The dialog on yahoo comments about Greece A blogger here today wrote about how crazy it is that the new Greek govt is trying to renegotiate the terms of their agreement to repay bailout loans, and made it seem as though they were being really extreme doing this. I want to bring some fresh opinions to this talk, and like always I was reading some of the reaction out in the media. I found some good contrary opinions. Does anybody agree with this? kaiser 46 minutes ago 0 0 The new Greek government has said in so many words,that the plan Greece was given and initially the former Governments were forced into by the Troika, was and is flawed. It is now clear that it does not work, neither for Greece nor the rest of the European economies who have very large debt and zero growth. This is not to say that reforms do not need implementation as they do and will continue but he policy that Europe via Germany primarily is set on must change from Austerity to a Growth policy. This must be a change in direction for all of Europe not just for Greece. In the meantime Greece is proposing adjustments along with the changes in order to better manage the circumstances. This is reasonable. Germany is being hard headed because on one hand the policy up to now has suited them (at the expense of all European economic policy) and on the other because they don't want to lose face to face up to the truth they have made mistakes of their own taking Europe down this path. But if the changes are not made it will be bad for all of Europe and the Germans included. Let's all remember that this is ultimately as a whole a European wide problem, Italy because of the policies in play, and Spain have over $3.5 Trillion in Debt that no one is talking about, that is 10x more than the Greek debt. Greece has the fortitude to promote change out of necessity but this problem is much bigger in Europe and not just a problem for Greece. If Europe does not fix this, starting with the Germans to be willing to fix the policy mistakes they have made it will have severe consequences on the Global Economy. Steve Forbes says it well, and I quote: Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, told CNBC on Tuesday that nobody involved in the Greek debt standoff knows what they are doing. "They seem intent on going over the cliff. I just hope they don't drag us with them," the two-time Republican presidential candidate said in a "Squawk Box" interview. As for the so-called troika of the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, and European Commission, "they're sense of austerity is: 'Don't hit the government too hard and smash the private sector with higher taxes and new regulations,'" Forbes added. The German approach of "tighten up [and] starve to death" won't work either, he said. "So both sides in this don't have it right in terms of how you get these economies back on their feet." _____________________ Suddenly the idea to renegotiate the pact doesn't sound so wild any more, right? Just to be fair, I'll post some contrary thoughts on the same comment section: Lion 3 hours ago 0 6 Let's say Greece gets out of the euro. How does a new currency start? What determine its value? How long will it take for the new currency to be effective? How would the transaction occur? Nobody talks about a situation like that, which, I think, is going to happen soon. Does this government have plans for it? In order to borrow money from other countries, Greece must come out with a plan that shows the lender(s) the government's intension to generate a surplus of income to guarantee the repayment of the loan. How can this government achieve that if it raises the pensions, feed the poor and hire more non-producing workers? _____________________________ Here is a guy arguing on the side of the Greeks, but from a standpoint way way radical for my tastes: webstrp 35 minutes ago 2 0 The 99% has to rise up against the 1%. The barbaric loans with their greedy conditions must come to an end. The world is fed up with Goldman Sachs and all the international banks. God bless Greece for having the balls to oppose these thieving bankers. May Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and many others get the courage to rise up against these greed monsters. Then we will narrow the gap between rich and poor and then will we once again have a growing middle class. ________________________________ Pressures are running high.