Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Greeks Be Brave and Vote "No" ("OXI") on Sunday, July 5, 2015

We believe that Greece should vote "No" (OXI) to the terms and conditions imposed by creditors.  Enough is enough. They should not be blackmailed anymore.  When they slowly grow back their economy, then they would start paying back their debt.

We would also recommend that they print their own currency, in parallel with the Euro.  The drachma currency would be used to pay for social programs not provided by the EU.

The creditors made loans to Greece and they should have known that they cannot repay them back.  Too bad.  When you make bets, you lose some and you win some.  They need to write down Greece's debt and move on.

//-----------------///

On Sunday, Greeks will vote in a referendum on whether the government should accept creditors' terms for a new bailout deal.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras earlier today encouraged Greeks to vote "No." Reuters also reported that public opinion is already skewing in that direction.
And in a blog post on Wednesday afternoon, Greece's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, wrote on why the government is recommending a "No" vote, in six short bullets.
Here's the summary:
  • Negotiations were halted in the first place because creditors did not want to trim Greece's debt. Instead, they would like the amount to be paid, in full, in the future, by the "weakest members" of society — children and grandchildren.
  • The IMF and the US believe that the debt should be restructured.
  • In 2012, the Eurogroup also gave this opinion, but refused to commit to it.
  • "Official Europe" would also vote "No," since they are in favor of restructuring Greece's debt.
  • "Greece will stay in the euro. Deposits in Greece’s banks are safe," he wrote, as banks remained closed for a third day. "Creditors have chosen the strategy of blackmail based on bank closures."
  • And so the best way forward is for Greece to stay in the Eurozone, vote "No" on Sunday, and go back to the negotiating table with creditors.
Earlier on Wednesday, a letter Tsipras wrote indicating that the government was willing to accept most of the creditors' terms leaked.  Of course Tsipras is making fun of the Germans, the Dutch and the other Europeans (god bless him) and he is keeping them guessing. 

Just after midnight in Athens on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund confirmed that Greece had missed its €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) payment due, just as the country's bailout program ended.  Tough luck!  Greece, do not pay the money.  The creditors should write off the debt and move on.  Too bad that they made bad loans.