التقشف هو المقوض الوحيد للصفقة

May 25, 2015 Yanis Varoufakis

أثينا ــ هناك مغالطة شائعة تهيمن على تغطية وسائل الإعلام العالمية للمفاوضات بين الحكومة اليونانية ودائنيها. وهذه المغالطة، التي تجسدت في تعليق صادر مؤخراً عن فيليب سيتفنز من صحيفة فاينانشال تايمز، هي أن "أثينا غير قادرة أو غير راغبة ــ أو الأمرين معا ــ في تنفيذ برنامج الإصلاح الاقتصادي". وبمجرد عرض هذه المغالطة باعتبارها حقيقة فمن الطبيعي أن تسلط التغطية الإعلامية الضوء على "الكيفية التي تهدر بها حكومتنا الثقة وحسن النوايا من جانب شركائها في منطقة اليورو"، على حد تعبير ستيفنز.

ولكن واقع المحادثات مختلف تمام الاختلاف. ذلك أن حكومتنا حريصة على تنفيذ أجندة تتضمن كل الإصلاحات الاقتصادية التي أكدت عليها مؤسسات الفكر ومراكز البحوث الاقتصادية الأوروبية. ونحن قادرون فضلاً عن ذلك على الحفاظ على دعم الرأي العام اليوناني لبرنامج اقتصادي سليم.

ولنتأمل ماذا يعني ذلك: هيئة ضريبية مستقلة؛ فوائض مالية أولية معقولة دائمة؛ برنامج خصخصة معقول وطموح، مع اقتران كل هذا بهيئة معنية بالتنمية تعمل على تسخير الأصول العامة لخلق تدفقات الاستثمار؛ والإصلاح الحقيقي لنظام التقاعد على النحو الذي يضمن الاستدامة الطويلة الأمد لنظام الضمان الاجتماعي؛ وتحرير أسواق السلع والخدمات، إلى آخر ذلك.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 62 Comments on this article

Joseph Meyer Jun 28, 2015

Congratulations to you and to Mr. Tsipras for standing up to the Troika and to those irresponsable EU-ministers and head-of-States!
Greece should now order its National Bank to issue debt-free sovereign money (Drachm) in order to pay for pensions and loans ... and keep the Euro as legal tender for international transactions...
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M M Jun 3, 2015

According to the figures released by the Austrian Finance Ministry yesterday, Austria (who was, up until recently, strongly against any loan to Greece) has received 101.73 million euros in interest (excluding, fees and other charges) on the so-called loans that were channelled through Greece under the first Greek bailout program. This is amazing! It would be enlightening to know how much money the other EZ countries, the ECB and the IMF have made on these so-called Greek bailout loans! This is scandalous….If there was ever credible journalism, these facts would have been reported, and if ever there was real democracy and fraternity in the EZ/EU, the Greek saga should have been referred to the Human Rights Court in the Hague by now!
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Athanasios Rigas Jun 1, 2015

According to testimonies in the Greek Parliament, a member of the Troika technocrats urged that salaries in Greece climb down to EUR 300 p.m, "the level the country can sustain". Greece did not sign up to the EEC, later EU, for that! If that is the consensus in European circles - public and private - then Greece is better off out of this club. It is already apparent people - officials and public - in Europe resent bailing out "bankrupt, profligate Greece". Fair enough! Up to the austerity clamouring officials and voters to show Greece the door. Let's see what will happen when "the markets" target another country, having already had a taste of blood. Some European ideal!
- Luís Aguiar Jul 11, 2015
  
  So you want to leave the £uro?
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Richard Barlow Jun 1, 2015

Allowing Greece to fail would prove that the EU will fail. It would mean that the EU would have a failed member state, a bankrupt country in its midst, sort of Kentucky without the Social Security and Medicare. But at least the Greeks will still be able to leave Greece, seek their fortunes in Germany and elsewhere.
Suck it up EU, after all it was the EU that accepted Greece had met the convergence criteria, maybe the EU should pay for its failure of due diligence.
- Luís Aguiar Jul 11, 2015
  
  obvious solution is debt mutualization the question is when and how
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- Luís Aguiar Jul 11, 2015
  
  Well then those old ladies must find a way to change the treaties and i'm sure they're very happy with Mr Varoufakis work
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- Peter Schaeffer Jun 1, 2015
  
