Can Greece ever pay off its debts, adopt a German economic mindset and stay in the euro?
Since 2010 we have been gripped by the shenanigans being played out by major governments across the euro area. We all know Greece is in a catastrophic situation and its people are being shattered for a state of affairs that was not their fault. The debt is truly colossal, too immense to describe, but nevertheless I’m going to try and throw a bit of perspective on things.
First off, Greece’s creditors are largely the:
IMF (International Monetary Fund)
T-Bill Holders (Short-term treasury bills)
ECB (European Central Bank)
EIB (European Investment Bank)
Greece already missed a deadline that was due on June 30th of 1,544 million Euros owed to the IMF for the first bailout in 2010 that had been bundled into one payment. That’s primarily what set off the latest panic talks and debates of recent weeks.
And then we have…
July 13th; 452 million Euros for the IMF’s first bailout program in 2010.
July 17th: 1,000 million Euros for short term treasury bills.
July 20th: 2,096 million Euros for bonds held by the ECB that were exempted from the 2012 bailout.1,361 million Euros for bonds held by national central banks also exempted from the 2012 default and 25 million Euros from the EIB.
August 7th: 1,000 million Euros of short term treasury bills
August 20th: 3,020 million Euros for more bonds held by the ECB exempted from 2012 default and 168 million Euros for bonds held by national central banks also exempted from the 2012 default.
September 4th: 301 million Euros from the IMF’s first bailout program and 1,400 million Euros short term treasury bills.
September 14th: another 339 million Euros from the IMF’s 2010 bailout
September 16th: A further 565 million Euros from the 2010 bailout
September 21st: yet more IMF payments from 2010 of 339 million Euros
October 9th: 1,400 million Euros of short term treasury bills
October13th: Still more IMF payments from the 2010 bailout of 452 million Euros
December 7th: 301 million Euros to the IMF (2010 bailout)
December 16th: IMF gets another 565 million Euros (2010 bailout)
December 21st: there is a final 339 million Euro payment to end 2015 from the 2010 bailout. Merry Christmas IMF!
So far in 2015 Greece has stumped up 20,927 million Euros to its creditors, but 16,668 million Euros is still outstanding, and probably won’t ever get repaid, at least not without further destruction to the lives of the Greek people.
Nonetheless, on Monday 13th July 2015 after 17 hours of negotiations, the ECB have offered Greece a third bailout worth up to 86 billion Euros in an effort to keep Greece in the Eurozone. In exchange Greece must put up as collateral and sell 50 billion Euros worth of the countries assets including airports, islands and other government owned resources. In fact it has been reported that both Warren Buffet and Johnny Depp have made offers on Greek islands. Islands that should belong to the Greek people could be owned by some of the wealthiest people on the planet!
The new deal of 86 billion Euros is intended to cover the cost of the repayments that Greece already can’t afford to make, and then a new payment plan to replace the old one will be put into action. The new arrangement will be much harsher and for an even bigger amount. In effect, much of the new loan will be due straight back in interest to the creditors almost as soon as the Greeks receive it, regressing them back to square one, only with far more debt a fewer assets.
The entire Eurozone is terrified of the breakup of the 19 countries who adopted the euro, and a Grexit (Greek Exit) could eventually bring about the beginning of the end for the European single currency.
Source: Financial Times http://www.ft.com/ig/sites/2015/greek-debt-monitor/
With workers pushed to breaking point, is it now time to call time on predatory business models?
Both COVID-19 and the climate crisis are being used as camouflage for central bankers to throw more printed money into a broken system.
With proper access to land denied to the vast majority, is it now time to reclassify trespass as a revolutionary act?
