Profit over People. The motto of the International Capitalist Corporations.
Question: What cancer-like invisible force consumes the normal
emotions of love and Human Compassion?
Answer: Greed.
Greed offers material wealth and the power that goes with it.
But when we succumb to the sweet sounds of Greed's Pipers, most of us
discover that we have become slaves to the needs of Greed. This is
true for nations just as it is for individuals. Greece was doing just
fine. But Greece's leaders were wooed by the images of greater
prosperity. Maybe not for all Greeks, but for the Leaders. So they
joined the EU and soon discovered that the rules were not set in place
for them. Greed treats the little nations just like it treats the
little people.
It sucks the marrow from their bones and castes them on the garbage heap.
Greece must break from the EU. But it can't prevent turmoil and
economic disaster without outside help.
If the world were the world which we read of in Fairy Tales, the
mighty United States of America, defenders and promoters of democracy
everywhere, would charge to the rescue. But we are not dealing with,
"Once upon a time, long long ago, and far far away". This is the real
world. And the mighty United States is under the spell of Greed.
Greece will need to go it alone. Unless China sees the advantage of
saving Greece to further its own Greedy needs.
Like the fabled Prince of Darkness, Greed stalks the Earth. Where are
the Sir Galahads and the Knights in Shining Armour? Where is the
Cavalry, riding over the hill to our rescue? Even Man's Gods are
infected with Greed, turning upon one another in an attempt to become
the ruling God.
And yet, there is Hope! Not out there. Hope resides within the
hearts of men and women. Can enough of us turn inward and believe
that we can make the difference? That's what it will take, millions
of individuals believing that together they will make a difference.
No point in waiting for God or some Mighty Leader. Only when we take
charge of our own destiny will we preserve our Planet Earth and all
that depends on our victory over Greed.
For me, that is enough. Knowing that as a flawed Human Being, I am
doing what I can do to make our Planet secure.
If the odds are too great for me, so be it. I will not become a slave
to Greed, and that knowledge will raise up my spirits.
I am a free man. No, I am not blessed with great material
possessions. I can be stripped of what I do have, and I will still be
a free man. Sure, poor and hungry and probably cold in the winter,
but free. And Greece can be free, if the Greeks cut loose from the
clutches of the EU.
But that calls for great resolve. Retraining our brains to understand
that wealth and material possessions do not equate to Freedom.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/10/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Stiglitz writes: "As the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at
Germany's chutzpah. It received, in real terms, one of the largest bailout
and debt reduction in history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the
Marshall Plan. And yet it refuses even to discuss debt relief for Greece."
Supporters of the 'No' vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's exit
polls at Syntagma square in Athens. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP)
The US Must Save Greece
By Joseph Stiglitz, TIME
09 July 15
If Greece continues with austerity, it would be depression without end
As the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at Germany’s chutzpah. It
received, in real terms, one of the largest bailout and debt reduction in
history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the Marshall Plan. And yet it
refuses even to discuss debt relief. Many, too, have marveled at how Germany
has done so well in the propaganda game, selling an image of a long-failed
state that refuses to go along with the minimal conditions demanded in
return for generous aid.
The facts prove otherwise: From the mid-90’s to the beginning of the crisis,
the Greek economy was growing at a faster rate than the EU average (3.9% vs
2.4%). The Greeks took austerity to heart, slashing expenditures and
increasing taxes. They even achieved a primary surplus (that is, tax
revenues exceeded expenditures excluding interest payments), and their
fiscal position would have been truly impressive had they not gone into
depression. Their depression—25% decline in GDP and 25% unemployment, with
youth unemployment twice that—is because they did what was demanded of them,
not because of their failure to do so. It was the predictable and predicted
response to the austerity.
The question now is: What’s next, assuming (as seems ever more likely) they
are effectively thrown out of the euro? It’s likely that the European
Central Bank will refuse to do its job—as the Central Bank for Greece, it
should do what every central bank is supposed to do, act as a lender of last
resort. And if it refuses to do that, Greece will have no option but to
create a parallel currency. The ECB has already begun tightening the screws,
making access to funds more and more difficult.