  RB,
  You are missing two rather large points. First, the founding treaties of Europe (Maastricht) forbid mutualization of debt and the creation of a transfer union. No one in the rest of Europe "signed up" for letting Greece become a permanent handout burden on the rest of Europe. Second, the "Kentucky" model has been a devastating failure in the U.S. Welfare and drugs have proven to be every bit as corrupting in Eastern Kentucky as American inner cities.
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Peter Tremulis May 31, 2015

Does anyone actually expect the US taxpayers to pay off the national debt? It isn't going to happen, ever.
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Peter Tremulis May 31, 2015

There is something missing here. New debt does not solve the real issue for Greece. Nor does "reforms" alone. Economic growth is needed which means real injections of currency without incurring real debt. The US and the UK do this with thier ability to print currency and then inject it into the banking system and through bad debt purchase programs. Where did the $3.5 Trillion on the Fed's balance sheet come from? It came from a printing press (even if only an electronic one). This swap is not possible in Greece since the capital being offered is in the form of new debt. Really does not make any sense. Austerity is only real way to pay debts in a zero sum economic system based upon the Euro.

Too bad everyone in the EU seems blind to how the US and the UK addressed the financial crisis. Each has there own printing press.
- Peter Schaeffer Jun 1, 2015
  
  PT,
  If Greece wants the powers of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, it can leave the Eurozone. Otherwise, it has to play by the rules of the Eurozone. Leaving is the obvious choice (in my opinion), but most people in Greece don't agree.
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simon noble May 31, 2015

conomical with the truth as always. YV hasnt really moved on from his trendy talk on 2010-2012.
Greece has fudged figures to get to "balance" - look at the list of unpaid bills. If the only issue had been primary surpluses at 1-2% rather than 3-4% a deal would have been cut weeks ago. There is a reason YV has been thrown out of the discussions. He chose to play a game based in false and outdated analysis and though he could pull off something far greater than just a primary surplus adjustment. The damage he has caused is now fully apparent.
YV fails to address two key issues. First, if he cant generate a primary surplus how can he pay for any debt? Logically he is asking for 100% debt write off. Second why in earth should the voters of other countries fund a Greek lifestyle that still refuses to live reality. Other countries have gone bust but perhaps none have so lily insisted that the rest if the world owes them a living.
BTW the Uk and Greece comparison is facile and one that sums up Lamont. Greece was in the Euro and ran out of credit, in part because the scale of the fraud and the inability of the government to cover the loss. The UK had a major problem but in that never reached a point of being unfundable nor did anyone lose faith in the basic integrity of the administration. Also two totally different economies.
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M M May 31, 2015

Sound journalism has long gone. You should stop defending your actions and focus on implementing the much needed reforms. The true costs, of these so called bailout loans, to the Greek economy (and ultimately to the Greek Citizens) must be exposed at some stage. The money that the ECB, IMF etc. are making from these so called bailout loans must come out in the open. It is exorbitant. Also, any person that was directly or indirectly in charge (at the technical or political level) of discussing, negotiating or securing these scandalous loans must be totally excluded and, if required, prosecuted. Regrettably, many of these individuals have been re-appointed in responsible positions, especially in the banking sector. That is a great disappointment. You should start the cleaning up very soon; I am more than certain the re-hired cleaners at the ministry will be more than happy to assist!
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Lars Hoelgaard May 31, 2015

Many of the comments are pretty virulent aginst Varoufakis which is a bit sad. After all austerity has proven to be a total failure in the case of Greece. it was based on unrealistic assumptions about the speed of adjustments in the Greek economy, speed of privatizations and the size of public debt at the end of the bailout programme in 2024, The IMF has subsequently admitted this mistake and that is also the reason why it will be very difficult to get the IMF on board for a third programme-more of the same won´t work.That said one is still in doubt whether the reforms that Varoufakis recognizes are necessary will be carried out with sufficient rigour and discipline. It appears that many of the bad habits of past governments in terms of clientilism and political favours have not been done away with under the Syriza government in spite of clear statements to the contrary by Tsipras before and after the election. Solidarity with the Greek population is necessary for the sake of Greece as well as for the EU-for that anew beginning is required. Unfortunately the message from Germany and the rest of the "Hardliners" is not promising : "commitments must be kept even if the policy has proven to be a failure"-Ordoliberalism must prevail !
- Peter Schaeffer May 31, 2015
  
  "After all austerity has proven to be a total failure in the case of Greece"
  
  Really? What austerity? Greece is still living beyond its means and borrowing to pay it is bills. Greece has been forced to reduce its profligacy and the consequences haven't been pleasant. Should Greece be allowed to spend vast sums of money that Greece doesn't have and doesn't earn? That's crazy. "Prosperity" based on spending other people's money is always easier than earning money and living within one's means. Greece did a rather good job of squandering foreign money before the crash of 2008/9. Now Greece is being forced to squander less foreign money than before.
  
