4 ms·

You should ask some Greeks if they feel they are in a colony like position with respect to Brussels/Germany. Controlling your own money is a key factor to maint

You should ask some Greeks if they feel they are in a colony like position with respect to Brussels/Germany. Controlling your own money is a key factor to maintaining sovereignty. Goldbugs take this to a level where they desire personal sovereignty and thus a money not controlled by the government (gold or silver).

wwosik 9y ago
It's seldom for a debtor in need to choose the currency. If Greece kept drachma, they'd still need to borrow in euro or dollar as few would have drachmas to loan. US can take loan in dollars because everyone has dollars to park, which is because everyone else has dollars too.
- njarboe 9y ago
  In any country with a free exchange of currency there is no problem for investors to get any amount of currency they want. They buy it on the open market. Forex is the biggest and most liquid market in the world. Before the Euro every country in Europe had bonds in their own currency. Interest rates were higher in some due to inflation and default risk, but there was no problem borrowing large sums of money.
jimmywanger 9y ago
Well, the Greeks had a grand old time borrowing against the Euro when people were still willing to lend to them. When the piper came due, they couldn't raise interest rates or devalue their own currency to deal with the situation. Point is, it's not a colony situation. For a while, Greeks loved the fact they could borrow against the EU with low interest rates, much lower than their own financial situation would indicate. Once people started wanting their money back, yes, this limited their options. They probably shouldn't have put their own economy into that situation though, that's why the drachma used to fluctuate up and down so much and the interest rate was high, because they weren't really good for the money they borrowed.

4 ms·

You should ask some Greeks if they feel they are in a colony like position with respect to Brussels/Germany. Controlling your own money is a key factor to maint

by njarboe 9y ago

wwosik 9y ago
It's seldom for a debtor in need to choose the currency. If Greece kept drachma, they'd still need to borrow in euro or dollar as few would have drachmas to loan. US can take loan in dollars because everyone has dollars to park, which is because everyone else has dollars too.
- njarboe 9y ago
  In any country with a free exchange of currency there is no problem for investors to get any amount of currency they want. They buy it on the open market. Forex is the biggest and most liquid market in the world. Before the Euro every country in Europe had bonds in their own currency. Interest rates were higher in some due to inflation and default risk, but there was no problem borrowing large sums of money.
jimmywanger 9y ago
Well, the Greeks had a grand old time borrowing against the Euro when people were still willing to lend to them. When the piper came due, they couldn't raise interest rates or devalue their own currency to deal with the situation. Point is, it's not a colony situation. For a while, Greeks loved the fact they could borrow against the EU with low interest rates, much lower than their own financial situation would indicate. Once people started wanting their money back, yes, this limited their options. They probably shouldn't have put their own economy into that situation though, that's why the drachma used to fluctuate up and down so much and the interest rate was high, because they weren't really good for the money they borrowed.