Why a NO vote in the Referendum is a Yes for a proud Greece in a Decent Europe – Talking with Phillip Adams, on LNL ABC Radio National
Late Night Live has been a daily companion of mine since 1989. Phillip Adams, its presenter, is someone I consider a friend (he, in fact, interviewed me in 1991 on the… Greek crisis!). In this (yesterday’s) program he added a touch at the very end of the interview that made me (almost) to break down. Thanks Phillip.
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UN:
“No one can expect the Prime Minister of Greece to renounce the commitments he made to the people who elected him with a clear mandate to negotiate a fair solution that does not dismantle Greek democracy and lead to further unemployment and social misery. Capitulating to an ultimatum imposing further austerity measures on the Greek population would be incompatible with the democratic trust placed on the Greek Prime Minister by the electorate. By nature, every State has the responsibility to protect the welfare of all persons living under its jurisdiction. This encompasses fiscal and budgetary sovereignty and regulatory space which cannot be trumped by outside actors, whether States, inter-governmental organizations or creditors.”
http://goo.gl/05oo18
Everyone should vote NO.
Freedom.
Indeed. All free Greek people will have to vote NO. All other slaves have to vote Yes.
… “…made me (almost) to break down”
…ditto
Reblogged this on iGlinavos and commented:
Yanis you are wrong, you are betting the future of the country. You need to reflect on the consequences of your actions.
Reblogged this on Greek Left Review.
Reblogged this on Stavarao Blog.
It may be too late to consider this until the Greek economy stabilizes again, but Greece will have to quietly develop plans to reintroduce the drachma. How it will be backed, and how it will gain acceptance will be the largest hurdles. Yet, as long as the Euro circulates, the Troika will have Greece by the balls.
Why use the drachma?
You could use another currency, such as the U.S. dollar. The upside would be instant acceptance. However, the currency remains external to Greek sovereignty, and potential retaliations must be considered.
For example, the U.S. government has long pushed for the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement. If U.S. currency was seen by EU leadership as assisting the Greek economy, repercussions against TAFTA may be threatened and, in a domino effect, the U.S. Treasury/Federal Reserve may take action against any adoptions by Greece.
One would also have to consider whether the U.S. holds any empathetic parties here for Greece. After all, it was Goldman Sachs that helped previous Greek governments cover up fiscal debts, and private American investors were made whole on their Greek bond holdings (amongst others). Perhaps the potential for tracing back these rarely-divulged smoking guns would be enough to convince U.S. Treasury/Federal Reserve personnel to take action against external government adoptions.
This is merely an example of potential landmines in adopting another currency. The same may apply to other currencies.
Unless you had Bitcoin in mind.
The decision has been made already to use the euro currency because among other things we are already in it. So any speculation about the use of alternative currencies is meaningless and off topic.
That’s unfortunate, because it doesn’t appear that the Euro has done any favors for the domestic economy of Greece.
Thank you so much.
Many thanks for your commitment to a more humane and decent economic environment for all of us. Even if your government is forced out of office, and you personally continue to be vilified, you should know that many people around the world understand very well the character of our common enemy, and are no more inclined to bow to them than you are, whatever the consequences.
I would be very sad to see you leave – or anyone else in the government. I’m dreading a yes-vote on Sunday. In the last days however, I’ve found some consolation thinking that a yes-vote by no mean will be irreversible. Greece will not become the eternal hostage of austerity or for ever be deprived of its independence and sovereignty. Following a yes-vote it won’t take long (not even a year) until the Greeks realise that they’ve made a terrible mistake: The austerity measures and other pressures will not ease but accelerate, people will soon see new pensions- and salary cuts, an increase of taxes and VAT, new restrictions of labour rights et c, their educated children who left Greece to seek their fortune elsewhere will not return home with the prospect of earning 600 euro monthly, The new leaders after a yes-vote will probably be the very same old gang that the Greeks voted no for in January with the likely addition of the pseudo-party The River. No, I don’t think we have to worry too much about the outcome of Sunday’s referendum. It is reversible but it would still be a pity if the Greeks chose to postpone freeing themselves from the blackmailing and the hostage situation.
Why doesn’t Greece adopt a multi currency/dual currency arrangement of Euros/Euros stamped with D/Turkish Lira(very appropriate for your economy as an exporting currency!!!) LETS-local currencies could be put in place over time in the Greek regions while the dual currency options could become the new norm. Ruble is another potential exporting currency seeing as how crucial Russia is set to become to Greek energy and tourism..