  The much derided "austerity" has never happened and certainly hasn't "failed". Greece has been forced to reduce it previously staggering misappropriate of foreign money. That hasn't been fun for Greece but it has happened. The policy so far of reducing Greek taking from Europe has been successful. Suggesting otherwise is at best an exercise in deception.
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Peter Schaeffer May 31, 2015

Greece was living astoundingly beyond its means until the crash of 2008/2009. It it still living beyond its means today, and continuously borrowing from abroad to pay its bills. Yanis wants Greece to go back to living astoundingly beyond its means and the rest of Europe to pay for it. Anything else is "austerity". Guess what? Living beyond your means is not "austerity". Yanis is demanding a no-limit credit card with Europe making the payments. No deal.
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Point Made May 31, 2015

Dear Project Syndicate,

I am not sure why we need to listen to Varoufakis who has been removed from any responsible position in the talks, after blatantly disrespecting the rest of his EU colleagues.

Maybe your political agenda is more important than basic manners?
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Karl Strobl May 31, 2015

While Lew is right the the risks go up over time, here is still how this will have to play itself out: http://karlstrobl.com/2015/05/28/varoufakis-and-game-theory/
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Hugo Pezzoni May 31, 2015

Yanis is intellectually smart, but emotionally immature. His narcissism prevents him from realizing the cost of lack of confidence to a national economy. Yanis and most if not all of his colleagues at the Syriza Party in Greece did not earn the confidence of Greek savers that decided to withdraw €28 billion in bank deposits since January 2015 (i.e. approximately 16% of GDP). This drain of resources in such a short time frame inflicts much more damage than the "unsustainably high primary surpluses of more than 2% of GDP in 2016" that Yanis is talking about. The same argument can be made about corruption. In Greece, it largely exceeds 2% of GDP at the government level, so Yanis could have made much progress by tackling corruption and achieving fiscal surpluses higher than 2% for 2016 and beyond. And tackling corruption would not only yield direct economic benefits against public overspending. Consider the moral impact of reducing corruption. The ordinary Greek citizen and most Greek entrepreneurs would work, invest and feel much better. But looks like Yanis and his colleagues at the Syriza Party would rather not be true revolutionaries in this sense. So, Yanis please: OPEN YOUR EYES AND YOUR MIND!!
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Philip Grimm May 31, 2015

Why should austerity be the game breaker?

It comes down to entitlement. Greece has developed a sophisticated and subtle taste in the good things of life. Me too: Louis Latour vs two buck chuck; I know which I would prefer. The only difference between Mr Varoufakis and myself is that I must be resigned to buy my preference with my own money while Mr Varoufakis believes he is entitled to purchase his wine with other peoples money.

Beggars can't be choosers, I learned that in kindergarden, but Mr Varoiufakis learned something else.
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Avraam Dectis May 31, 2015

.

Dr. Varoufakis,

UK and Switzerland do just fine with their own currencies - perhaps Greece should emulate them.

Once you have your freedom, you can design a funding system that is superior and culturally attuned.

Let me know if you need help.

Avraam
.
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Margaret Fairchild May 31, 2015

If anything, Yannis is being too diplomatic. Greece owes nothing to the Troika, and under the leadership of Tsipras, Varoufakis, Kammenos, et. al, refuses to kill the Greek people to bail out the banks. Hopefully, Greece will join the BRICS and the New Development Bank, and invest in real development for a real recovery!
- Z. De Vries May 31, 2015
  
  Somebody is proposing Greece join the BRICS and The New Development bank. Sure, great idea. Let the BRICS pour billions into this utterly bankrupt country, in all aspects. Poor Greeks indeed. First they joined the EU which poured billions into the country through its 'cohesion funds', then Goldman Sachs advised them how to get even more billions (on loan) and when that went wrong then they were bailed out by the IMF and the EU with even more billions! Somebody is going to have to pay for this. And somehow I suspect the BRICS won't be so willing to help the Greeks with another round of billions. Russia for one needs its money to build a bigger army to bully everybody into nobody knows really what (yet). And other BRICS have billions of people mired into poverty themselves.
  Greece might have to leave the Eurozone to fix its own problems in the end, but it's best off close to Europe, where it belongs, ultimately.
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- David Chipping May 31, 2015
  
