tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.comments2023-07-17T11:55:51.363+02:00ObservingGreecekleinguthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comBlogger10827125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-58468838085100020162023-07-17T11:01:54.503+02:002023-07-17T11:01:54.503+02:00Many thanks for this enlightening summary!
H. Tri...Many thanks for this enlightening summary!<br /><br />H. TricklerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-85753762056774360352023-07-06T17:47:29.498+02:002023-07-06T17:47:29.498+02:00Impressive turnaround? Mitsotakis was just lucky t...Impressive turnaround? Mitsotakis was just lucky that due to the pandemic and the energy crisis the EMU paused its fiscal rules. The only thing he did is increase deficits significantly, i.e. the same thing that Greece did prior to 2009. Back then too this resulted in "impressive" economic performance, or so pundits claimed. Too bad it wasn't really. It also highlighted how dysfunctional the common currency is. Without it not only would inflows be less, resulting in a healthier trade balance, but even in the event of a crisis Greece would devalue and have a quicker and more robust recovery.Jim Sliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15325962115410722474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-59238819346766260242023-06-09T18:07:58.014+02:002023-06-09T18:07:58.014+02:00I am surprised you say that. Greece is a prime exa...I am surprised you say that. Greece is a prime example that what you call 'neoliberal biases' work. Neoliberals of the Austrian School argue that the only thing which works in a major financial crisis is a shock treatment. Otherwise, you only postpone the moment of truth into the future and the eventual shock becomes even greater. The Troika offered Tsipras a shock treatment with great suffering for the Greek people and Tsipras willingly accepted it. More or less without any fight. And the result? Mitsotakis could take over a situation where most of the shocks had already been implemented and he could easily build on that, resulting in the impressive turn-around. From this standpoint, Tsipras deserves a monument because he – unwittingly – created a situation which served as a jumping board for an economic rebound.kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-79897656064201690472023-06-09T16:59:20.228+02:002023-06-09T16:59:20.228+02:00After all these years, you still "forget"...After all these years, you still "forget" to mention how Eurozone members are essentially using a foreign currency, and the differences that this entails when compared to having your own currency. Neoliberal biases are hard to shake off, I guess.Jim Sliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15325962115410722474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-75651581583295233692023-06-09T11:11:47.936+02:002023-06-09T11:11:47.936+02:00It's difficult to say what is happening with t...It's difficult to say what is happening with the current account deficit. I am reading here (https://www.athensvoice.gr/epikairotita/politiki-oikonomia/787801/i-elliniki-oikonomia-horis-paropides-to-exoteriko-elleimma-xanarhetai/) that in 2022 consumer goods account for ~36% of the imports of goods, as opposed to 49% in 2009. On the other hand there is no increase in imported capital goods (13% in 2022 as opposed to 16% in 2009). Import of intermediate goods has surged. They account for 50% of the imports of goods as opposed to 39% in 2009. Christos Ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-62196236224193752632023-05-15T09:41:55.046+02:002023-05-15T09:41:55.046+02:00Below are links to the sources about economic/fina...Below are links to the sources about economic/financial matters. <br /><br />https://www.minfin.gr/web/guest<br />https://www.bankofgreece.gr/en/the-bank/tasks<br />https://www.pdma.gr/en/public-debt-strategy/public-debt/level-of-debt-en<br />https://www.statistics.gr/en/the-greek-economy<br /><br />On matters regarding European courts you would have to consult the website of the EU.kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-89475477609577763382023-05-13T12:30:00.684+02:002023-05-13T12:30:00.684+02:00I was wondering for some time now, how i can find ...I was wondering for some time now, how i can find statistics on these matters ... Greece may present similarities with Belgium as far as the numbers, population, land etc but there are several significant differences concerning the cultural and historical heritage. Also Belgium is situated in the heart of Europe. Greece is part of the balkan peninsula. In order to understand the economic conditions in the country, we should know that Greek state paid off its debt from the revolution of 1821 to England in the decade of 2000's . These characteristics with the corruption and the dire straits from a decade of crisis i think contribute to a state that has so many anomalies that are hard to cope with them. There are numerous other factors that play their role on this picture like the bureaucracy which makes the things even worse ... but i would say that the sources for so many convinctions are results of economic, cultural and historical background. monte christohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15037787803719091455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-52675800392401215672023-05-03T15:43:04.420+02:002023-05-03T15:43:04.420+02:00Interesting: I would never have imagined that the ...Interesting: I would never have imagined that the number of convictions for both countries are so high.<br />Unfortunately I did not find other relevant statistics in the www.<br /><br />H. TricklerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-39343166194609382822023-05-02T18:36:08.106+02:002023-05-02T18:36:08.106+02:00If Greece wants the west to embrace it again, they...If Greece wants the west to embrace it again, they need to deport the communist (anti-west, anti-semite) sleepred from 1922 Smyrna and 1975 Helsinki. The return of communist war criminals in 1975 exploded anti-west and anti-semte sentiments in Greece,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-88673380943053431762023-04-04T12:45:14.109+02:002023-04-04T12:45:14.109+02:00Well said Mr. KastnerWell said Mr. KastnerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-42517669188742290802023-03-03T11:21:33.838+01:002023-03-03T11:21:33.838+01:00Many thanks for your interesting review of the pas...Many thanks for your interesting review of the past turmoil.<br />It would be very interesting to read about your prospect for the next decade? (I do know that this is difficult ;-)<br /><br />H. TricklerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-76966388720761938302023-02-27T13:31:11.652+01:002023-02-27T13:31:11.652+01:00Thank you for pointing out my mistake!Thank you for pointing out my mistake!kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-80386896834097705912023-02-27T12:58:14.519+01:002023-02-27T12:58:14.519+01:00Konstantinos Karamanlis (not Konstantinidis). Shou...Konstantinos Karamanlis (not Konstantinidis). Should be corrected as there should not be any mistakes to this - well said - article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-58515091065405582852022-11-21T11:02:52.131+01:002022-11-21T11:02:52.131+01:00Many thanks for your interesting text!
