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There's something to be said for not pussy-footing around imbeciles.

Natsu 11y ago
If one considers their creditors imbeciles (as one might fairly do in this case), it becomes an open question where they plan to get money from in order to continue? Even if they go bankrupt, they have to keep getting money from somewhere.
- digi_owl 11y ago
  A sovereign nation do not have to get the money from anywhere, unless one is stuck in thinking in terms of commodity money.
  - Natsu 11y ago
    You're right, they have to get goods from somewhere. The currency situation is due to the imbalance between what Greece produces on the world market vs. what it consumes. Their government can certainly print money endlessly, but it's like issuing more stock: it doesn't just make the value of that country go up, it makes the value of its stock (money) go down proportionately. So the fact remains that Greece won't be able to buy all the things it wants without outside cash. And who is going to give it any now? If you just print money without limit, you'll soon find that there's nothing to buy with that money due to inflation. Maybe they can copy Argentina, but when their finance minister's exit speech is basically "haha, later suckers!" I don't have high hopes.
    - digi_owl 11y ago
      There is also the exchange rate aspect. If their currency were to lose value, their exports would become cheaper in relation to others. This in turn would drive up exports. Right now the euro is trading pretty much on par with USD. Not likely that this is beneficial for the Greek economy, as it seems very dependent on farming and raw material extraction.
craigyk 11y ago
Or insulting the type of people who would let personal insults dictate their decisions affecting millions.
- peterfirefly 11y ago
  Their room for manoeuvre is ultimately determined by their voters, most of whom have realized by now what little regard Syriza (and most of Greece) have for them.

Natsu 11y ago

If one considers their creditors imbeciles (as one might fairly do in this case), it becomes an open question where they plan to get money from in order to continue? Even if they go bankrupt, they have to keep getting money from somewhere.

digi_owl 11y ago
A sovereign nation do not have to get the money from anywhere, unless one is stuck in thinking in terms of commodity money.
- Natsu 11y ago
  You're right, they have to get goods from somewhere. The currency situation is due to the imbalance between what Greece produces on the world market vs. what it consumes. Their government can certainly print money endlessly, but it's like issuing more stock: it doesn't just make the value of that country go up, it makes the value of its stock (money) go down proportionately. So the fact remains that Greece won't be able to buy all the things it wants without outside cash. And who is going to give it any now? If you just print money without limit, you'll soon find that there's nothing to buy with that money due to inflation. Maybe they can copy Argentina, but when their finance minister's exit speech is basically "haha, later suckers!" I don't have high hopes.
  - digi_owl 11y ago
    There is also the exchange rate aspect. If their currency were to lose value, their exports would become cheaper in relation to others. This in turn would drive up exports. Right now the euro is trading pretty much on par with USD. Not likely that this is beneficial for the Greek economy, as it seems very dependent on farming and raw material extraction.

craigyk 11y ago

Or insulting the type of people who would let personal insults dictate their decisions affecting millions.

peterfirefly 11y ago
Their room for manoeuvre is ultimately determined by their voters, most of whom have realized by now what little regard Syriza (and most of Greece) have for them.