  I suspect you are right, the illusion that Greece is the one stalling has been very much created and I suspect is related to the narrowly circulated view that Greece has been used as a back door bail out for the insolvent banking system.
  Greek creditors and EU decision makers are in danger of revealing their true nature to the world; the current government deserves every ounce of public support for its stance.
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Oliver Denker May 31, 2015

Hey Yanis,

is a new book coming out? You need some cheap PR?
Otherwise I can't explain what this drivel is all about?
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Cyril Blanc May 29, 2015

Living within our means as a society is more difficult when politicians can freely incur debt "on behalf of citizens" to effectively secure themselves a job by winning votes from the public to spend money that is not their own. This conflict of interest should become clearer as rulers further indebt their subjects.
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Jonathan Booth May 29, 2015

Prosperity and jobs will come from new and expanding SME's. The Greek Government and more importantly, public sector employees, must embrace small businesses and entrepreneurs. Barriers to business start ups must be removed.
It's absurd that Greeks, and other nationals, who want to start businesses in Greece are migrating to Bulgaria to do so.
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John Brian Shannon May 29, 2015

Hi Yanis,

“Athens is unable or unwilling – or both – to implement an economic reform program.” -- Philip Stephens of the Financial Times.

"Once this fallacy is presented as fact, it is only natural that coverage highlights how our government is, in Stephens’s words, “squandering the trust and goodwill of its eurozone partners.”" -- Yanis Varoufakis

So, all of Greece's problems are fixed then?

Good to know.

If everything is working so well that economic reforms aren't needed in Greece, then why the hue and outcry from Greeks, the Greek government and other EU nations/organizations about the Greek economy?

Or have I missed the fact that successful economic reforms have been implemented in Greece and all that remains, now that the systemic changes have been made, is for the positive results to accrue?

I very sincerely hope that is the case!

But, I doubt it.

"Our creditors’ insistence on greater austerity is subtle yet steadfast. It can be found in their demand that Greece maintain unsustainably high primary surpluses (more than 2% of GDP in 2016 and exceeding 2.5%, or even 3%, for every year thereafter)." -- Yanis Varoufakis

Not only is this unsustainable, but it's unreasonable.

When the powerhouse economies of the Eurozone can't even match that ask, how can Greece do it even as it struggles to correct the historic imbalances in its economy? (All of which the Syriza government inherited, it must be said in the interests of fairness)

While Greece corrects the imbalances in its economy, being saddled with an ask of 2%, then 2.5%, and later 3% GDP surpluses, is difficult to fathom!

Unless the lenders expect Greece to miss any reasonable target, such as running a 1% of GDP surplus over the next 5 years.

If the lenders feel that Greece will miss its target by (for example) 2%, then they might as well inform Greece that surpluses of 2.5% or 3% of GDP are required. That way, the reasonable surplus of 1% of Greek GDP will still be met.

If that scenario is the case, then there is a serious credibility issue between the Eurozone lenders and the Syriza government. And that, would spell doom for cooperation between lenders and Greece, until the next election when the Syriza government would likely fall.

If Greece can run surpluses of 1% of GDP for the next 5 years *and* work to improve its tax enforcement (and create a 'good bank' and a 'bad bank' to improve economic flows) *and* continue to meet its debt payment obligations -- then that in itself is a miraculous bit of work, right there!

Let's see the other Eurozone economies do all of that. And if they can't, why not?

As always, best regards, JBS
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GreeceHolidaySupport GreeceHolidaySupport May 27, 2015

The Troika (International Monetary Fund, Central European Bank and European Commission) is killing the European economy with its politics of austerity.
Its objective is just to make Countries pay their debt and interest, without any discussion, and without any respect for the life of European Citizens who suffer the consequence of austerity.

Only one country is standing against this: GREECE.

The Greek government is fighting austerity not only for their interest, but for the interest of all the European people. Every European citizen see her/his money stolen to give it as interest to banks, and see his/her rights violated every day by the austerity politics.

