What should Greece do?

If not this week then next year, or the year after, Greece will finally tell the banks to fuck off.

The can has been kicked.

If Greece truly defaults, the entire banking system (which is built on massive leverage) will follow.

Well deserved.

I am certainly opposed to austerity measures to the extent that the wealthy have privileged from tax breaks and corruption and then when economies crash, the people who suffer are the most powerless.

But Greece is out of control. It has been in default for most of its modern history, corrupt to the core, and needs loans to prop up its economy. Greek leaders are acting as if the EU and Germany in particular are obligated to loan billions more while Greece is in default on its past loans. It's beyond absurd.

I'm sure Greek elites have plenty of assets in Greece and abroad to ride out the economic catastrophe, but it's up to them and the country as a whole to get its finances in order. If not, get out, hit bottom, and face reality.

This is going to be a case study in colleges once it's played out, maybe even now. Bottom line, Greece has borrowed more money than it can hope to pay back in the next several decades. Not that we here in the U.S. can throw any rocks about that. I've read the austerity measures that are being demanded. The only unreasonable one that I spotted is a 23% VAT on non-essential goods. Raising the retirement age of course is going to make a lot of people angry. Best get a deal while the going is good. Merkel is on thin ice since Germans are thinking they are funding Greek benefits that they don't enjoy.

It's scary that we've all got the massive debt in the U.S. and keep putting people in power who cut effectively taxes on the rich and corporations through a variety of means. But, like R2 said, the elite basically have escape pods while the average person doesn't. And, militarization of small city/town police forces is not a good indicator of what is expected to come.

The IMG wised up and told the EU they were being unreasonable. The bankers will unfortunately need to take a large haircut.

The bankers? Hang your head in shame!

Excellent question, OP.

I didn't answer your poll above, because I've been pondering this question for weeks (my work involves this). amd I honestly don't know what they should do.

At this point, too many mistakes have already been made: Greece should never have been permitted to join the Eurozone in the first place. The right course of action back in 2012 would have been to let Greece default then, even if it took down many European (and US) banks. These banks bougth Greek sovereign bonds on the (correct, as it turned out) assumption that Europe would bail out Greece, even though the fundamentals of the Greek economy would never have supported the issuance or purchase of that amount of debt.

Now Greece has been through a lot of austerity, the economy has contracted further, and it's in a worse fundamental position than it was before. It's a damned-if-you-vote-yes, damned-if- you-vote-no situation. Either they lose the Euro (which most Greeks like, because it's reduced inflation) and all EU support, and face the mess of implementing a certain-to-depreciate currency, or they face more austerity on top of what they've already had, which hits only the little people. The Latsis family and all Greeks with resources have safely bunkered their wealth in Swiss accounts and live in London or New York -- they don't give a shit what happens in Athens.

The fact is that tax evasion is a national sport in Greece and other southern countries, and this impoverishes the state. Such countries either have to improve tax legislation and collection massively, or they simply can't offer first-world social services. I have often argued that the US is abusing the rights of its citizens by taxing ordinary Americans who live and work abroad by forcing them to fill out onerous tax forms and pay taxes for services they -- as foreign residents -- may never get to claim. Greece is an argument for the opposite position -- they need to enforce tax collection far more stringently, particularly on their nonresident citizens and the even larger number of them who export their money to avoid taxes.

I think they will stay with the Titanic, but will get significant debt write offs.

Things will be okay until Italy, and then France, and then Portugal and Ireland elect leaders that promise them debt relief- Marine Le Pen will win for the "right" and Podemos for the "left" and then the EU project will finally be consigned to the history books.

Unless they go to war with each other over this shit.

The EU won't go to war. The Euro may die, which would not be tragic for those of us who live in member states that don't have it. Back to francs, marks, lira and pesetas. It just makes sense.

By the way, for those who don't know the difference between the EU and the Euro, just ask.

It made no sense for a weak economy like Greece's to be pegged to the Euro. They were unable to devalue their currency to be competitive. Decoupling is the best option, but bad news for the Greeks however it shakes out.

Hey boss, did you ever see a more splendiferous crash?

R3-

I'm sure giving more power to the government is the only way.

With pure socialism then Europe could finally break free!

R6-

Until Greece exits the EU and liberalizes state owned businesses, cuts taxes and regulations and eliminates most public sector "jobs" it will remain a 3rd world country.

I would like Greece to exit, and to really be their own country.

Maggie was right. The problem with socialism is you run out of other people's money. Greece is proof.

Greek economy close to collapse as food and medicine run short

I think the only solution is Grexit. Austerity has already ruined Greece and will only lead to years more of suffering. Grexit, while it will be undoubtedly painful at first, will allow Greece to devalue its currency and regain competitiveness. Default and devaluation worked for Argentina; it can work for Greece too.

All the countries should exit and be their own independent countries. This banker globalism plutocracy is garbage; it's destroying the sovereignty of nations, the culture of nations, and all they want is poverty "austerity" for the citizens to return them to the serf level. Fuck that.

R18

Agreed.

Dismantle DC and return all power back the the 50 states and things will get better fast. Remove that top layer of bureaucracy and bullshit and the "several states" will do nicely.

Funny how this never happened

Greece's debt was the result of crooked government officials and crooked citizens trying to game the system and retire early on bogus disability claims. The extreme austerity measures only compunded the problem. If they still had their own currency they would be on the road to fiscal recovery by now, but they are being fleeced by EU.