Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Merkel: Germany wants 'strong Greece' in eurozone

World Sep. 28, 2011 - 06:00AM JST ( 11 )

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11 Comments

-1

WeaselSep. 28, 2011 - 01:29PM JST

We want a strong Greece within the eurozone, and Germany is prepared to offer all necessary assistance...

Perhaps that type of assistance means shedding some of the weaker economies of the Eurozone.
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WilliBSep. 28, 2011 - 03:20PM JST

The way to have a stronger Greece is to let it have its Drachma back, allowing it to devaluate, and let the lender banks take a haircut.... instead of pumping ever more German taxpayers money into the greedy banks which bought all these Greek junk government bonds., while demanding that the Greek population suffers.

Why do the foolish Euro-politicians refuse to see the obvious.
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MadvertsSep. 28, 2011 - 09:20PM JST

Don't forget the blood-sucking French banks either, willi, who've got to keep on giving to support this third-world-esque, corrupt state.

The banks will be passing the cost of either loss on to us customers anyway.

Vive la Révolution.
-1

WilliBSep. 28, 2011 - 10:24PM JST

Madverts:

" Don't forget the blood-sucking French banks either, willi, who've got to keep on giving to support this third-world-esque, corrupt state. "

It is an open invitation to " keep on giving to support this third-world-esque, corrupt state", as long as Germany guarantees the loans. For that matter, German banks are also up to their ears in this.

The only winners in this absurd drama are the banks, everybody loses. And it will go on, as long as the Eurocrats a) insist in keeping the Euro as common currency and b) refuse to let PIIG states go bankrupt.
-1

WilliBSep. 28, 2011 - 10:43PM JST

...as the Telegraph put it so nicely yesterday:

"Sorry Deutschland. History has conspired against you, again. You must sign away €2 trillion, and debauch your central bank, and accept 5pc inflation, or be blamed for Götterdämmerung. It is not fair but that is what monetary union always meant. Didn't they tell you? "
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MadvertsSep. 28, 2011 - 11:19PM JST

Willi,

"The only winners in this absurd drama are the banks, everybody loses"

As ever, my biggest gripe. Especially here in France as they're practiacaly an arm of the government anyway. These are the organizations who's un-checked lending have dropped us all in it yet they haven't seen a backlash.

" And it will go on, as long as the Eurocrats a) insist in keeping the Euro as common currency "

I can't see how we can go back to the old currencies at this point. It looks like grin and bear it, force Greece to be a lot less corrupt (retirement at 52 anyone??) and pray like hell it can be done.
-1

WilliBSep. 29, 2011 - 12:15AM JST

Madverts:

" I can't see how we can go back to the old currencies at this point. "

Of course "we" can. Currency unions are created, currency unions break up. Remember the Latin currency union? The Nordic union? The Czech Krone? The Yugoslav dinar? The Soviet Ruble, for that matter?

The argument that since they created the Euro they can not reverse it is one of the most stupid ones emanating from Brussels.
0

MadvertsSep. 29, 2011 - 02:54AM JST

I didn't mean impossible. I meant un-thinkable. As a small business-owner in Europe, frankly? I'd rather live in blissful denial of that horror story.

Politicians wanting to get elected that make a campaign promise to investigate properly, fine and pass legislation against the banks and their behaviour as a priority would be elected in a landslide. People are seething at the money-grubbing banks here, in France at least.

I remember seeing Eric Cantona, an-ex permiere league footballer, not so long on TV urging the French to withdraw their savings from the banks and cripple them.

At the time I thought "what a tosser". But if the Euro defecates on itself, I'll wonder why I didn't realize this kind of banking terrorism may be the only way to cause harm to the capitalist gone-crazy situation we're all in, and force change on the system.
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MadvertsSep. 29, 2011 - 03:12AM JST

Oh and to clarify, I like to know what the adverse cost would be to booting Greece from the Euro would be. They've been far from honest before the bailouts with their accounting, if they were pushed out would it be less than the risks of further inaffective bail-outs?
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KonstaSep. 29, 2011 - 03:26AM JST

WilliBSep. 29, 2011 - 12:15AM JST Of course "we" can. Currency unions are created, currency unions break up. Remember the Latin currency union? The Nordic union? The Czech Krone? The Yugoslav dinar? The Soviet Ruble, for that matter? The argument that since they created the Euro they can not reverse it is one of the most stupid ones emanating from Brussels.

In theory, we can. In practice, we'll still have to bail out Greece, Spain and all of the others down the line. You just can't walk away. Greece's financial troubles are the result of artificial regulations and pushing its economy to higher standards after they entered the EU. If not for the EU, they would have different interest rates, inflation, everything. They have been basically forced to live in a certain way and forced to take loans to cover the differences. Leaving them out of euro and the EU will lead to immediate social problems and revolts. With the consequences for the other countries. Nobody wants that. So, Euro or not, but Greece must be pulled out.
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KonstaSep. 29, 2011 - 03:28AM JST

Roughly saying, the majority of new countries accepted to the EU simply were NOT ready. And this madness still continues.