[blind-democracy] The US Must Save Greece

Profit over People. The motto of the International Capitalist Corporations.
Question: What cancer-like invisible force consumes the normal
emotions of love and Human Compassion?
Answer: Greed.
Greed offers material wealth and the power that goes with it.
But when we succumb to the sweet sounds of Greed's Pipers, most of us
discover that we have become slaves to the needs of Greed. This is
true for nations just as it is for individuals. Greece was doing just
fine. But Greece's leaders were wooed by the images of greater
prosperity. Maybe not for all Greeks, but for the Leaders. So they
joined the EU and soon discovered that the rules were not set in place
for them. Greed treats the little nations just like it treats the
little people.
It sucks the marrow from their bones and castes them on the garbage heap.
Greece must break from the EU. But it can't prevent turmoil and
economic disaster without outside help.
If the world were the world which we read of in Fairy Tales, the
mighty United States of America, defenders and promoters of democracy
everywhere, would charge to the rescue. But we are not dealing with,
"Once upon a time, long long ago, and far far away". This is the real
world. And the mighty United States is under the spell of Greed.
Greece will need to go it alone. Unless China sees the advantage of
saving Greece to further its own Greedy needs.
Like the fabled Prince of Darkness, Greed stalks the Earth. Where are
the Sir Galahads and the Knights in Shining Armour? Where is the
Cavalry, riding over the hill to our rescue? Even Man's Gods are
infected with Greed, turning upon one another in an attempt to become
the ruling God.
And yet, there is Hope! Not out there. Hope resides within the
hearts of men and women. Can enough of us turn inward and believe
that we can make the difference? That's what it will take, millions
of individuals believing that together they will make a difference.
No point in waiting for God or some Mighty Leader. Only when we take
charge of our own destiny will we preserve our Planet Earth and all
that depends on our victory over Greed.
For me, that is enough. Knowing that as a flawed Human Being, I am
doing what I can do to make our Planet secure.
If the odds are too great for me, so be it. I will not become a slave
to Greed, and that knowledge will raise up my spirits.
I am a free man. No, I am not blessed with great material
possessions. I can be stripped of what I do have, and I will still be
a free man. Sure, poor and hungry and probably cold in the winter,
but free. And Greece can be free, if the Greeks cut loose from the
clutches of the EU.
But that calls for great resolve. Retraining our brains to understand
that wealth and material possessions do not equate to Freedom.

Carl Jarvis

On 7/10/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
>
> Stiglitz writes: "As the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at
> Germany's chutzpah. It received, in real terms, one of the largest bailout
> and debt reduction in history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the
> Marshall Plan. And yet it refuses even to discuss debt relief for Greece."
>
> Supporters of the 'No' vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's exit
> polls at Syntagma square in Athens. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP)
>
>
> The US Must Save Greece
> By Joseph Stiglitz, TIME
> 09 July 15
>
>
> If Greece continues with austerity, it would be depression without end
>
> As the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at Germany's chutzpah. It
> received, in real terms, one of the largest bailout and debt reduction in
> history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the Marshall Plan. And yet it
> refuses even to discuss debt relief. Many, too, have marveled at how Germany
> has done so well in the propaganda game, selling an image of a long-failed
> state that refuses to go along with the minimal conditions demanded in
> return for generous aid.
> The facts prove otherwise: From the mid-90's to the beginning of the crisis,
> the Greek economy was growing at a faster rate than the EU average (3.9% vs
> 2.4%). The Greeks took austerity to heart, slashing expenditures and
> increasing taxes. They even achieved a primary surplus (that is, tax
> revenues exceeded expenditures excluding interest payments), and their
> fiscal position would have been truly impressive had they not gone into
> depression. Their depression—25% decline in GDP and 25% unemployment, with
> youth unemployment twice that—is because they did what was demanded of them,
> not because of their failure to do so. It was the predictable and predicted
> response to the austerity.
> The question now is: What's next, assuming (as seems ever more likely) they
> are effectively thrown out of the euro? It's likely that the European
> Central Bank will refuse to do its job—as the Central Bank for Greece, it
> should do what every central bank is supposed to do, act as a lender of last
> resort. And if it refuses to do that, Greece will have no option but to
> create a parallel currency. The ECB has already begun tightening the screws,
> making access to funds more and more difficult.
