"The Greek program, the largest ever involving the IMF, was in part meant to buy time.... obvious from the beginning of the crisis, in late 2009, that it would take longer than planned to revive the Greek economy.... “They bought themselves a year.’’
To the tune of $160 BILLION dollars.
"Greek bailout collapsed after just one year; Failure risk was known but underestimated" by Anthony Faiola and Howard Schneider, Washington Post / June 18, 2011
WASHINGTON — The government officials and economists who put together a bailout for Greece in May of last year knew there was a substantial chance that the program would fail, but were unprepared for how fast their efforts unraveled, according to people involved with the talks and others who followed them.
That didn't stop them from loading more odious debt on top of people.
The three-year, $160 billion program was admittedly ambitious, requiring Greece to make deep cuts to its social programs, slash public payrolls, and sell state-owned property and businesses. But a year later, the initiative has fallen so far short that the country is again running out of money and Europe’s economy is again at risk.
The rescue program undermined Greece’s growth, reducing government spending and salaries by billions of dollars in a country already in deep recession. Private companies closed or fired workers faster than was forecast, driving unemployment beyond what the International Monetary Fund expected.
Then WHY LISTEN TO THEM anymore?
Business and consumer spending fell further than anticipated, depriving the country of tax receipts. Sales of state-owned property proceeded more slowly than expected, and changes in economic policy also began to lag.
So they really don't know WTF they are doing, or just selling s*** lies.
The country is back at the brink, with potentially calamitous results for Europe and the United States. In recent days, Greek interest rates have again spiked amid renewed fears among investors that the country would default. The IMF and European leaders have been urgently debating how to get the country more money.
Discussions yesterday appeared headed toward at least a short-term fix....
In other words, the IMF has NO ANSWERS!
It is all one DEBT SLAVERY OPERATION!
The announcement of a new cabinet by Prime Minister George Papandreou was also meant to clear the way for a successful vote of confidence next week in the Greek Parliament, followed by the ratification of further spending cuts and other changes required for Greece to receive about $17 billion in new emergency loans.
Left unresolved, however, is a broader renegotiation of Greece’s program that will probably entail even more loans from the IMF and Europe.
How is BORROWING MORE MONEY to PAY OFF BORROWED MONEY helping?
This was not the sequence of events foreseen when then-IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and European Union Commissioner Olli Rehn announced on May 2, 2010, the approval of a plan that “will lead to a more dynamic economy that will deliver the growth, jobs and prosperity that Greece needs in the future.’’
There have been signs of renewal over the past year, with Greek exports rising, labor costs falling, and inflation dipping below the European average.
Doesn't the AmeriKan media ever tire of shoveling shit?
The program met its targets during its first months, and Greek officials even pushed for deeper cuts at the federal level when it turned out local governments had overspent.
But the events of the past year also reflect problems that are deeply embedded in the structure of Europe’s economy, political institutions, and financial system — and that some analysts reckon may take a decade or more to fix.
The Greek program, the largest ever involving the IMF, was in part meant to buy time to work on underlying issues such as strengthening Europe’s banking system and supporting the weaker European economies.
But the clock ran quickly. By December, the IMF was revising downward the forecasts for the Greek economy made just a few months before. And even those estimates are proving optimistic. As of March of this year, IMF economists said Greek unemployment would peak at 15 percent. It is already above 16 percent as Greece completes its third full year of recession.
Analysts said it has been obvious from the beginning of the crisis, in late 2009, that it would take longer than planned to revive the Greek economy. Moreover, they said it was long clear that the nation would probably need to renege on some of the more than $400 billion it owed to bondholders.
Nope; money-addicted scum won't have it.
“It was inevitable that this would blow up,’’ said Desmond Lachman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, adding that the program gave the European banking system time to adjust to the prospect of a default. “They bought themselves a year,’’ he said.
At the time we were told in the newspapers the problems was solved.
--more--"
And check this out:
"Greek bailout collapsed after just one year - Boston.com
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-- Your friends at Boston.com
Friends, huh? With friends like these....
"Austerity protests continue to roil Greece" by Demetris Nellas, Associated Press / June 19, 2011
ATHENS — Several thousand pro-Communist union members marched through central Athens yesterday to protest the government’s latest austerity measures and plans to sell off state enterprises to appease international creditors.
The Communists get protest coverage? Can you say controlled opposition?
Greece has seen near-daily protests against the belt-tightening that has slashed salaries and pensions in an attempt to stem its ballooning debt.
But I HAVEN'T SEEN that much COVERAGE of them!
“People should have no illusions . . . [the government] and creditors will sit together to skin the Greek people alive,’’ Communist party secretary Aleka Papariga told the crowd of 5,000, which dispersed without incident....
No agent provocateurs infiltrating the Communists, 'eh?
Germany, fearing that Greece would soon default, calmed market fears Friday by retreating from its stance that banks and other private lenders should be forced to share the pain of a second bailout for Greece....
The SIGNIFICANT PIECE of NEWS that is BURIED in the middle of this story.
Obviously, Germany has really pissed of the PtB.
First Merkel's helicopter drops out of the sky after she criticized Israel, then the ecoli scare that has disappeared from the papers hits them after the refuse to be on board with the Libyan regime change, and now they reverse themselves after pissing off the banksters.
Also today, Prime Minister George Papandreou will open a three-day parliamentary debate that will conclude midnight Tuesday with a vote of confidence.
With 155 deputies in the 300-strong Parliament, he is expected to win the vote.
He is then expected to pass a $40 billion package of steep tax hikes and budget cuts before the end of the month, in the face of mounting protests by unions and the nonpartisan crowds that gather each evening outside Parliament.
That means EVERYONE, readers.
I guess the word socialist doesn't mean s*** in Europe anymore, unless it means socialism for banks.
The powerful state electricity company employees’ union GENOP has announced that it will begin rolling 48-hour strikes next week, threatening to cause blackouts, while public and private sector unions are expected to stage a 48-hour general strike on the date, yet to be determined....
We shall see what kind of coverage the Globe gives them.
“We must vote this package, because our credibility with [Greece’s creditors] is at stake and because we must ensure that servicing our debt remains sustainable,’’ finance minister Evangelos Venizelos told Greek media late Friday....
Meaning Greece's government cares more about banks than its people.
--more--"
And look at what the self-delusional globalist masters are calling the revolt in the streets:
“Times are difficult, the reform fatigue is visible in the streets of Athens, Madrid, and elsewhere, and so is the support fatigue in some of our member states,’’ said Olli Rehn, the European Union’s Monetary Affairs Commissioner.
But not in my Globe: Globe Missed Month of Spanish Sit-In
But he urged countries to press on with the austerity....
So the banksters can have more, more, more!
--more--"
Also see: Greece must cut spending more to get loan payment
Deepening Greek debt crisis casts shadow over Lagarde IMF bid
Next Day Update: Greek leader survives vote of confidence