Yo write &q...Many thanks for your interesting text!<br />Yo write "there is only one way for the Euro to survive longer-term" and IMHO this will not happen. <br /><br />So I think the Teuro will pretty soon blow up.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-5794923135696066392022-09-26T20:53:49.055+02:002022-09-26T20:53:49.055+02:00If one needs to find the Paul Volcker of the Greek...If one needs to find the Paul Volcker of the Greek economy, one should not look at the Troika, but at Euclid Tsakalotos. The Troika's performance prior to him wasn't really impressive, to put it mildly. <br /><br />Back in 2018, Mr. Tsakalotos boasted publicly about the government's class bias in favour of the lower classes. By class bias, he meant the high-tax policy on the middle class. This policy became well-kown as "overtaxation". Even three years after the 2019 elections Mr. Mitsotakis says that "he will give the middle-class back, what Tsakalotos took away", while Mr. Tsipras acknowledges the "unfair treatment" of the middle class.<br /><br />It is quite weird that the fiscal stability was achieved in Greece partially due to Mr. Tsakalotos effort to maintain his left-wing credentials.Christos Ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-76742506722785463392022-08-29T22:58:56.895+02:002022-08-29T22:58:56.895+02:00I saw a statistic today where Greece is No. 1 in E...I saw a statistic today where Greece is No. 1 in Europe as regards energy subsidies with 3,7% of GDP. Austria (2,3%) and Germany (1,7%) are well behind. kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-10530212085337709072022-08-29T14:26:25.790+02:002022-08-29T14:26:25.790+02:00A price ceiling on CO2 credits would bring energy ...A price ceiling on CO2 credits would bring energy prices down much more effectively than raising the interest rates.Christos Ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-35730839111347687922022-08-29T14:12:19.491+02:002022-08-29T14:12:19.491+02:00SYRIZA followed a simple fiscal policy: high taxes...SYRIZA followed a simple fiscal policy: high taxes that lead to high revenues, budget surplus, low growth and low available income for imports. ND changed this policy in 2019 to a new one that includes low taxes that were expected to bring high growth, that would compensate for the losses in revenues. The tax breaks didn't work out as expected. To make things worse, the government decided in 2019 the de-lignitisation of the economy by 2023. A truly disastrous decision, that led the gradual abandonment of the lignite production for the sake of natural gas plants. The price of electricity is now approximately 0.8 € per kWh for households. The government seems unable or unwilling to force the energy companies to limit their profits (while lignite production takes time to resume) and subsidizes energy bills instead. The subsidies are really high (2 billion euros only for September 2022) thus inflicting much pain to the budget. <br /><br />There is no doubt that whoever governs after the elections will implement tough austerity measures. Mr. Mitsotakis might still be leading the polls, but, in my opinion, he has lost his dynamic. If he gets reelected, he would be unable to deal with the country's problems. Christos Ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-33419918926282918002022-08-23T20:33:29.584+02:002022-08-23T20:33:29.584+02:00Thank you for your nice comments! Yes, it could be...Thank you for your nice comments! Yes, it could be that history will repeat itself. Let's hope not! Alexander Clapp had an excellent essay in the NYT yesterday. I recommend reading it!<br /><br />EU economic policies, if there is such a thing, would not be my cup of tea. I think the EU makes mostly projects (like the Recovery Fund) but the economic policies are still made by the member states. It's the ECB which worries me more because they got themselves into a bind where no one has yet explained a possible exit (raise interest rates and let borrowers struggle or keep them low and watch inflation march on). We live in interesting times!kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-33840366001327624272022-08-03T17:17:57.545+02:002022-08-03T17:17:57.545+02:00Having red all your blogs I get the conviction tha...Having red all your blogs I get the conviction that history will repeat itself forever.<br />The PIGS all have a hot climate and a friendly but special mentality which results in such financial atrocities. <br />Greece seems to be the leader ;-)<br /><br />I missed your texts and think that many readers would also like to read your opinion about the EU economic policies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-54068974479280000032021-08-25T21:19:15.480+02:002021-08-25T21:19:15.480+02:00Seeing this years after the fact but both of the c...Seeing this years after the fact but both of the commenters above are 1) morons, and 2) part of the problem in Greece. I bet they gush over covid fascism now too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-4408351068296931392021-07-25T11:30:14.307+02:002021-07-25T11:30:14.307+02:00Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
K. Wunderlic...Thank you for sharing your thoughts.<br /><br />K. WunderlichAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-14145119655761815212021-07-06T18:41:15.623+02:002021-07-06T18:41:15.623+02:00Very interesting and good news. Many thanks for yo...Very interesting and good news. Many thanks for your continuous efforts.<br />H. TricklerH. Tricklerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05478131229025657622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-60725162995991212652021-02-17T14:38:12.940+01:002021-02-17T14:38:12.940+01:00So 2015-8, the SYRIZA years, you say…
With the hig...So 2015-8, the SYRIZA years, you say…<br />With the high point being 2015, THE SYRIZA year!<br />Interesting…<br />But I guess that's the wonderful thing with statistics: the perception of the beholder!<br /><br />LykinosAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-81926025284835364602021-02-10T12:49:41.143+01:002021-02-10T12:49:41.143+01:00Very interesting stats, Klaus. And of course, your...Very interesting stats, Klaus. And of course, your observation that it needed a gun put at their heads to fight corruption and establish a more business friendly environment is a bit sobering yet a very good argment against a 100% debt relief. <br />Greetings from Zurich<br />UrsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com