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I don't think that is an accurate thing to say. There seems to be a widespread misunderstanding of the word bailout which leads people to believe that what was
by barking 11y ago
I don't think that is an accurate thing to say. There seems to be a widespread misunderstanding of the word bailout which leads people to believe that what was given was a gift rather than a loan with a lot of strings.
And a lot of the motivation was self interest in order to prevent contagion and also to allow the banks with loans in bailout countries to recover their money. Much of the money that went in went straight out again in loan repayments and a lot of debt was transferred from private debtors onto the shoulders of the taxpayers in those countries.
- yummyfajitas 11y agoLets look at this in terms of resources. For years, Germans worked hard making things and Greeks reaped the benefits of German labor via imports. Now Greece is unable to make enough things for themselves, and Germans are bailing them out. The bailout results in Germans making more things which then get shipped to Greece. How is this not a gift from Germany to Greece? Will the Greeks ever provide goods and services to Germany which exceed what the Germans gave them? If so, when?
- yequalsx 11y agoFor years German and French banks gave massive amounts of cheap credit to Greeks and the Greek government. The so called bailout is nothing more than the German government giving money to Greece with strings attached so that Greece can then give the money to German banks. The banks don't pay for their bad loans. The Germans benefitted from the euro and the imbalances that monetary union has created. Greeks suffer for their dumb loans but not the German bankers.
- yummyfajitas 11y agoI'm sure numbers in a bank computer might change. Who cares? In terms of goods and services, how does any of this benefit the Germans or French?
- yequalsx 11y agoNice how you ignore the fact that in the two party interaction of giving/getting a loan one party is bailed out and the other made to pay for the foolish loan. Flood a market with cheap credit and people, corporations, governments take it. Banks are just as at fault. You also ignore the incredible imbalance caused by the monetary union.
- yummyfajitas 11y agoI'm not ignoring it. I think the effects are terrible - Germans work so efficiently producing goods and services for others to consume and never get to enjoy the fruits of their own labor.
- yequalsx 11y agoYou are ignoring the fact that banks are at least as culpable for the bad loans to Greece as the Greeks are. Yet only one party is truly suffering the consequences. There is no gift to Greece. The so called bailout comes with onerous terms and is nothing more than the German government giving money to it's banks via the Greek government. German bankers are not made to pay for their profligacy. Also, clearly the Germans do reap the benefits of their labor. It's hard to argue otherwise given their GDP per capita, purchasing power parity, standard of living, and relative power in Europe. Germany needs a monetary union so that it can be the exporter it is. The import/export imbalances caused by the monetary union has led to the situation Greece and Germany find themselves in. Both parties are at fault.
- yummyfajitas 11y agoYou keep trying to bring the topic back to numbers in a computer rather than physical goods and services. Why? Also, clearly the Germans do reap the benefits of their labor. Blatantly false. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/germany/balance-of-trade http://www.tradingeconomics.com/germany/balance-of-trade http://www.tradingeconomics.com/greece/balance-of-trade http://www.tradingeconomics.com/greece/balance-of-trade You even acknowledge this one sentence later: "Germany needs a monetary union so that it can be the exporter it is." I agree that the Germany government is, in part, responsible for policies that make Germans poorer and Greeks richer. So what? It seems like you want to blame Germany since unfortunately the only solution for the Greeks is for the Germans to keep sending them even more stuff (even though the Germans didn't make the Greeks unproductive).
- wutangson1 11y agoYeah, yours is a laughably simplistic analysis: the good/hard-working Germans vs lavish-spending Greeks. For someone so focused on 'resources', you ignore the basic economic tenant- "supply equals demand". German/EU banks lent money to Greece and other EU countries so their would be a market for Germany to sell its wares. Hate to break it to you, but Germany was being artificially propped up as a heavy industry power house. How else do you think VW, Opel, Daimler, and makers of defective submarines could employ such 'hardworking' German worker bees to sell those products abroad?