This is not the end of the world: Currencies come and go. The euro is just a
16-year-old experiment, poorly designed and engineered not to work—in a
crisis money flows from the weak country’s banks to the strong, leading to
divergence. GDP today is more than 17% below where it would have been had
the relatively modest growth trajectory of Europe before the euro just
continued. I believe the euro has much to do with this disappointing
performance.
Managing the transition from the euro to the Greek euro may not be easy, but
Argentina and others have shown how it can be done. The government would
recapitalize the banks in the new currency, continue with capital controls,
restrict bank withdrawals, and facilitate the transfer of money within the
banking system from one party to another. The money inside the banking
system would be slightly discounted (i.e. worth slightly less than cash—in
the case of Argentina, the discount was a few percentage points for ordinary
transactions). Pensioners would need to get special treatment.
Meanwhile, Greece would begin the process of debt restructuring: Even the
IMF says that it’s absolutely necessary. The Greeks might take a page from
Argentina, exchanging current bonds for GDP-linked bonds, where payments
increase with Greece’s prosperity. Such bonds align the incentives of
debtors and creditors (unlike the current system, where Germany benefits
from the weaknesses in Greece).
Greece can easily survive without the funds from the IMF and the eurozone.
Greece has done such a good job of adjusting its economy that, apart from
what it’s paying to service the debt, it has a surplus. It isn’t even
dependent on the IMF and the eurozone for foreign exchange: At least before
the most recent stranglehold that Greece’s creditors had imposed, it was
running a current account surplus of 1%—5% if we exclude oil exports. (What
it was buying abroad in imports was 1% less than what it was selling in
exports.) Especially if oil prices remain low, and if its lower “new”
exchange rate attracts more tourists and encourages exports, it can weather
the storm.
After Argentina restructured its debt and devalued, it grew rapidly—the
fastest rate of growth around the world except for China—from its crisis
until the global financial crisis of 2008. Every country is different.
Economists debate about how responsive exports and imports are to changes in
exchange rates. Argentina benefited from a large increase in exports as a
result of the commodity boom. There are, however, some striking
similarities: Both countries were being strangled by austerity. Both
countries under the IMF programs saw rising unemployment, poverty, and
immense suffering. Had Argentina continued with austerity, there would have
just been more of the same. The Argentina people rose up and said no. So,
too, for Greece: If Greece continues with austerity, it would be depression
without end.
The U.S. was generous with Germany as we defeated it. Now, it is time for
the U.S. to be generous with our friends in Greece in their time of need, as
they have been crushed for the second time in a century by Germany, this
time with the support of the troika. At a technical level, the Federal
Reserve needs to create a swap line with Greece’s central bank, which—as a
result of the default of the ECB in fulfilling its responsibilities—will
have to take on once again the role of lender of last resort. Greece needs
unconditional humanitarian aid; it needs Americans to buy its products, take
vacations there, and show a solidarity with Greece and a humanity that its
European partners were not able to display.
