To All:

It is easy to be against austerity, especially if your unemployment rate is already 25% and maybe 60% for young laborers. But it is also true that in Greece the governments, under special interest group pressures made the pensions to generous and expenditures and the expenditures to large relative to taxes. In a word, the government was pursuing an unsustainable economic path.

It also happens that almost everything needed to "reform" matters in Greece will require a reduction in expenditures and an increase in taxes. In other words, more "austerity".

Another debt default will be needed, but that will not solve the unsustainable growth path problem. As long as Greece uses the Euro as its currency and it is not as "productive" as Germany, it will again run out of Euros and again be at the mercy of the "Troika."

I was heartened to hear recently that the Tsipras government has been developing contingency plans to re-launch the Drachma.

Greek banks, govt. out of Euros. Talk of them issuing IOUs. Currencies are noninterest bearing IOUs. Greek IOUs - call them drachmas.

Tomas: 30 years back, I was involved with something called the Federal Paperwork Commission. We got the US Congress to approve a bill saying the government cannot ask the public for more information without the approval of a department controlled by the President. It has worked pretty well.

Raul:

I believe you are correct. Here is something I wrote on the subject back in 2011 - www.morssglobalfinance.com/the-weak-sisters-should-leave-the-eurozone-and-default-%E2%80%93-here%E2%80%99s-how/.

Nothing has changed.

James:

I do not think fine adjustments address the primary problem I have with banks. They are gambling using our deposits as chips and I want it to stop. I want their existence to depend on making good loans that get paid back on time. Allowing them to package, buy, and sell securities invites risky activities. They should leave risk taking to other financial entities.

Sasha:

You have to keep in mind that when banks were buying Greek debt in the 2007-2009 period, the Euro bank regulators were allowing banks to treat sovereign debt the same as cash in defining their liquidity coverage ratios.

So much for for confidence in bank regulators to define risk.

I agree w/Touku. I foolishly bought HTC phone via ATT. The 2-yr contract over so I switched to Net10 - much cheaper. Don't get locked in to US Telcom contract.

Like it or not, what Barroso said reflects the views of leading Eurozone countries. He is also correct in saying Tsipras promised the Greek people something he could not deliver. And sadly, I am not sure Tsipras has any idea of how to execute the end game for Greece - leaving the Eurozone and launching its own currency. His only hope is that the IMF will help him with this.

Nomi: Interesting piece. I don't know if you have read "The Wise Men, Six Friends and The World They Made". One of the wise men is McCloy.

I increasingly do not believe what is happening in the world can be explained simply by looking at nations and finance.

I believe there are now 4 key global players: nations, multinational firms, NGOs (including religious groups) and international orgs such as World Bank and IMF. Sometime these players work together, sometimes they are enemies....

And it does not appear to me to be a battle between large and small. Singapore is small but very well managed. Germany is larger and very well-managed. Greece and Ukraine? The messes they are in cannot be blamed on large financial firms.

I just learned from someone living in CA who purchased a "hot spot" app for her cell for a one-time charge of $7.95 and that is all she needs to get internet access throughout her her entire home.

The ISPs are lucky human behavior change lags technology advances. So are department stores!