02.23.12
Greece Avoids Default, But for How Long?
Greece Avoids Default, But for How Long?
The Humiliation of Greece
by MIKE WHITNEY
“How can one speak of default in the future tense when we’re already bankrupt… Don’t you see the people scouring through garbage and sleeping on sidewalks? Those who led us to bankruptcy – the troika and the government – now claim they want to save us from bankruptcy. It’s incredible.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/23/the-humiliation-of-greece/– Mikis Theodorakis, composer and songwriter
“Everything is changing. Everything is frightening.”
–Kathimerini, Greek newspaper
If Greece’s €130 billion loan was going to be used for fiscal stimulus, then it might be worth the commitment. Because that kind of money could put a lot people back to work and kick-start the economy fast. But the loan isn’t going to be used for stimulus. It’s going to be used to recapitalize the banks and pay off creditors, neither of which will do anything to boost activity or create jobs. So, why bother? Why dig an even deeper hole if it achieves nothing? If that’s the case, then Greece should just default now and start rebuilding the economy ASAP. There’s no point in putting it off any longer.