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class="imgon2"><IMG width="430" height="195" title="Supporters of the 'No'
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<BR>Supporters of the 'No' vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's exit
polls at Syntagma square in Athens. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP)</P><P
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Must Save Greece</H1><P class="txtauthor">By Joseph Stiglitz, TIME</P><P
class="date">09 July 15</P><P> </P><P><CENTER><OBJECT width="600"
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bgcolor="#FFFFFF"></OBJECT></CENTER><P></P><BLOCKQUOTE><B><I>If Greece
continues with austerity, it would be depression without
end</I></B></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><P><IMG src="/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-A.jpg"
border="0">s the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at Germany’s
chutzpah. It received, in real terms, one of the largest bailout and debt
reduction in history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the Marshall
Plan. And yet it refuses even to discuss debt relief. Many, too, have
marveled at how Germany has done so well in the propaganda game, selling an
image of a long-failed state that refuses to go along with the minimal
conditions demanded in return for generous aid.</P><P class="indent">The
facts prove otherwise: From the mid-90’s to the beginning of the crisis,
the Greek economy was growing at a faster rate than the EU average (3.9% vs
2.4%). The Greeks took austerity to heart, slashing expenditures and
increasing taxes. They even achieved a primary surplus (that is, tax
revenues exceeded expenditures excluding interest payments), and their
fiscal position would have been truly impressive had they not gone into
depression. Their depression—25% decline in GDP and 25% unemployment, with
youth unemployment twice that—is because they did what was demanded of
them, not because of their failure to do so. It was the predictable and
predicted response to the austerity.</P><P class="indent">The question now
is: What’s next, assuming (as seems ever more likely) they are effectively
thrown out of the euro? It’s likely that the European Central Bank will
refuse to do its job—as the Central Bank for Greece, it should do what
every central bank is supposed to do, act as a lender of last resort. And if
it refuses to do that, Greece will have no option but to create a parallel
currency. The ECB has already begun tightening the screws, making access to
funds more and more difficult.</P><P class="indent">This is not the end of
the world: Currencies come and go. The euro is just a 16-year-old
experiment, poorly designed and engineered not to work—in a crisis money
flows from the weak country’s banks to the strong, leading to divergence.
GDP today is more than 17% below where it would have been had the relatively
modest growth trajectory of Europe before the euro just continued. I believe
the euro has much to do with this disappointing performance.</P><P
class="indent">Managing the transition from the euro to the Greek euro may
not be easy, but Argentina and others have shown how it can be done. The
government would recapitalize the banks in the new currency, continue with
capital controls, restrict bank withdrawals, and facilitate the transfer of
money within the banking system from one party to another. The money inside
the banking system would be slightly discounted (i.e. worth slightly less
than cash—in the case of Argentina, the discount was a few percentage
points for ordinary transactions). Pensioners would need to get special
treatment.</P><P class="indent">Meanwhile, Greece would begin the process of
debt restructuring: Even the IMF says that it’s absolutely necessary. The
Greeks might take a page from Argentina, exchanging current bonds for
GDP-linked bonds, where payments increase with Greece’s prosperity. Such
bonds align the incentives of debtors and creditors (unlike the current
system, where Germany benefits from the weaknesses in Greece).</P><P
class="indent">Greece can easily survive without the funds from the IMF and
the eurozone. Greece has done such a good job of adjusting its economy that,
apart from what it’s paying to service the debt, it has a surplus. It
isn’t even dependent on the IMF and the eurozone for foreign exchange: At
least before the most recent stranglehold that Greece’s creditors had
imposed, it was running a current account surplus of 1%—5% if we exclude
oil exports. (What it was buying abroad in imports was 1% less than what it
was selling in exports.) Especially if oil prices remain low, and if its
lower “new†exchange rate attracts more tourists and encourages exports,
it can weather the storm.</P><P class="indent">After Argentina restructured
its debt and devalued, it grew rapidly—the fastest rate of growth around
the world except for China—from its crisis until the global financial
crisis of 2008. Every country is different. Economists debate about how
responsive exports and imports are to changes in exchange rates. Argentina
benefited from a large increase in exports as a result of the commodity
boom. There are, however, some striking similarities: Both countries were
being strangled by austerity. Both countries under the IMF programs saw
rising unemployment, poverty, and immense suffering. Had Argentina continued
with austerity, there would have just been more of the same. The Argentina
people rose up and said no. So, too, for Greece: If Greece continues with
austerity, it would be depression without end.</P><P class="indent">The U.S.
was generous with Germany as we defeated it. Now, it is time for the U.S. to
be generous with our friends in Greece in their time of need, as they have
been crushed for the second time in a century by Germany, this time with the
support of the troika. At a technical level, the Federal Reserve needs to
create a swap line with Greece’s central bank, which—as a result of the
default of the ECB in fulfilling its responsibilities—will have to take on
once again the role of lender of last resort. Greece needs unconditional
humanitarian aid; it needs Americans to buy its products, take vacations
there, and show a solidarity with Greece and a humanity that its European
partners were not able to display.</P></DIV><p style="text-align: right;
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