We have to support the effort of Greece, because it is also our fight!
We can do it in a simple and fun way:

Let's make our holidays in Greece! Let's support their economy and people!
Say NO to Austerity!
Say YES to hope! Say YES to Greece!
_________________________________
PLEASE SIGN OUR INITIATIVE ONLINE:
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/25474-support-greece-vs-austerity
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j. von Hettlingen May 26, 2015

It's amazing that Yanis Varoufakis still finds time to address the world media, although he is busy with hoping from one European capital to another, in an effort to secure a new tranche of bailout to keep Greece from defaulting. This commentary is his fourth in Project Syndicate, since he took office last January and the second in the month of May.
Varoufakis basically rebukes critics in general and the media in particular, that they get it all wrong about Greece and that his country is "keen to implement an agenda that includes all of the economic reforms" and will not "squander the trust and goodwill of its eurozone partners.” Yet the "sticking point" he claims, is that the creditors "insist on even greater austerity for this year and beyond," a demand that his government "cannot - and will ot - accept, because it would spoil the "agenda" his government was "eager to pursue."
He argues that this approach would only "impede recovery, obstruct growth, worsen the debt-deflationary cycle, and, in the end, erode Greeks’ willingness and ability to see through the reform agenda that the country so desperately needs." This is no doubt a face-saving rhethoric he has to sell to the public at home, because he doesn't want to let the voters' down, who support his government taking a tough stance towards further austerity measures.
Then he questions the "true motivation" about the "creditors’ demand for more austerity", saying it "has nothing to do with concerns about genuine reform or moving Greece onto a sustainable fiscal path," and that future historians should form their own opinion about it. Given the "contemporary media coverage" they might take Greece's crisis "with a grain of salt."
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Willliam Schenker May 26, 2015

Go for it Yanis ---- eventually all the lying by the EU will catch up with them.

Bill
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hari naidu May 26, 2015

The sticking point is recalcitrance of this so-called economic game theory specialist. I wander what would happen if he was sacked by Greek PM?
There is a golden rule - beggars can't choose!
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Margaret Bowker May 26, 2015

So would the IMF and the Greek government agree to a formal understanding on pensions, that they would be looked at when the economy was stable and growing and people were back in work, with perhaps the concession on eligibility already talked about given a date? I thought primary surpluses were not an issue. Whatever the result of negotiation this week, internal payments ought to be made on Friday. No IOUs. That would leave next week for final negotiation. It's almost there.
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Eusebio Manuel Vestias pecurto vestias May 26, 2015

Austerity has its end Europe needs and stability and Greece will have to take its political responsability can not look at a chicken that lays golden eggs member states should take the sustainable economic growth of environmental social point of view
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André Rebentisch May 26, 2015

If I am not mistaken bond markets are unwilling to finance the Greek state. But in the twisted logic of Varoufakis the creditor blame game became the main narrative. "Austerity" means limited lending and the reason is the same as on bond markets: lack of trust. Either the Greek government starts to regain the trust or it further undermines it.
- Jose araujo May 26, 2015
  
  Bond Markets are unwilling to lend because the ECB isn't the lender of last resort, hence there is a real possiblity of default, something that doens't hapen in a country with his own currency.
  
  Bond markets are unwilling to lend because debt levels are very high do to the need of the Greek government to fund the financial system through taxes.
  
  Greece,Ireland and Portugal should have followed the Icelandic way, default not austherity was the answer in the first place.
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Aristomene Varoudakis May 26, 2015

The comparison with the UK is relevant but also suggests that a national currency and a national central bank that guarantees the liquidity of the banking system are necessary to avoid stagnation when deep austerity becomes necessary.
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Stephen K. May 25, 2015

On Mr. Stephens: see the comments section of the FT essay, especially this polemical gem from @Copito
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/61aa05b0-fe1d-11e4-9f10-00144feabdc0.html?hubRefSrc=email#lf_comment=315687503
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dan baur May 25, 2015

This guy and his party is all talk and NO action. He has ZERO credibility.
- Margaret Fairchild May 31, 2015
  
  You must be talking about the U.S. Dem or Republican Party, not Syriza!
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Ioannis Glinavos May 25, 2015

Assuming the lenders do not see the light, what next? People often ask whether Greece can default yet stay in the euro. If ECB turns off the ELA tap, then the banks close down. What will you do? Two options exist: 1) nationalise the banks and bail in depositors. All deposits gone, or a Cyprus style haircut. Anyone fancy that? It may not even be enough. Bye bye to everyone's money. 2) print own money which means of course Grexit. And what's wrong with that? Paying for your supermarket shopping 40-50% more after devaluation is what. Fancy paying for the baby formula (now €20 for what I pay £8.50 in London btw) the equivalent of €50? What is the Plan B? https://iglinavos.wordpress.com/2015/05/24/come-on-grexit-lovers-lets-talk-specifics/
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Stamatis Kavvadias May 25, 2015

Unfortunately, Varoufakis chart refers to "structural deficit," not primary deficit. The important difference is that "structural deficit" has no formal definition in economics. It is a notion invented by some economists, which changes from one instance of its use to another.

