the struggle to organize for personal and national survival and trust that the future will have an honored place for us? Or will they be blinded by their fear of them and bitterness over the loss of their wealth?
We all will face a moment like this, sooner than we might think, when we will have to choose which side of the barricades we're on. Can we let go of our belief that our wealth elevates us, hold on to our faith that our ability to make things happen is still precious, and humble ourselves enough to take our place beside the aroused "sheeple" who used to serve us?
The stakes are not just whether we get swept away. A revolution that does not include the small capitalists and their engineers with their organizational skills has much less chance for success, and failure could be catastrophic. This may be the last chance history gives us to get it right.
Picture Butch and Sundance on the high cliff overlooking a pool in a desert stream. Sundance: "I can't swim". Butch: "Are you nuts? The fall will probably kill us!" Then they start yelling and leap together.
New Democracy especially is toast. Probably PASOK as well. The real winners will be Golden Dawn and the Communists, and maybe yet Syriza if they play it right. One thing is certain, this will eventually ignite and radicalize the whole of Europe. FUCK YOU, GHORDIUS!!!! You and your Charlemagne Fourth Reich.
I hope Europe is radicalised & we have our mega-class war. The Spanish civil war on a larger scale. I live in relative comfort but I can see that everything is wrong. Taxation supports the wealthy, politics supports the powerful. I hope someday that we have to choose what side of the barricade we're on; I would love to have a pop at all those fuckers that just live in a bubble thinking that because they can survive in the middle-class then fuch everyone else below them. Greece is the first place in Europe where the majority will realise that the middle-class is just something fed to the masses to keep them from seeing who really owns us. Might take a year or 2 but hopefully they will radicalise & revolt.
Come on Greece: birthplace & democracy....... & maybe...... birthplace of the revolution!
Anybody who still had a cent in a Greek bank deserves to lose it all. Fuck 'em.
Like I said, repudiate those pensions---all or them---and make every Greek mama's useless son go back to work.
Anybody who still has a cent in US banks deserves, and will, lose it all.
the fascist bankers got all the bailout money and it still wasn't enough for them. that's some real scumbag shit right there.
Before Greece makes any other move, they need to publish the exact number and location of deposits for all government employees.
Any apparatchik deposits that were moved to safety need to be repatriated FIRST before getting out the shears for everyone else.
Greece was always going to be the recipiant of Capital Controls. A bail in will take place and the 99% of the general public of western Europe will suffer cognative dissonance.
this central banking/fiat scam is so simple, so bizarre, such a RAPE of productive labor to benefit those with the issuing power [or access to cheap currency]...
in the past I have several times managed to comment on a krugman column, fairly well, imho, about fiat/frac reserve and why liberals should be against this scheme, too...
and fucking crickets, for the most part.
This is a mind fuck, or in other terms, black magick....
I don't know how you wake people up. Yes, Greece spent more than it had and all that - lots to criticize.
But the money, mostly, was created out of thin air...
and yet repayment, with interest, so sacred it will rob millions of Greeks, and castrate their government and rape their public spehere all, ultimately, for the benefit of bureaucrats and technocrats who are attached like lamprey fish to the real, productive economy.
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When does the Rebellion start, if not now???
The whole (former) middle-class needs to be in the gutter first I'm afraid. You know; "when you ain't got nothin, you got nothin to lose". People are very clung to the idea that they have something; wealth, happiness whatever you wanna call it. Give it a couple of years.
Get the Greeks out of Europe once and for all
It is a given that the NPL's are going to skyrocket. Any people in Greece who pay their loans or direct taxes deserve to lose everything. I had some respect and sympathy for the Greeks, prior to their total capitulation to the Reich. Their meek acceptance of their fate is very similar to how the Jews resigned themselves to the death camps in WW II. History repeats.....
This is stupid! How many 'large depositors' are left in any 'Greek' bank from which such 'bail-ins' could occur? Are there any such stupid 'large depositors' left? Haven't they exited already? So, this isn't about them, is it?!
Into the NWO, one step at a time. Carefully, the sheep are led over the cliff, rich and poor alike, into the slaughterhouse most appropriate.
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