> This is not the end of the world: Currencies come and go. The euro is just a
> 16-year-old experiment, poorly designed and engineered not to work—in a
> crisis money flows from the weak country's banks to the strong, leading to
> divergence. GDP today is more than 17% below where it would have been had
> the relatively modest growth trajectory of Europe before the euro just
> continued. I believe the euro has much to do with this disappointing
> performance.
> Managing the transition from the euro to the Greek euro may not be easy, but
> Argentina and others have shown how it can be done. The government would
> recapitalize the banks in the new currency, continue with capital controls,
> restrict bank withdrawals, and facilitate the transfer of money within the
> banking system from one party to another. The money inside the banking
> system would be slightly discounted (i.e. worth slightly less than cash—in
> the case of Argentina, the discount was a few percentage points for ordinary
> transactions). Pensioners would need to get special treatment.
> Meanwhile, Greece would begin the process of debt restructuring: Even the
> IMF says that it's absolutely necessary. The Greeks might take a page from
> Argentina, exchanging current bonds for GDP-linked bonds, where payments
> increase with Greece's prosperity. Such bonds align the incentives of
> debtors and creditors (unlike the current system, where Germany benefits
> from the weaknesses in Greece).
> Greece can easily survive without the funds from the IMF and the eurozone.
> Greece has done such a good job of adjusting its economy that, apart from
> what it's paying to service the debt, it has a surplus. It isn't even
> dependent on the IMF and the eurozone for foreign exchange: At least before
> the most recent stranglehold that Greece's creditors had imposed, it was
> running a current account surplus of 1%—5% if we exclude oil exports. (What
> it was buying abroad in imports was 1% less than what it was selling in
> exports.) Especially if oil prices remain low, and if its lower "new"
> exchange rate attracts more tourists and encourages exports, it can weather
> the storm.
> After Argentina restructured its debt and devalued, it grew rapidly—the
> fastest rate of growth around the world except for China—from its crisis
> until the global financial crisis of 2008. Every country is different.
> Economists debate about how responsive exports and imports are to changes in
> exchange rates. Argentina benefited from a large increase in exports as a
> result of the commodity boom. There are, however, some striking
> similarities: Both countries were being strangled by austerity. Both
> countries under the IMF programs saw rising unemployment, poverty, and
> immense suffering. Had Argentina continued with austerity, there would have
> just been more of the same. The Argentina people rose up and said no. So,
> too, for Greece: If Greece continues with austerity, it would be depression
> without end.
> The U.S. was generous with Germany as we defeated it. Now, it is time for
> the U.S. to be generous with our friends in Greece in their time of need, as
> they have been crushed for the second time in a century by Germany, this
> time with the support of the troika. At a technical level, the Federal
> Reserve needs to create a swap line with Greece's central bank, which—as a
> result of the default of the ECB in fulfilling its responsibilities—will
> have to take on once again the role of lender of last resort. Greece needs
> unconditional humanitarian aid; it needs Americans to buy its products, take
> vacations there, and show a solidarity with Greece and a humanity that its
> European partners were not able to display.
> <HTML><META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type"
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> class="imgon2"><IMG width="430" height="195" title="Supporters of the 'No'
> vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's exit polls at Syntagma square
> in Athens. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP)" style="border: 0px currentColor;"
> alt="Supporters of the 'No' vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's
> exit polls at Syntagma square in Athens. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP)"
> src="/images/stories/article_imgs17/017195-greece-070915.jpg" border="0">
> <BR>Supporters of the 'No' vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's exit
> polls at Syntagma square in Athens. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP)</P><P
> class="noslink"><A
> href="http://time.com/3949954/joseph-e-stiglitz-greece-crisis/"
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> target="_blank"></A></P><p class="txtimg"><BR><H1 class="txttitle">The US
> Must Save Greece</H1><P class="txtauthor">By Joseph Stiglitz, TIME</P><P
> class="date">09 July 15</P><P> </P><P><CENTER><OBJECT width="600"
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> bgcolor="#FFFFFF"></OBJECT></CENTER><P></P><BLOCKQUOTE><B><I>If Greece
> continues with austerity, it would be depression without
> end</I></B></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><P><IMG src="/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-A.jpg"
> border="0">s the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at Germany’s
> chutzpah. It received, in real terms, one of the largest bailout and debt
> reduction in history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the Marshall