The IMF's evaluations, in 2008 and 2013, of the "structural surplus/deficit" averages of Spain and Ireland during the period 2000-2007, had a discrepancy of 2.2% (0.5% ==> -1.7%) and 4% (1.3% ==> -2.7%). Take note that these where both *evaluations* and not predictions of the "structural balance". Nobody knows what the "structural" (or cyclically adjusted) balance is!!!
(Check "The shifts and the Shocks," p.76-77, by Martin Wolf, for specific references on the data)

Varoufakis using this notion is very unfortunate, especially when he does not provide the source of this chart, which tends to imply it is the Greek government's. Nevertheless, he is avoiding futile counterarguments from the status quo of EU and IMF, who officially use this "metric" with not scientific background, only to manipulate to their economic/political doctrines and specifically to require ever more austerity.
- Jose araujo May 26, 2015
  
  I agree, the graph apparently shows something but we don't know what.
  
  Even on the unit I have questions, is it % change (in this case we would be talking of monster multipliers), is it % change on GDP, is it cumulative through 09-14 is it 09 vs 14....
  
  Another case where Project Syndicate should hire some editors and not publish articles like this.
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- Stamatis Kavvadias May 25, 2015
  
  I should admit that the red letters seem to be externally added to the chart (which would explain why there is no naming of the origin of the chart). It is very likely, if that is the case, that the charts are actually of the primary balances and Varoufakis tries to avoid illegitimate counterarguments. Anyway....
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Michael Public May 25, 2015

Creditors always prefer a 'pound of flesh' to a payment plan.
- Shane Beck May 26, 2015
  
  French and German Banks can get both with an EU bailout and EU imposed austerity upon Greece....
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george sos May 25, 2015

"Reform" agenda???Deform agenda more like it...This is the creditors target.
But let me point out that the suggested prototype of Singapore you use as an example in recent days,when asked about planing for Greek independence and securing the food self reliance of Greece ,of growth through global trade is out of place.Greece needs to try something different.Trying to manage the "needs " of the creditors is not the way to anything but slow and painful death.Literally.
Unless Varoufakis abandon his ideas about global trade and the "good" that comes with it,i see no way of survival for us the small folk.
Unless he realises the contradiction of being a left wing minister(or even just a citizen who cares),with the climate change and the contribution of global trade to it,we have no future.Not just Greece.
Greece could become the first to connect the dots and decide against this model,that has caused so much pain all over the world and will continue to do so as long as someone doesnt stand up to it.
Global trade ,means to import your food from half way around the planet.And this according to Yannis is sustainable???
Dear me,i am no prof. of any kind,but i can tell for certain that the tons of oil burned to carry stuff Greece could produce locally,maybe is not the way forward to anywhere else but in the hands of those who dont give a damn about the planet,the humanity ,or anything else but Profits.
Enough said.
I believe now (even though i voted for him based on what he was saying at the time)that he is just another representative of the few,the powerful who live off the flesh and bones of the working people.And no i dont count economists as working people.No i dont count bankers as such(not at the present banking system).I expected a new ethos ,and new ideas.I thought he had a plan,not IMF s plan.Not the plan like the lies of World Bank about growth of global wealth due to trade.This is a myth and we need to unvail it.We need to expose the lie and let them find their own food scavanging in our trash ,so they can realise what it is all about.
No Yannis you got it wrong.
Unless you knew all along.
Unless the ideas about a new europe of the people ,humane and against the "investors" and their measures was all a facade.A front empty of any truth.
Was it?
As for the media war which i witness every day ,we ,the people elected you and gave you the mandate of Greek rebirth ,not of management of the old ideas with a new name.
So drachma,away from the Europe of the bankers.
The people of europe if you bother to ask them are on our side.They expect us to lead this way.
I thought this was your intention.
clearly i was wrong.
This is not realism this is plain submission (if it was not the intention from the beginning).
PS:I can stand hearing you saying how much respect you have for these persons who are personally responsible for putting so many people to death by suicide and pushed so many young Greeks to emigrate in order to have a decent living.
Maybe this way you suck up to them ,but i hate myself for voting for you .as for your friend mr.schaible shaite ,you can respect him all you want.We dont.And you are there to represent us not your banker friends.
And for something different,i jump to this matter about how to rule Greece.
The one big truth is that you are afraid to confront the old system.Greek state ,needs to be brought down and rebuilt from scratch.On a different basis with new people.Instead what we get is ,the continuation of the old system under new name.
You dont even dare to say it .The greek state was running with personnel that wouldn't otherwise get a place in any company,or business (since you are so oriented you know what i am talking about).
And instead of hitting the nail ,you keep hitting us.Unless we restart the state on a clean slate,without all these positioned by political interests people in it ,people who didnt deserve to get paid with our taxes,because ,they do not fulfil the obligations towards Greek citizens,we have as Greeks no future.
We expected a restart ,not a rebirth of the old ways.
And all you do is media management.information management.But in essence you do not touch all the pathogens that created the disease for Greece.
No matter how much you speak about stopping the tax evasion,you cant.Not without the help of the decent folk.Not with the help of those who all these years were living off the state,doing nothing.
I hear you say what about the jobs,these people have families...yes we all do.But i dont live off the back of anyone.and i expect the rest of my fellow citizens to do the same.And i expect the state to have means and ways to judge the qualities of those that it employs.
And this can not be done with judges who have been participating all these years in this fraud that we call Greek state.
So do we ,or dont we want t new Greece?
I had a dream...
But i learn.I hope you do too...
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Agatha Venetis May 25, 2015

