With a second election and perhaps a further stalemate looming for Greece, the world awaits eagerly for the outcome. It has become about a Grexit or Not; The Euro or the Drachma; Right or Left. The establishment has managed to stem the tide, which was pointing towards a very strong reprisal of the failed austerity, by using this debate to draw fictitious lines for the easily manipulated voting public. Fear of a ‘catastrophe’ was repeatedly used when Papandreou and his Lord Vader, Papakonstantinou, shouted that the Greek Books were on ‘fire’, watched as investors fled and then advocated 'austerity' (read: steal more from the little guy) as the cure. We, along with some others, argued vehemently against this course, due to its easily predictable failure and ill consequences.
Fast forward two years later and nothing has changed in Greece, except that the situation has become far worse and seemingly hopeless.Nea Democratia is telling voters the same thing that Papandreou was telling the electorate 2 years ago. If we do not take Europe’s terms it will be a catastrophe. People…in case you hadn’t noticed, it is already a catastrophe. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result. It was the old established parties of Pasok and Neo Democratia that took turns nudging Greece along this dark and desolate path.
Their rhetoric was different, but try and point to any meaningful differences during their reigns and you are hard pressed to do so. One party wore red ties while the other wore blue but Greece continued unabated towards this cliff she now sits perched on, inching ever closer to the edge it now teeters on, due to those Pasok/Nea Democratia mismanagement and chicanery. If those two parties combined come anywhere close to a majority, the nation of Greece will have lost its sovereignty forever. Do not suffer from Stockholm syndrome; does it make any sense whatsoever to put your faith back in the hands of those people who got you where you are in the first place?
Greece currently sits in the 5th level of hell. A vote for the old guard may result in a temporary elevation of that status (a lesser version of hell) with a slow and permanent decline soon thereafter into the abyss of purgatory in the 7th level, with no chance of redemption. The shackles will have been secured and the noose ready for the executioner to pull at his will. A vote against the status quo may result in a temporary setback, but is the only thing that can lay the foundation for a resurrection from the depths of Hades, while paving a path to the top of Olympus for Greece's sons and daughters to enjoy.
Make no mistake, Greece MUST change. There is no magic elixir; no cure-all. Hard work and change WILL be required immediately. The choice is yours. Do you make the changes for Greece and the future of your children and grandchildren, giving hope to future generations that they will lift their heads high once again, or do you take a few crumbs now, in exchange for the eternal soul of Greece and its progeny?
Greece must play their hand. While the German ‘power elite’ sits sipping cognac as the biggest benefactors of this union, they know that Greece holds an ace. If they let Greece go they are aware that two things will happen a) Greece’s condition, after a period of difficulty, will improve over the next few years and that b) the rest of Europe’s condition will worsen, with bond markets chipping away at the rest of the fringes. As a consequence those populations will begin to question their chosen path. It is for the people of Greece to hold up this ace. In order for this to be a winning hand it must be accompanied by true, real, marked and measurable change at home.
But how do we do this you ask. First and foremost the old guard must be voted out with a resounding OXI and a plan must exist to create stability and calm while the negotiations begin. With a mandate, the new guard must approach Europe with a real plan along the lines of below:
1) The debt is wiped clean
2) Medicine, fuel and food is sent immediately as a donation from our European neighbours
3) A $100Billion line at a fixed rate of 2.5% (I chose this rate as that is the rate the EuroBond will likely be at and the amount was selected so as to be sufficient to carry Greece through its metamorphosis providing a healthy balance of cash flow and investment dollars for accretive natural resource and manufacturing projects)
4) Current austerity programs would cease and be gradually reversed
5) A 5 year value add tax for imported goods where a good has less than a sufficient amount of Greek inputs
Greece would need to offer a great deal in return. The only way forward would be for those who took to give it back. The bankers and the multinationals will have given back some through the donations, the 5 year VAT, the line of credit and the debt forgiveness. Greece has been the laughing stock of the world and ‘this is how it is in Greece’ can no longer be tolerated. Austerity and reform are necessary, but not as has been imposed thus far.
I would propose creating an amnesty program for tax cheats. The identities of those that owe money are well known and those who have taken bribes can be easily tracked in today’s modern age. The amnesty would be a one year program available to all citizens (including politicians) and corporations with assets/income over a reasonable threshold whereby they would declare ALL their assets and income, whether offshore or not, and pay the back taxes on said assets (and income) without having to declare source or pay interest. No legal action would be taken under the amnesty program. Perhaps even an incentive for these Greeks to repatriate their capital and invest in Greece, along the lines of a modest credit for such repatriation.
Should they fail to pay, together with the assistance of our European brethren, the dead beats would be tracked down, pay all taxes, all interest and all penalties and face stiff legal ramifications. They would be branded as traitors and lose their citizenship and the citizenship of their heirs. Their names would be there for all to see and throw shame on.
Another thing that would be essential would be to put an end to the bribe state. Perhaps a whistle blower program for anyone taking or offering bribes, perhaps like what India has attempted to implement, together with stiff fines and prison for those that continue (much stiffer penalties for politicians given their positions of trust).
Another thing that would be essential would be to put an end to the bribe state. Perhaps a whistle blower program for anyone taking or offering bribes, perhaps like what India has attempted to implement, together with stiff fines and prison for those that continue (much stiffer penalties for politicians given their positions of trust).
In past posts we outlined the fraud that has been perpetrated. Now a cleansing is required if Greece is to survive as a sovereign nation and eventually prosper. The above is not intended to be comprehensive nor are the numbers or ratios scientific; It is a suggestion with the significant elements needed that can be made into a real plan that will promote healing and restoration.
It is NOT Euro or no Euro…It is about the Establishment versus the People; It is about the continuation of the great Greek nation or ceding sovereignty to the banking cartels, Multinationals and the Greek Kleptocrats ; put in those terms the choice should be simple. On the eve of the Euro championship we should all be reminded that Greece, in the face of overwhelming odds and with all of Europe weighing against them, has emerged victorious before; we can again!
