43 thoughts on “Tsip Happens

  1. John

    this letter is complete rubbish. he is trying to appear conciliatory so he can win the vote on Sunday. there is nothing new here

  2. scottser

    they should just leave the euro and be done with it. all this ‘cap-in-hand- mullarky is undignified at this stage and any bailout deal is going to further entrench austerity. it’s time for the leap of faith. if i was tsipras and i had an army at my disposal, i’d be sorely tempted to go invade somewhere.

    1. Joe835

      If only there was a Greek-speaking place nearby with a dormant military conflict that was never properly-resolved, experiencing similar fiscal problems……

    2. Spaghetti Hoop

      + 340.75 Drachmas
      A leap of faith into unchartered waters and starting over is far more dignified than a leap of faith into crippling debt and dictation by the Troika. Either way, the population will suffer miserably before any economic growth begins to sprout.

  3. Just sayin'

    There are so many items on that any other lists that the Greeks could have implemented five years ago but never did. What else can you do when people promise you things time after time after time and never deliver? Dealing with Greece is like dealing with a compulsive gambler or an alcoholic who keeps making you promises you know they will never keep.

    1. ahjayzis

      There’s no saints on either side.

      But the Troika’s own information and practices have determined that this whole thing is unsustainable under the best case scenario, but they’re hell-bent on carrying on anyway.

      You can argue short term pain for a whole populace is good in the long run if things improve for everybody – but literally everyone now knows this strategy does NOT improve things – why is Europe still completely obsessed with driving this country into the ground?

      1. Just sayin'

        Its always tricky when someone owes you €300 billion and you want your money back without killing them.

      2. Sam

        why is Europe still completely obsessed with driving this country into the ground?

        As an example to the others. They don’t want anyone else to get ideas about repudiating odious debts.

      1. Owen C

        How is this odious debt, when it was raised, originally, to finance public expenditure? The original debt should perhaps have been haircut more back in 2010-2012, but it certainly was not odious in nature.

  4. Dubloony

    Had to look up oligopolistic.
    What are nuisance charges?
    Is this the first time corruption is mentioned? where’s the overhaul of the tax system?

    1. Domestos

      I’m guessing nuisance charges are licences for trading in certain sectors, barriers to entry or some kind of protective measure. Total guess though.

  5. fluffybiscuits

    Agree with Scottser, Tsprias should be saving face a this stage. Let the creditors go and fúçk themselves. Greece already has imposed measures that go way and above the acceptable limits for people. Draghi and his co-horts clearly lack any sort of empathy. The people of Greece are paying for the actions that their ministers and the bourgoise elite gambled with and their tax dodging. 44% of Greece is below the poverty line…

    1. Steve

      Katy Sheridan has a good piece in the IT today on this….nothing like this ever is so black and white.

      Those creditors you refer to include little auld ireland to the tune of 350m – which would buy ye a new hospital. But in the spirit of European friendship id be happy to let this go if it’s increased the chances of Greece returning to growth.

      I’m all for European solidarity and helping Greece get backs on it feet but even the most ardent irish supporter of tsprias must be a little uncomfortable about thousands of Greeks out of the streets over things like keeping the retirement age at 58. When we will be lucky to retire at 67.

      And don’t give me the crap of ‘oh the troika increased our retirement age’. This would have happened with or without troika. We are living longer, and staying retired longer hence the need to increase age.

      1. ahjayzis

        There’s no ‘letting it go’ – we all know we’ll never see that again. The decision to be made is to continue punishing Greece and it’s people – which is all this is is since the IMF itself realises this is going nowhere – or starting again and making Europe whole. Print the money ECB!

      2. scottser

        does anyone realistically expect that 350m will be paid back to us, even if greece plays ball and introduces further austerity?

  6. Mr. T.

    The IMF use loan money to extort sovereign nations into changing their fiscal structure so as to make it easier for large foreign companies to compete (unfairly) with local businesses.

    One example is global coffee chains grossly outbidding locally owned shops for prime retail spots in order to flush out local competition and create a monopoly in many areas.

    Local business need to be protected for the good of the local economy and jobs. The IMF is the complete opposite to that.

    1. Rob_G

      If countries don’t like the IMF’s rules, they don’t have to take their money.

      (though pretty sure your example is spurious nonsense)

    2. Domestos

      Don’t borrow from the IMF so. When we were signing up to our “bailout” the IMF were actually the most lenient triumvirate of the troika. If you stick within the broad parameters of your deal there is room for manouevre, if not you only fupp yourself.

      Giving money to the greeks at this stage is like giving money to Anglo. What did Morgan Kelly say? You may as well burn it.

      1. scottser

        you need to look at where the bailout funding went. 90% of it went to pay off previous loans and interest. if greece were free to invest the entirety of the capital in infrastructure and job creation we’d have a very different picture but the imf dictates how money it lends is spent.

        1. Just sayin'

          If a nation is in massive debt you don’t loan them money to go off on a massive spending spree and increase that debt. The money was loaned mostly to pay debt and interest while Greece got itself under control. They failed miserably, and while there are faults on both sides, the Greeks got themselves into this mess.

          1. scottser

            so you’re saying it’s ok to keep borrowing from peter to pay paul, accruing interest all the time instead of using that borrowed money to build infrastructure which over time will attract FDI and create employment? and while you’re absolutely correct that the greeks find themselves in a shocking mess, the current government have only been in place since january to deal with it.

          2. Miko

            It’s ok to swop short term high interest loans to long term low interest loans. In effect debt relief.

          3. Just sayin'

            You’re fooling yourself if you think Greece will ever do that. They export almost nothing. The present Greek government is the biggest joke of all, with no notions of how to conduct negotiations with the EU or the IMF and bizarre far-left ideologies mixed with Greek nationalism that have just landed them in an even bigger hole.

            It’s a horrible thing to say but the Greeks will just have to get used to a lower standard of living either way. They can’t be subsidised indefinitely. I mean, they’re not farmers!

          4. scottser

            it’s all moot anyway. chances are the referendum will go against syrzia amid allegations of vote-rigging and a right wing government will be elected who’ll sign up for the eu’s agenda. there will be many dirty tricks played over the coming week.

  7. Just sayin'

    I love the “ah, screw it, let’s have the Drachma back” comments. Makes me glad none of you are Finance Ministers or have a clue about economics.

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