The only reason Greece is the far right corner of the graph, is because of the overwhelming role of the Greek state in the economy. The IMF thought it was dealing with a free capitalist economy when it suggested that the state cut doen on its expenses, and that is why it got the multipliers wrong. This is the last soviet style economy left standing in Europe. Pre crisis the state was everywhere. If it wasnt payong you a wage, it was paying you a pension, it was renting from you, it gave you vouchers for your business, subsidies for things you did or did not produce, and so on. With borrowed money of course. That is why when the state stopped spending, GDP fell by 30%. It is one thing to cut state spending in a free economy, quite another to cut state spending in a soviet style state run economy. Yes, there has been austerity, but state spending as part of the ( now much lower) GDP is still very high. Also the differentiation between the state paid jobs and benefits (like still retiring at 50) , and those of the private sector, only goes to show that austerity isnt for those that have traditionally been the clients of the political system in Greece. Syriza has inherited this clientele from PASOK, and will do everything in their power to maintain their priviledges at the expense of the rest of the economy.
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Tomas Kurian May 25, 2015

Benefits of the federation
http://www.genomofcapitalism.com/index.php/14-1-benefits-of-the-federation

Greek "excessive" debts exist only because wrong financial instrument was used: these should have been transfers within fair federation.

If some countries in EU want to have trade surplusses, some have to be compensated for being deficit bearers - receivers of federal transfers.

Benefits of the federation
http://www.genomofcapitalism.com/index.php/14-1-benefits-of-the-federation
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Jeff Byers May 25, 2015

Exactly correct, only a drastically different approach will fix the situation in Greece. Fight for your people and not the creditors.
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Michael Nikolaou May 25, 2015

"Relative to the rest of the countries on the eurozone periphery, Greece was subjected to at least twice the austerity.
There is nothing more to it than that."

I think there is a lot more to that.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-13366011
- Jose araujo May 25, 2015
  
  The BBC graph is total deficit while Mr. Varoufakis was talking about primary deficit.
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Bernhard Kopp May 25, 2015

For Greeks, change is an outrageous imposition. Just the idea, that anything could be done a little bit more effective, and a little bit more efficient, is outrageous for their minds. It is not that they could not have a modern, digital, land and property register if they wanted to, they never wanted it, although they got EU-subsidies in the tnes of millions just for that. Changing from chaos to an orderly system is against the interest of those who benefit from the chaos. Hence, change would be an outrageous imposition - un-Greek. On austerity, even the cleaning personnel in the government offices must get paid about double, yes double, what the cleaning personnel in Berlin gets paid, and, they need to employ considerably more people per 1000 square meters of space. Change would be an outrageous and totally heartless demand and an imposition thought up by nazis. Obviously, austerity is outrageous and a deal-breaker.
- Jose araujo May 25, 2015
  
  First, the problems is that austherity made things worst in Greece, not Better. Pursuing the same path is the defnition of stupidity.
  
