Morally it's on those who give out loans to make sure that they can be repaid. It's wrong that Greece took these huge loans as well, but also it's wrong to suggest that they have to pay them back. Everyone has the option to default when they are unable to pay and this was clearly the situation for Greece (and probably Spain and Italy, maybe even UK soon enough).
Exactly. The (German) banks gambled on a bail out; I would not even call it a gamble, since the could be dead sure Schäuble would be standing at attention with the suitcases at the first sign of trouble.
And you are proved wrong by the fact Greece's government clearly was (still is?) "an unsophisticated or under-informed borrower". I mean the outcome of this borrowing speaks for itself.
When I take out a loan a bank usually asks for collateral but these loans to Greece are unsecured and not worth paying back. The banking system should have been left to fail but instead we live in this world where governments bailed them out. Capitalism for the poor and Socialism for the rich.
No, the fact someone takes out loans they can't repay doesn't 'prove' they don't understand the terms of the loan. I don't think any of the major actors in this look particularly great but it's not like the Greek government found a giant bag of money on their doorstep one day and nobody told them it came with terms.
Wait...what? The Greek govt. that took out the loans was incompetent, sure. But so were the lenders. Making a loan is taking a risk for both the lender and the receiver of the loan. It is in both of their interest to ensure that the loan will be repaid.
Varoufakis fought to find solutions that would allow Greece to actually be able to repay their debt. When that proved to be impossible, he refused to sit by and lend his name to a deal he didn't believe was in Greece or Europe's best interests.
> Varoufakis fought to find solutions that would allow Greece to actually be able to repay their debt.
Default is not a solution to repay a debt. You can choose to default, but you can't expect any credibility later. The message Varoufakis sent to Greeks was: "Let's just say we don't want to pay and everyone will forget about in a couple of years."
> The message Varoufakis sent to Greeks was: "Let's just say we don't want to pay and everyone will forget about in a couple of years."
The solution he proposed to the EU was rejected and the next day was applied by the letter on Ukraine.
Plus being accused of talking macro-economics on a Eurogroup should be like accused of liking basketball at an NBA playoff game. But then again, if the room is full of politician, who don't understand the first thing about economics and just blindly execute, that's what happens.
Nope, history says otherwise. As long as the debt stands Greece will not be able to get any financing exactly because it's assured that it will not be repaid.
The only way to get financing is by debt restructuring. It has happened time and again. You'd be amazed how many countries defaulted the last century. I think Germany defaulted twice.
Yeah, I just don't understand how so many people fail to see the most obvious solution: default and stop paying interest. Sure, you're credibility will be lost for now, but then you can slowly build it back up again since you're no longer burdened with paying back the defaulted loans. Its not magical: as it currently stands, Greek economy is going to die a slow protracted death anyways.
So quitting politics, in fact retiring, in fact bailing on Greece, to write books and give interviews to Sky is enough to make him an hero to Europe's working class?
He resigned the night of the referendum, when he understood that the government is going to capitulate. Maybe in some countries that's nothing special - as it should be. When you're not on the same page with what the government does, you retire and let someone else who believes in the solution, implement it and then pay the piper.
In Greece, I know of NO politician in 50 years, who retired promptly when his views and gov's views stopped being aligned.
So regarding Greece, that's a huge deal and gives him alone more credibility that the last 10 Greek governments put together.