> Plan. And yet it refuses even to discuss debt relief. Many, too, have
> marveled at how Germany has done so well in the propaganda game, selling an
> image of a long-failed state that refuses to go along with the minimal
> conditions demanded in return for generous aid.</P><P class="indent">The
> facts prove otherwise: From the mid-90’s to the beginning of the crisis,
> the Greek economy was growing at a faster rate than the EU average (3.9% vs
> 2.4%). The Greeks took austerity to heart, slashing expenditures and
> increasing taxes. They even achieved a primary surplus (that is, tax
> revenues exceeded expenditures excluding interest payments), and their
> fiscal position would have been truly impressive had they not gone into
> depression. Their depressionâ€"25% decline in GDP and 25% unemployment, with
> youth unemployment twice thatâ€"is because they did what was demanded of
> them, not because of their failure to do so. It was the predictable and
> predicted response to the austerity.</P><P class="indent">The question now
> is: What’s next, assuming (as seems ever more likely) they are effectively
> thrown out of the euro? It’s likely that the European Central Bank will
> refuse to do its jobâ€"as the Central Bank for Greece, it should do what
> every central bank is supposed to do, act as a lender of last resort. And if
> it refuses to do that, Greece will have no option but to create a parallel
> currency. The ECB has already begun tightening the screws, making access to
> funds more and more difficult.</P><P class="indent">This is not the end of
> the world: Currencies come and go. The euro is just a 16-year-old
> experiment, poorly designed and engineered not to workâ€"in a crisis money
> flows from the weak country’s banks to the strong, leading to divergence.
> GDP today is more than 17% below where it would have been had the relatively
> modest growth trajectory of Europe before the euro just continued. I believe
> the euro has much to do with this disappointing performance.</P><P
> class="indent">Managing the transition from the euro to the Greek euro may
> not be easy, but Argentina and others have shown how it can be done. The
> government would recapitalize the banks in the new currency, continue with
> capital controls, restrict bank withdrawals, and facilitate the transfer of
> money within the banking system from one party to another. The money inside
> the banking system would be slightly discounted (i.e. worth slightly less
> than cashâ€"in the case of Argentina, the discount was a few percentage
> points for ordinary transactions). Pensioners would need to get special
> treatment.</P><P class="indent">Meanwhile, Greece would begin the process of
> debt restructuring: Even the IMF says that it’s absolutely necessary. The
> Greeks might take a page from Argentina, exchanging current bonds for
> GDP-linked bonds, where payments increase with Greece’s prosperity. Such
> bonds align the incentives of debtors and creditors (unlike the current
> system, where Germany benefits from the weaknesses in Greece).</P><P
> class="indent">Greece can easily survive without the funds from the IMF and
> the eurozone. Greece has done such a good job of adjusting its economy that,
> apart from what it’s paying to service the debt, it has a surplus. It
> isn’t even dependent on the IMF and the eurozone for foreign exchange: At
> least before the most recent stranglehold that Greece’s creditors had
> imposed, it was running a current account surplus of 1%â€"5% if we exclude
> oil exports. (What it was buying abroad in imports was 1% less than what it
> was selling in exports.) Especially if oil prices remain low, and if its
> lower “new†exchange rate attracts more tourists and encourages exports,
> it can weather the storm.</P><P class="indent">After Argentina restructured
> its debt and devalued, it grew rapidlyâ€"the fastest rate of growth around
> the world except for Chinaâ€"from its crisis until the global financial
> crisis of 2008. Every country is different. Economists debate about how
> responsive exports and imports are to changes in exchange rates. Argentina
> benefited from a large increase in exports as a result of the commodity
> boom. There are, however, some striking similarities: Both countries were
> being strangled by austerity. Both countries under the IMF programs saw
> rising unemployment, poverty, and immense suffering. Had Argentina continued
> with austerity, there would have just been more of the same. The Argentina
> people rose up and said no. So, too, for Greece: If Greece continues with
> austerity, it would be depression without end.</P><P class="indent">The U.S.
> was generous with Germany as we defeated it. Now, it is time for the U.S. to
> be generous with our friends in Greece in their time of need, as they have
> been crushed for the second time in a century by Germany, this time with the
> support of the troika. At a technical level, the Federal Reserve needs to
> create a swap line with Greece’s central bank, whichâ€"as a result of the
> default of the ECB in fulfilling its responsibilitiesâ€"will have to take on
> once again the role of lender of last resort. Greece needs unconditional
> humanitarian aid; it needs Americans to buy its products, take vacations
> there, and show a solidarity with Greece and a humanity that its European
> partners were not able to display.</P></DIV><p style="text-align: right;
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