  Second, maybe the cleaning ladies in Germany are not Germans but imigrants that take jobs that Germans don't want.
  
  Amazing how can some pople argue with salaries that are less the 8€ an hour...
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Jose araujo May 25, 2015

Imagine a scenario where Greece exits the euro, defaults on its debt and through contagion the euro collapses and we assist to a generalized bank runs through Europe? A far possibility, but yet possible.

No country on the Euro Union can cope with bank runs, it’s impossible to do it through taxpayer’s money and the Cyprus solution would have to be implemented in the Euro zone, which would make the bank runs even worse.

Today, in the euro union, there are no deposit insurance, no country can guarantee by himself the deposits on its banking system, so a solution has to be found. A solution where the monetary authority acts like an normal Central Bank, and sits at the top of the pyramid of the financial system, regulating it, supervising it, and assuring for the sake and good health of it.

This means that the ECB must be refounded, the Euro financial system must be assured and managed by this new ECB, and with this the new ECB must take care of a system cleaning that include the Greek and European banks, taking this responsibilities from the individual countries.

Usually whoever plays with fire ends up burned, and IMHO we have already passed the playtime, we are now on the brink of a generalized fire. It’s time to mend the monetary union and take steps to bring it up to be a functional system, not a political argument.
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Walter Gingery May 25, 2015

"Clearly, our creditors' demand for more austerity has nothing to do with concerns about genuine reform or moving Greece onto a sustainable fiscal path."

There; he couldn't be plainer.
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Walter Gingery May 25, 2015

Compare the opinion of Wolfgang Muenchau, the European correspondent for the Financial Times:

"Greek economic mismanagement brought about the crisis in 2010, but the creditors are responsible for the current mess by insisting on an economically illiterate adjustment programme. They had not taken into account the fact that Greece is a relatively closed economy. This means that most of its GDP is produced and consumed at home.

If you force such an economy into extreme austerity during a recession, it stays trapped. The key to a Greek economic revival has to be an end to austerity."
- Mark Stannis May 25, 2015
  
  And how is a 25% debt write off gonna help? Your country imports a lot yet produces very little. Your standard of living is sustained by massive implicit and explicit subsidies from the euro zone countries and the European union. Greece can't hold up its own pants so a debt restructuring will just buy a little bit of time before Greece comes begging for more money. It is dependent on the goodwill of other Europeans and after all the smack talking by people like Varoufakis, that good will is pretty much gone.
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- Stamatis Kavvadias May 25, 2015
  
  BTW, 25% write off of Greek debt would amount to ~80 billion euros, which is the amount held by the ECB, I believe.
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- Stamatis Kavvadias May 25, 2015
  
  Keep on being "untrusting". Maybe our governments will eventually confess to their ignorance of the monetary system and an open debate may emerge among economists, over the useful and catastrophic features of the monetary system. The spillover effects of such an open debate, in EU citizens' understanding of the real context of inter-country financial deals and relevant votes in parliament, will be magnificent.
  
  If Varoufakis were to suggest a debt reduction that would make Greek debt sustainable, the gap would be unbridgeable for EZ governments that have built their faerie tales at home. The loans would end up to ~15% financing of Greek government since 2010, ~20% Greek banking system crisis hit, and 65% bank debt and interest (http://cloud.highcharts.com/show/udocon). The last (65%) is the effect of banking system and past Greek governments profligacy. Writing off ~25% (leaving 65%-25%=40% of the profligacy part to Greece), would probably make it sustainable (it would go back to about 132% of GDP immediately and would have 4 years to go down to 120% that is the target of the deal for 2020) and would be about just, so that foreign governments partly take care of their own banking system's bailout (its part lending to Greece).
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- Mark Stannis May 25, 2015
  
  You're right of course. But that would mean that the European taxpayer has to fork over more money, even when they are already saying that they will never repay their debts. When is it going to end?
  
  If indefinite loans with a slim change of repayment are the only way that Greece can stay in the euro zone then it's time to call it quits right now. Syriza says to wants to stay in but at the same time they don't paint a picture how Greece will ever become a country that can survive without euro loans. All they do is complain about other European countries not handing over the cash without any conditions attached (like the joker who wrote this article).
  
  What is an untrusting European taxpayer to do? Certainly not vote for any politician who keeps this existing system in place.
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