It's time for Germans and the rest of serious people in Europe to pull the plug on Greece.
Set them free and watch them sink, in other words. Or if you prefer, set them free and don't watch them sink. But sink they will.
Something called the Syriza party is sickening to behold. This radical left bunch of fools finished in second place in Sunday's voting and their prescription for solving Greece's problems is to stay the course and keep the big spending government party going while other countries foot the bill. Oh, and by the way, they also advocate defaulting on the government debt to other countries. Nice bunch of kids!
My view is that Greece is simply too far gone for it to be worthwhile to further attempt their financial rescue. Unless they withdraw willingly, just kick them out of the Euro currency and Eurozone and allow them to return to the bad old days of the Drachma currency.
Hyperinflation appears to the the Grecian destiny, followed by poverty. But if that's what the citizens of the world's oldest self governing democracy want, that's their prerogative.
At least that's what I believe. Then the world can focus on issues it can help solve in other sovereigns.
As evidence of why I believe this is the right path to follow for Germany and others, please see What the Greek Left Wants which is subtitled "No reform. Tax the rich and blackmail Germany is their solution:"
"Sunday's Greek elections have been widely interpreted as the logical
outcome of harsh austerity measures imposed on Greece by its foreign
creditors. According to this view, the Greek bailout, which also
mandated sharp cuts in public-sector pensions and pay, led to widespread
discontent and fueled the rise of parties that reject Greece's
international credit agreements.
But the problem in Greece is more profound than this. While austerity
measures did play a part in voter discontent, the most important factor
in the outcome of the elections was opposition to any talk of
structural reform of the Greek economy.
The parties that gained in the
elections—especially the radical-left Syriza, which ended in second
place—do not simply oppose austerity measures. What Syriza opposes is
any kind of reform. The party has, for example, consistently opposed
teachers' evaluations or other overhauls to the ailing education system.
It has vehemently opposed reducing state bureaucracy or reforming the
inflexible Greek labor market.
At the same time, Syriza—which began
negotiations Tuesday to lead the next government—has remained silent on
the need to combat the widespread graft and corruption that
characterizes the Greek civil service. Its only prescription for
Greece's economic problem is that the country should refuse to pay its
debt while taxing the rich and staffing the bloated public sector with
even more people. Its leader, Alexis Tsipras, has suggested hiring
150,000 more people in the civil service as a way of reducing Greek
unemployment.
The Greek left today does not represent an industrial proletariat
that wants a bigger share of the economic pie. Syriza represents all the
groups that have been able to grow and flourish under Greece's
political system and now feel threatened by reform. It derives its
support from various professional interest groups—lawyers, teachers,
journalists and civil servants—who feel that their jobs and special
privileges are at risk if Greece is forced to open up its economy to
competition.
At the same time, the European Union's hesitant reaction to what has
been happening in Greece played a considerable role in the outcome of
the elections. Mr. Tsipras argued throughout the campaign that even if
Greece refuses the bailout plan and reneges on its agreements with
creditors, this will have no adverse consequences. Germany, he believes,
will be unwilling to push for a Greek euro-exit or a suspension of the
bailout payments, as this would hurt Germany's economy and banks.
In
other words, according to the Greek left, Europe's taxpayers will
happily continue funding Greek deficits come what may. Thus the party
can continue indefinitely, if only Greece has the nerve to call Europe's
bluff."
Summing Up
Send the nuts cases in Greece on their way, I say. Unless and until they choose to live up to their responsibilities as a sovereign nation, they don't deserve help from the Germans or anyone else.
For example, Greeks claim to be against more austerity measures. But what is this austerity to which they're opposed?
Well, this austerity simply means not spending money recklessly, and especially money which isn't theirs to spend.
"Austerity" in government spending doesn't represent frugality. It just means giving the government less money to spend.
To the taxpayers, that's a good thing. They get to keep more of their MOM and do with it as they wish instead of giving it to the government big spenders.
To repeat, austerity is in effect a tax cut for taxpayers and a victory for MOM. How bad is that?
Meanwhile, in Greece the governing class and bureaucratic maze has grown too big to be contained. That's how groups like Syriza come in second place when the votes are counted.
Far too many people in Greece "work for the government" and far too few people actually do real work.
And of those who do real productive work, many of them don't pay their taxes.
So the Greeks spend and then borrow to the hilt from the suckers, aka the Germans, as well as anybody else willing to give them money, and which money they don't intend to repay and probably couldn't even if they did so intend.
In sum, Greece is bankrupt and unwilling to face facts.
Accordingly, the Greeks should be left to govern and finance themselves as they see fit.
Thanks. Bob.
