MoveOn.org: Robert Reich: GREECE

[think]

From Move.On.org email (bold added):

Dear MoveOn member,

Greece is all over the news this week—but how come so few people are talking about Wall Street's role in creating the crisis, or what people like us can do to change the outcome?

Let's talk about it—and do something about it.

Read on to see how I see it. Once you've read this, please chip in to help MoveOn launch an emergency global campaign for progress, not austerity.

People seem to forget that the Greek debt crisis—which is becoming a European and even possibly a world economic crisis—grew out of a deal with Goldman Sachs, engineered by Goldman's Lloyd Blankfein.
Several years ago, Blankfein and his Goldman team helped Greece hide the true extent of its debt—and in the process almost doubled it. When the first debt deal was struck in 2001, Greece owed about 600 million euros ($793 million) more than the 2.8 billion euros it had borrowed. Goldman then cooked up an off-the-books derivative for Greece that disguised the shortfall but increased the government's losses to 5.1 billion euros.

In 2005, the deal was restructured and the 5.1 billion euro debt was locked in. After that, Goldman and the rest of Wall Street pulled the global economy to its knees—whacking Greece even harder.

Undoubtedly, Greece suffers from years of corruption and tax avoidance by its wealthy. But Goldman Sachs isn't exactly innocent. It padded its profits by catastrophically leveraging up the global economy with secret, off-balance-sheet debt deals.

Did any of its executives ever go to jail? Of course not. They all got fat bonuses and promotions. Blankfein, now CEO, raked in $24 million in 2014 alone. Meanwhile, the people of Greece struggle to buy medicine and food.

Economists Thomas Piketty and Jeffrey Sachs also have weighed in, writing in The Nation that the results of European austerity in Greece have hit the vulnerable the worst—"40 percent of children now live in poverty, infant mortality is sky-rocketing and youth unemployment is close to 50 percent."1

Debt restructuring must be part of any solution for economic reforms in Greece. But instead of doing that, the European powers have made eleventh-hour, draconian demands: slash pensions, privatize even more core state functions, and attack unions and workers' collective bargaining rights.2

The U.S. can help make things better (instead of worse, like Goldman Sachs did). In addition to diplomatic power, the U.S. has voting power in the International Monetary Fund—one of Greece's creditors.

President Obama and Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew can use their pulpits and their votes to yield a positive and just outcome. The Greek parliament on Friday approved a new plan that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras proposed, but so far the European parties aren't offering up the debt restructuring that's needed for a real solution and instead are demanding even more draconian austerity measures from Greece to even keep talking.

That's why I wanted to write you this note, to try and sift through what's going on and ask for your help on a special campaign that's pretty different from what MoveOn's done before.

As you can imagine, MoveOn hadn't budgeted for a big campaign to save Greece and reject global austerity. So I'm speaking up to help MoveOn raise the funds now.

Ready to help launch the campaign?

Here's the link to donate: Click here to help reject austerity.

Here's what MoveOn can do if you help raise the emergency funds:

Take out an ad in a major Washington publication calling on President Obama to use the U.S.'s power in the IMF and diplomatic influence with the European Central Bank to yield a positive outcome. Few are speaking out like this in the U.S., so a little firepower can go a long way.

Drive phone calls to the IMF and Treasury Department offices—they're not used to taking calls from regular folks, so we can really get their attention.

Join with allies across Europe to show solidarity with the Greek people and stand up to global austerity. MoveOn is part of a global network of technology-wielding, progressive organizations called OPEN—and now is just the kind of moment when this network can be most powerful.

Keep on campaigning to hold banks like Goldman Sachs accountable.

This is a tipping point in the global economy—austerity, or progress?

What happens in Greece will impact the economic agenda in America, and it will have ripple effects around the world.

Can you make a donation and help launch MoveOn's emergency global campaign for progress, not austerity?
Click here to chip in.

Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich

Robert Reich

[MFrohike]

1. That's a joke, right?

That won't do squat except make people think they're doing something. If they were remotely serious, they'd be leaning on Yellen to extend emergency aid to Greek banks (just like they did for other European banks after the crash). This is nothing but posturing at someone else's expense.

[brooklynite]

2. Talk about a waste of money...

...The US isn't going to step in to the middle of the Greek financial crisis, and if it did, who here would be speaking in support of a Greek bailout in front of one for people in the US?

And "showing solidarity" isn't going to change minds in Germany or Finland or Slovakia.

