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Without the Euro, the greek central bank could have increased inflation and downvalued the Drachma, so the government could spend, spend, spend. This was the Mo

Without the Euro, the greek central bank could have increased inflation and downvalued the Drachma, so the government could spend, spend, spend. This was the Modus Operandi before the Euro. I don't say, that this is a responsible way of managing a countrys finances, but if the alternative is increasing infant mortality and extreme unemployment for almost a decade, I can't see whats so bad about that.

isostatic 8y ago
Greece infant mortality has been decreasing since 2004 [1] [2] [1] https://knoema.com/atlas/Greece/topics/Demographics/Mortality/Infant-mortality-rate https://knoema.com/atlas/Greece/topics/Demographics/Mortalit... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/806917/infant-mortality-in-greece/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/806917/infant-mortality-...
- ataturk 8y ago
  How does infant mortality relate to deficit spending? Couldn't technological progress account for the drop in infant mortality? Or maybe they stopped counting certain deaths? I see this all the time with crime stats--you can't compare homicides between the US and Europe because many European countries don't consider a death a homicide until the case is solved. The unsolved cases fall into a black hole of "not counted" or certainly not counted as homicides, and then we get all these breathless articles about how bad crime looks in the US while really US crime rates are very low comparatively speaking. We saw this same issue with Cuba--ginning their numbers to make their wretched healthcare system look better than the US, when in fact, there is absolutely not even a comparison there. Cuba can't even get a bus back to how good the US truly is. And the media eats this shit up because they are apologists for communists and love clickbait, fake news.
- growlist 8y ago
  So you don't dispute the extreme unemployment then?
  - isostatic 8y ago
    I certainly agree with the MO of inflation in Greece pre euro. I'm not sure about the real unemployment situation, but I only know about a few islands, not the mainland. There a lot of people work cash in hand in the tourist trade, they are technically unemployed (and their businesses pay very little in taxation as most of the money isn't declared) Greece should never have been allowed into the euro in the first place. The EU is essential for Greeks, many of whom have gone to other parts of the EU to work, just like Americans left Detroit after 2008.
- LMYahooTFY 8y ago
  There were studies published showing acute increases in infant mortality during the last few years. I haven't read through them myself, only second hand reports of the findings.
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> the greek central bank could have increased inflation and downvalued the Drachma This only works for so long. There is a reason the Venezuelan and Argentinian model predictably hits the rocks after a few decades.
- emodendroket 8y ago
  In Venezuela's case it has more to do with the price of oil
  - snowwindwaves 8y ago
    And Nationalizing oil infrastructure and then failing to operate and maintain it properly.
jonhendry18 8y ago
"Without the Euro, the greek central bank could have increased inflation and downvalued the Drachma, so the government could spend, spend, spend. " Would that work for Greece, or would it just become hyperinflation?
- RobertoG 8y ago
  Luckily we have some data about that. Was Greece growing more or less in average before the Euro? Did they suffer hyperinflation before the Euro? Is the current Greek economy healthy with the Euro constraints? Has it improved with the "austerity" imposed?
- growlist 8y ago
  It seemed to work for many years before the Euro

isostatic 8y ago

Greece infant mortality has been decreasing since 2004 [1] [2] [1] https://knoema.com/atlas/Greece/topics/Demographics/Mortality/Infant-mortality-rate https://knoema.com/atlas/Greece/topics/Demographics/Mortalit... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/806917/infant-mortality-in-greece/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/806917/infant-mortality-...

ataturk 8y ago
How does infant mortality relate to deficit spending? Couldn't technological progress account for the drop in infant mortality? Or maybe they stopped counting certain deaths? I see this all the time with crime stats--you can't compare homicides between the US and Europe because many European countries don't consider a death a homicide until the case is solved. The unsolved cases fall into a black hole of "not counted" or certainly not counted as homicides, and then we get all these breathless articles about how bad crime looks in the US while really US crime rates are very low comparatively speaking. We saw this same issue with Cuba--ginning their numbers to make their wretched healthcare system look better than the US, when in fact, there is absolutely not even a comparison there. Cuba can't even get a bus back to how good the US truly is. And the media eats this shit up because they are apologists for communists and love clickbait, fake news.
growlist 8y ago
So you don't dispute the extreme unemployment then?
- isostatic 8y ago
  I certainly agree with the MO of inflation in Greece pre euro. I'm not sure about the real unemployment situation, but I only know about a few islands, not the mainland. There a lot of people work cash in hand in the tourist trade, they are technically unemployed (and their businesses pay very little in taxation as most of the money isn't declared) Greece should never have been allowed into the euro in the first place. The EU is essential for Greeks, many of whom have gone to other parts of the EU to work, just like Americans left Detroit after 2008.
LMYahooTFY 8y ago
There were studies published showing acute increases in infant mortality during the last few years. I haven't read through them myself, only second hand reports of the findings.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

> the greek central bank could have increased inflation and downvalued the Drachma This only works for so long. There is a reason the Venezuelan and Argentinian model predictably hits the rocks after a few decades.

emodendroket 8y ago
In Venezuela's case it has more to do with the price of oil
- snowwindwaves 8y ago
  And Nationalizing oil infrastructure and then failing to operate and maintain it properly.

jonhendry18 8y ago

"Without the Euro, the greek central bank could have increased inflation and downvalued the Drachma, so the government could spend, spend, spend. " Would that work for Greece, or would it just become hyperinflation?

RobertoG 8y ago
Luckily we have some data about that. Was Greece growing more or less in average before the Euro? Did they suffer hyperinflation before the Euro? Is the current Greek economy healthy with the Euro constraints? Has it improved with the "austerity" imposed?
growlist 8y ago
It seemed to work for many years before the Euro