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posted by
cmn32480
on Thursday July 02 2015, @01:48AM
from the we'll-pay-you-back-this-time-we-swear dept.
from the we'll-pay-you-back-this-time-we-swear dept.
Greece missed a payment to the IMF on Tuesday and defaulted, but now they are willing to do the deal, or most of the deal, that would have prevented it. According to CNN:
Whoa! The Greek government is now ready to sign on to a bailout package it threw out just days ago, but the about-face won't fix the country's crisis any time soon.
Additional coverage of the Greek Referendum and the political backlash in the Eurozone can be found from the BBC.
It looks like they want to add amendments, so this is not a done deal. Maybe it's not too late for Greece? Or is the Euro better off without Greece? Or Greece without the Euro?
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Greece Defaults; Still Wants Bailout
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(Score: 5, Informative) by kaszz on Thursday July 02 2015, @04:43AM
German sponsors have something to say.. [spiegel.de]
Greece has introduced restrictions on capital and currency. Not something that encourage business or confidence by citizens. Some news agency also wrote that the Greece negotiators could allow to change the expenditures but not societal reforms. Which is kind of a necessity to deal with the situation.
A PhD in history with roots in Greece and lecturer in culture and society at a university says that the largest problem stems from the days of the freedom war from the Ottoman empire when the state apparatus that were created in the 1830s rested on a clientelic foundation, a mutual dependence between patron and client that took advantage of each others services. The first state administration consisted of politicians and diplomats that were called to the newly created state. But it also became a sector where the heroes from the freedom war were awarded for their efforts.
Until 1911 state employee positions was something up to the current government. Which in practice meant that the employees where replaced dependent on their votes and efforts during for example an election campaign. This changed in 1911 when Elefterios Venizelos, known as the father of modern Greece, proclaimed that the state positions were to be permanent employment. However the country were still on that rested on client principles and if one couldn't change who was employed then one had to create more positions instead.
The work of the politicians are far from something desirable at the moment - but without a sanitation of the political structures and organizations the country has no chance to make out of any crisis - economical, political or socially.
Wikipedia on the greek government-dept crisis [wikipedia.org]
And the government is making a fuss about paying 17 billion EUR and another 20 billion EUR before the end of the year. So for some it doesn't matter if the local banking is wrecked, they have theirs in Switzerland instead.
Bloomberg makes the analyze that structural reforms is what's needed:
The way out for Greece [bloombergview.com]
Ricardo Hausmann, Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at Harvard University:
Austerity is not Greece’s problem [project-syndicate.org]
In short, structural reforms is the key not lending or expenditures. So the government needs to according to the professors:
* Stop using state positions as a reward for political deeds or otherwise. Positions should be based on merit.
* Drop positions that isn't based on merit or an actual need.
* Invest in education and value competence.
* Encourage sectors that has economic potential, such as in technology (or it's application).
* Increase productivity.
* Attract globally competitive corporations.
* Reform and enforce tax collection.
Until this kind of structural reforms happen. Don't believe the crisis has been solved. In the meantime take a position in salted potato chip manufacturing and sales..
Probably some hirrible Englirish here ;-)
If so point it out so it can be improved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2015, @11:29AM
"U.S." corporations evade taxes through foreign subsidiaries. What is the solution for that? Send in the military to get the hidden tax money?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday July 04 2015, @12:49AM
Change laws? US even got the Schweitzers to lift their banking secrecy. So US government can and thus the problem is that they will not take action. Likely because they get "donations". So send the military in to take care of those domestic donations?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday July 05 2015, @10:44PM
The Greek election has counted 90% of the votes and it resulted in NO at 61.5% and YES at 38.5%. That is Yes/No to agreeing with the rules that the creditors set last Sunday.
The EUR/USD exchange has fallen with circa 3% since June 25 so it will be interesting to see what the stock market will value this at. There will likely be a lot of turbulence until the Greek country sets structural reforms in place. It seems pointless to feed the Greek country until they get their act together but punishing the common people with austerity seems also pointless.
They are not really the problem.