If by "get your shit together" you mean "maintain a functioning economy and get your deficits under control", austerity is exactly the wrong approach to take.
Greece has, at various points, implicitly and explicitly, threatened to default on its borrowings.
So why should any lender with half a brain want to throw more money into the fire unless there are strings attached?
I don't understand the dichotomy. In the mortgage crisis in the US, we ask, "Why did the banks keep lending to these people who couldn't afford to pay it back?!?" Yet, in the case of Greece, we're angry at the lenders for not lending more and more.
Tell me, are you lending to Greece? Have you loaded up on Greek bonds? They're paying something like 25%! Great return! Unless, of course, you don't think you'll ever see your money...
I find the dynamics of the expectation of countries having to bail other countries in the Eurozone out quite interesting. Normally, inside a nation, say France, you have wealth distribution since politicians and the public can, through taxes, take money from the rich people in order to help the poor. This works where the notion exist that it's fair, because the rich are rich because of luck or power, or whatever. Now it gets interesting where you get the same dynamic in the Eurozone, where the countries that can't manage their economy well because of their bad policies, corruption, incompetence, etc. want countries that do manage their economy better to bail them out. It gets extra interesting, since Germany is a country where wealth is not something that was created because of imperial conquest or the likes, or because of abundant natural resources. They lost a war, and half of it was even under communist rule until two decades ago. They achieved their wealth, and Merkel in particular don't see having to pay guilt tax on that achievement as making any sense.
If you ask your parents for money, they might give it to you at first. If you keep asking, they might increasingly make it less attractive for you to accept the money. Free money is attractive, money with serious strings attached is much less so. Germany doesn't want Greece to take the money, they want them to not need the money.
Alas, HN isn't the place to debate international politics. That's just my take on it.
Sure. But the proposed measures still must make sense. For those willing to risk their money first and foremost. Otherwise those (with the money) will just shrug
> If by "get your shit together" you mean "maintain a functioning economy and get your deficits under control", austerity is exactly the wrong approach to take.
You're assuming that Greece's spending helps to maintain a functioning economy. That's arguable.
"Get your deficits under control" requires increasing revenues and/or decreasing spending. Maintaining Greece's spending choices does not address the latter and if it addressed the former, they wouldn't have deficits.