Posted on 02/09/2015 11:25:52 AM PST by tcrlaf
A Greek exit from the euro would see the euro collapse like a house of cards, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis warned in comments that triggered a spat with Italy.
"Greece's exit from the euro is not something that is part of our plans, simply because we believe it is like building a house of cards. If you take out the Greek card, the others will collapse," Varoufakis said in an interview with Italian public broadcaster RAI that was aired on Sunday.
Varoufakis also incurred the wrath of his Italian counterpart Pier Carlo Padoan by comparing Italy's problem with its large public debt to those of Greece.
"Italian officials... have approached me to say they are supportive of us but that they cannot tell the truth both because Italy risks bankruptcy and they fear the consequences with Germany," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
The Greeks no longer care to stop it, and the EU bankers don't know how to stop it.
I’m getting a little tired of all these threats. Kick them out and be done with it.
Thanks to the original bailout most the EU private banks got rid of their Greek exposure. If Greece defaults it will be the EU and IMF left holding the bag.
Greece did itself in.100% face value pensions, and the like. Screw them.
The Greek commies just want to stick it to the EU
Why would a country turn its sovereignty or wallet over to others?
I’m getting a little tired of all these threats. Kick them out and be done with it.
I actually hope this time the commies (in Greece) get what they want.
Reason: the breakup of the EU and the return of nationalism is the best hope for Europe surviving the Islamic cancer that is metastasizing within. The socialist, elitist lemming values of the EU certainly aren’t the best hope.
Either way, the money they use in Greece (euros or drachmas) will be worthless.
(Hmmm.... How cold does it get on those Greek islands in the winter? I might have to get me one.)
Before he was the Treasurer of Greece, Varifoukas was a professor of economic game theory at the University of Texas. He’s going to see how well these theories work in the real world... and if it’s a disaster, he can write a paper about it.
unfortunately these theories won’t get tested in a neutral environment, Greeks have been a welfare state for too long, they threw off the Euro because their debt was unsustainable not because they had a better idea.
These are not normal economic theories... they are negotiating, and game theoretic. Do you search for a Nash equilibrium? Do you act crazy? Those are negotiating strategies.
The “good” outcome for Greece is that the debt is extended to several hundred years maturity (say) with an interest rate of a few tenths of a percent... in other words, it’s forgiven. The question is how big a disaster the alternative—GREXIT—will produce. Will Spain and Italy follow? What will happen to the banks? etc, etc
Most the EU countries are “social”-democracies, but Greece is communist. They are broke financially and have no work ethic common in the West, but are rather similar to the peoples left in former Yugoslavia....
The good outcome for Greece is to live within their means, and that isn’t going to happen without some cultural changes
True, but they would have to live within their means while paying off a big debt overhang. It would hurt, and for a long time. Are they that noble? Doubt it. Not sure any country’s populace is that noble about debt they feel was undertaken by others, even if those others were their duly elected leaders.
The EUROZONE was destined to fail from the get go, however Greece defaulting alone won’t cause it to happen, will just be the first of the minor socialist nations with no GDP to speak of but has promised its population for generations raises and more social programs to go down.
Without an independent currency to print to keep those promises, they cannot survive when sharing a common currency with nations that actually do have a economic engine to speak of like Germany.
This whole Euro was doomed to fail before it started and is the stupidest idea economically floated in 100 years... Greece being kicked out and defaulting won’t cause the collapse, but it will be the first of many to leave the eurozone.
Its not about being noble, never was, its about a horrifically fundamentally flawed idea coming home to roost, and that’s the euro itself.
Sheer madness. Oh, it's easy to see WHY the Euroturds wanted Greece in EMU: every socialist enterprise on this planet simply MUST keep expanding, willy-nilly and by any means, in order to attempt to stave off Mrs. Thatcher's entirely accurate observation about socialism.
The Eurocrats want someone to bail their, and IMF's, asses out of this. Who? Not gonna happen, and the only remaining question to resolve is "just how much damage will the (haha) 'elite' tolerate in order to prop up and keep Greece in EMU?"
More than €10 is too much, but the actual bill will be some number of billion euros, because the Euroturds simply refuse to cut their losses. Hells bells, I'd bet that that phrase doesn't even translate into French or Greek.
The banks may have off loaded most of the actual debt to euro taxpayers, but that's not the worry it's the unregulated derivatives that are gonna explode on a default. The Euro itself will no doubt take a big hit and there is like $26 TRILLION of derivatives riding on that. Not to mention the untold amounts of derivatives held on the debt itself. Goldman Sachs insures many derivative contracts as do other US financial institutions, just in case anyone thinks we are immune to any fallout. If the collapse of Lehman Bros can threaten the entire financial system I can only assume that a sovereign default even of a relatively small country is many times the threat. Don't kid yourself this is a huge deal, and not just for Europe. CITI bank lobbied hard to get Obama to allow derivative investment with FDIC insured deposits and were successful in slipping that legislation into the budget deal. So don't be surprised when another "bailout" suddenly confronts us. Or worse a "bail-in" like they had in Cypress where larger deposits are confiscated and depositers are given stock in the failing financial institution in hopes they go up someday. Greece is well aware of these unpredictable consequences and is now playing a game of "chicken" with the Euro Union to see what kind of deal is offered.
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