Greece: We're not looking for a fight over debt

[Nye Bevan]

Calm down! Greece is not looking for a fight with its creditors.

At least that's what Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says, despite winning power on the back of calls to have half the country's enormous debt written off.

Tsipras said his government was looking for an agreement on Greek debt that would be beneficial for all parties.

.....

Campaign promises to end austerity don't mean Greece would not meet its obligations to the ECB or IMF, Tsipras said in the statement.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/02/news/economy/greece-debt-europe-tsipras/index.html?iid=mkt_SF_news

As the Economist put it, the task is "to find a way for him to retreat from his demands without losing face altogether".

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21641251-syrizas-success-increases-risk-grexit-and-will-embolden-anti-austerity-parties-across

[azmom]

1. Stand strong Greece

[MrTriumph]

2. Greece's Amateur Hour has begun.

This is Greece's Amateur Hour. Job one once elected was to meet with the Russian ambassador. Then the new finance minister set out to insult the IMF and ECB on Friday. And NOW the new Greek government wants to renegotiate new loans with the same institutions they insulted. And they want terms even better than the great terms they previously agreed to and are bound to.

It is easy to say the lenders are too unreasonable, but look at the existing terms the Greeks enjoy. Low interest with plenty of time to pay.. The terms are better than any loan the average, credit worthy American could ever get.

Maybe Greece's inability to perform has far more to do with Greece's inability to tax and restructure their economic system.

[djean111]

3. Don't the terms include privatization and really severe and damaging austerity measures?

I do not think this is just about a low interest loan. This is about privatizing public functions, selling off government property, slashing funds for health care....this is more like getting money from a loan shark.

[MrTriumph]

4. The terms were generous.

It is easy to bash the big, bad lenders. But conditions are a part of any loan. The Greeks could have said no.

And the Greeks have made- at best- mediocre attempts to diminish corruption and collect taxes. If your country is broke, it would seem like a massive effort to diminish corruption and collect taxes would be in order. Ultimately the Greeks are responsible for their state of affairs.

[KingCharlemagne]

5. Or the people of Greece could simply seize the means of production from their oligarchs

and tell the Germans, French, IMF and ECB to piss off.

[sabrina 1]

6. They can start rounding up the crooked Bankers, as Iceland did, and the crooked Politicians who sold

their country out. Then start finding all the money they stole and hid overseas. That ought to be enough to pay the debt the crooks ran up for Greece.