But if slacktivism is your cup of tea.....

[think]

3. So Robert Riech is a slacktivist? Or was that insult hurled my way?

[brooklynite]

4. It's directed to anyone who thinks sending cash to MOVEON...

...will change anything in Greece. However virtuous it makes them feel.

FWIW - so far, either nobody cares, or they disagree with you. Maybe there's a message there.

[think]

5. Thanks for the insult. Should Goldman Sach's role in Greeks debt crisis be ignored?

[brooklynite]

6. My piece on the Greek crisis pointed out that there was plenty of blame to go around...

...that said, what will going after GS do to resolve the immediate crisis, and how will MOVEON assist in that regard?

[think]

7. What role did Goldman Sachs play in the Greek Debt crisis?

[brooklynite]

8. Greek debt crisis: Goldman Sachs could be sued for helping hide debts when it joined euro

Goldman Sachs faces the prospect of potential legal action from Greece over the complex financial deals in 2001 that many blame for its subsequent debt crisis.

A leading adviser to debt-riven countries has offered to help Athens recover some of the vast profits made by the investment bank.

The Independent has learnt that a former Goldman banker, who has advised indebted governments on recovering losses made from complex transactions with banks, has written to the Greek government to advise that it has a chance of clawing back some of the hundreds of millions of dollars it paid Goldman to secure its position in the single currency.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greek-debt-crisis-goldman-sachs-could-be-sued-for-helping-country-hide-debts-when-it-joined-euro-10381926.html

Unfortunately, the disposition of a civil suit won't be resolved in time to settle the immediate crisis and "hundreds of millions" won't begin to cover the Greek indebtedness from pensions and spending that the Government can't afford and a tax system that every economic class avoids contributing to.

Note - it's been an hour and nobody seems to be rallying to the cause...

[hill2016]

9. anyone

can sue anyone else for anything

Doesn't mean you'll get a penny from the lawsuit.

Now, what's the theory of liability here?

[Igel]

12. GS did what its client wanted.

And it turned out bad. It's unclear that they did anything illegal or defrauded their client.


Then again, the EU gave Greece loans that it wanted. And that turned out bad. So after suing GS, I guess they'll sue the EU for loaning to a bad credit risk.


Whatever happens, we must think of Greece as naive, innocent children, simply unable to make good decisions when confronted with ethical and financial choices that they screwed up. Those wily Americans, so much smarter and more evil than the rest of the world: American neo-exceptionalism. At the same time we must view the Greeks as superior to most and possessed of deep wisdom when it comes to making with ethical and financial choices that we agree with.

[magical thyme]

15. goldman sachs is that wily and evil. very few people really understood derivatives, and it's the

derivatives that were part of the deal they proffered to the corrupt greek government that caused Greece's debt to double in size while GS made off like bandits again.

[magical thyme]

14. agree that giving money to Moveon is a waste. However, the US may very well

eventually step into the Greek financial crisis, due to its strategic location, need to keep NATO intact, and to prevent it from turning east.

But we don't need Moveon to make anything happen, certainly not anything like that. They've never made anything happen anyway.

[hill2016]

10. wouldn't

it be more useful to send the money to Greece? They need it.

[think]

11. Wouldn't it also be good to end the abuse by Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks?

Last edited Mon Jul 13, 2015, 01:32 PM - Edit history (1)

[Xyzse]

13. I agree with what Mr. Reich is saying.

However, I am not the biggest proponent for MoveOn.org

Still, it is an important issue, and good to put light to.

Stating that, it may be best to also give links on where to donate instead, rather than sending it to MoveOn as I don't believe they have the resources to actually go to the ground and allocate such funds for doing anything beyond their mission of bringing issues to light.

[magical thyme]

16. here are some links to donate goods to the people if you choose. no idea how good these orgs are!

http://onegreece.org/donate/
*100% of your donation will support nonprofit organizations providing direct support to families in need. - See more at: http://onegreece.org/donate/#sthash.pHqY4AmL.dpuf
specifically for heating oil, food and medicines

http://greecesolidarity.org/?page_id=807
The end result is that a very large proportion of the Greek population have no access to medical services, children are not being vaccinated (creating huge problems for the future) and thousands are dying unnecessarily. strictly medical aid

https://www.causes.com/causes/652851-relief-fund-for-the-people-of-greece/
Through the Greek Orthodox church. facebook page

[Xyzse]

17. Sounds great. Thank you.