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Cheez it! It’s Angela!

greece

I wonder how many Greeks, in their heart of hearts, think a No vote means they don’t have to give the money back?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted to see someone – anyone – kick Europe in the nuts, but it’s awfully hard to see how Greece is going to wriggle out of this.

Janet Daley was good on this score.

Comments


Comment from Dan Patterson
Time: July 6, 2015, 9:01 pm

Standing in a pail, trying to lift yourself by the handle.


Comment from gromulin
Time: July 6, 2015, 9:33 pm

It’s hard to grasp how delusional people can be until you see what’s going on in Greece right now. What do they think is going to happen? Next government paychecks due on the 15th…bring popcorn.


Comment from Eirik
Time: July 6, 2015, 9:50 pm

The EU can’t give in, simply because if they do then they won’t have a leg to stand on when Italy, Portugal and Spain come apart next.

That doesn’t mean they WON’T give in, just that they really shouldn’t.


Comment from mojo
Time: July 6, 2015, 10:34 pm

Russian gas. Proposed pipeline from Turkey could easily go west to Greece, and even Italy.

Nah. Crazy talk.


Comment from Uncle Al
Time: July 6, 2015, 10:58 pm

@ gromulin:

It’s hard to grasp how delusional people can be until you see what’s going on in Greece right now.

Amen. But it isn’t only in Greece where most people are economically uneducated, and where so much of the cash flow goes into govt and then redistributed in such a way that it isn’t clear where the wealth (such as is actually created) comes from. People in their delusions think that money that’s worth something can be created from the proverbial thin air when needed.


Comment from mojo
Time: July 6, 2015, 11:09 pm

In 1915, a 1 oz. gold coin was worth $35. With it, you could buy a pretty nice suit of clothes (for example).

Today that 1 oz. of gold is “worth” $1500. And will still buy you a pretty snazzy suit.

That’s “value”.


Comment from Man Mountain Molehill
Time: July 6, 2015, 11:22 pm

-Only e100? They couldn’t find a bigger one to run off with?

-If Grease (sick)follows the usual pattern it will be economic collapse followed by coup and dictatorship. Weimar Germany for the obvious example, see _Money Mischief_, by Milton Friedman for many other examples. South America specializes in this type of nonsense.


Comment from Uncle Al
Time: July 6, 2015, 11:41 pm

@mojo – Looks like you haven’t been watching the gold spot price. It has been $1,200 or a bit less for a while now. Currently it is $1,170.

Not that that detracts from your point, which is quite valid. If you price things in gold, a lot of prices haven’t changed much for 100 years or so. The “price” of a dollar sure has, though. To buy today what 3 cents bought when the fed went active in 1914, you’d need a full dollar.


Comment from JeffS
Time: July 6, 2015, 11:46 pm

I stole your money versus currency quote, mojo. Thanks!


Comment from Jeff Gauch
Time: July 7, 2015, 12:55 am

Mojo, the problem with your analysis is that nobody’s buying anything with 1915 dollars. You might as well be making price comparisons between a modern laptop and a DEC-10. In fact, by devaluing “old” money, inflation can help the economy. It encourages people to put their money to work investing rather than just hiding it under a mattress.


Comment from mojo
Time: July 7, 2015, 1:51 am

Nobody’s spending gold coins, quite true.

They’re tucking them away.

Which brings up “bad money drives out good”…


Comment from Stark Ðickflüßiᵹ
Time: July 7, 2015, 2:42 am

I have nothing against Greece, but I hope the eurozone fucks them good & hard for a long time. I also have no love for the retarded eurozone, so I hope the fallout from the Greece debacle fucks them good & hard for a long time.


Comment from Some Vegetable
Time: July 7, 2015, 4:17 am

It is going to be very interesting. Essentially, Greece is betting that the EU must permit them to continue with their profligate ways because Greece really would burn the whole system down. The problem is their arrogant In-Your-Face! approach. It certainly works with the French who see this as another opportunity to surrender to something, and it works for the Italians who inately understand the Greeks as more daring cousins. However, the Germans are not only the only ones with real money in the game but the most judgmental and moralistic frowning Protestants in the EU. This nose-thumbing is going to frost a lot of German voter’s asses. Further, I suspect that the Germans were originally unwilling dragged to the EU, and recognize that is perhaps an opening to go back to lovely German Marks. The only drawback for Germany of breaking the Eurozone would be that it would make the prices of their exports soar, and that, my friends is a huge drawback. Therefore the Germans, ultimately, won’t kick the Greek loafers out of the house.

So, I think that the Greek bluff will work, and their pattern of ever-more-spectacular NORK style blackmail demands will continue for years into the future.


Comment from mojo
Time: July 7, 2015, 6:10 am

I don’t think so – as pointed out, the EU has Spain, Portugal and Italy to worry about. They may decide, should Greek beggars prevail (with their whopping 2% of the EU economy) in squeezing more money out of the Germans, to pull the same trick themselves. Why not?

Nope. Riots, starvation and mass exodus.


Comment from Timbo
Time: July 7, 2015, 6:29 am

Is it just me or are Varufakis and Lord Voldemort, the nemesis of Harry Potter, related?


Comment from gromulin
Time: July 7, 2015, 2:20 pm

Don’t forget the deal the EU made with Ireland too. If they cave to the Greeks, Ireland, Spain and Portugal will be hopping mad over the “Austerity” they bought into. EU might be able to absorb the losses from Greece, but it’s going to be a domino effect if they do. Can open, worms everywhere.


Comment from Timbo
Time: July 7, 2015, 8:00 pm

Wot gromulin said. The political upheaval here in Spain and the emergence of a sister party to the Greek gits has been due to unending criticism of the impact of the austerity measures during the last four years.

If the EU buckles to Greece now, “There will be Blood!”

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