New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
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0
Antonios_M
Finally, the Greek political system realized that only an experienced technocrat could take Greece out of this mess. Lucas Papademos is an excellent choice since he understands Greece's need for changes better than any socialist politician from the Pasok Party. I am very pleased with how things turned out and i sincerely hope that Italy will follow Greece's example. It is time for the Eurozone to recover. Yes, it won't be easy but there is no other choice.
My only fear is that the political parties won't support Mr. Papademos sufficiently enough in order to make the reforms. Greek society has already suffered a lot. Unemployment has skyrocketed and the cuts in wages and pensions are very harsh for any Greek to handle since the prices have not fallen yet. Therefore, the new government should be very careful of how to handle the situation. The country desperately needs structural reforms and the privatization of public sector but any more taxation and cuts in wages/pensions would be lethal for its economy.
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WilliB
It is simply ludicrious to use the same currency for economies as different as Germany and Greece. The Euro is the course of all these economic distortions, and until the cause is removed, it will only get worse. It does not matter if you name a banker or a panda bear as president.
Only a return to national currencies can remove the root cause.
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Antonios_M
WilliB, you earn the title of the eurosceptic of the year. I agree with you that there shouldn't have been a common currency in the first place, but i hope that you do realize that the cost of getting these countries out of the Eurozone is enormous.
It is less risky to make these countries change their fiscal policies than kick them out of the Eurozone.
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WilliB
Antonios_M:
Thanks for the flowers, but I am not saying anything different than economists like Milton Friedman, Nouel Roubini or Paul Krugman are saying.
Thanks for lining me up with Nobel prize laureats, LOL
0
WilliB
Antonios_M:
That is like saying the cost of treating a lethal disease is too high, so instead you don´t treat it. Sorry, not convincing.
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Antonios_M
Those well respected economists were against the creation of the common currency in the first place. Like i said, i agree that the creation of the common currency was a naive mistake not taking under account the differences in fiscal policies of each country. However, kicking these countries out of the Eurozone as we speak would probably have the same consequences as the Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers had in 2008.
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Antonios_M
And what you suggest is, as the Greeks would ironically say: Ponaei kefali, kopsei kefali which literally means If you have a headache, cut your head off.
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WilliB
Antonios_M:
No. I am saying that if you have a headache, find the reason and treat that, The reason for Europe`s headache is the Euro.
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Foxie
Papademos was involved quite a bit with the introduction of the Euro to Greece in the first place. Once upon a time a bottle of water at the kiosk cost 50 Drachma, after the Euro came it cost 170 Drachma, do you remember the anger of the people then, Antonios? It will be the same all over again but what else can he do? He is the best choice for now to solve this crisis. At least, the unity is there now. Let's hope for the best.
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Antonios_M
Yes, i remember this very clearly. However, a return to a devalued drachma would be catastrophic for the welfare of the Greek citizens. The bottle of water, which once used to cost 50 Drachma and now, 50 cents, would cost around 1000 Drachma. I don't think that its for Greece's best interest to return to its local currency. At least not now and not under these circumstances.
1
Foxie
You are right, going to the drachma now would be a disaster and hopefully that will never happen otherwise I will jump into Lake Vouliagmeni. I am just worried that further austerity measures will have a similar effect.
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WilliB
Foxie:
Why in the world do you think so? The Euro IS the problem, and the return to Drachma is the only hope for Greece. How in the world do you expect Greece to use the Euro and return to a viable economy? It is impossible.
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Foxie
WilliB: Going back to the drachma would have catastrophic consequences for Greece: huge unemployment, high inflation, banks collapsing, public and private debt skyrocketing. First, the Germans were angry for having to give money to Greece. Then they're angry for NOT having to give money?? Why the logical inconsistency? I'll tell you why: the money, they know, is going to banks, their banks. AND, Greece being thrown out of the euro destroys the euro.
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unreconstructed
Aren't Europeans cute. In America we call such behavior ' hugging the cactus.'
1
Antonios_M
Foxie, well said!
You don't want to know how Greeks call it...:-)
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