Alexis Tsipras'
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We are all Greece!
Foreword
written by Jahn J Kassl
translated by Franz
"On January 13th, almost two weeks before the Parliamentary
elections in Greece, the present Greek Prime Minister addressed the German public with an open letter.” “We do not want to withhold this important document from you”, writes the Kopp-Verlag in its introduction. And indeed, this letter of
the newly elected Greek head of State makes it quite clear,
what is at stakes generally in the debt crisis and actually
for Greece.
written by Jahn J Kassl
translated by Franz
"On January 13th, almost two weeks before the Parliamentary
elections in Greece, the present Greek Prime Minister addressed the German public with an open letter.” “We do not want to withhold this important document from you”, writes the Kopp-Verlag in its introduction. And indeed, this letter of
the newly elected Greek head of State makes it quite clear,
what is at stakes generally in the debt crisis and actually
for Greece.
Read more..
http://www.lichtweltverlag.com/de/blog/index.html
Alexis Tsipras' Open Letter To Germany:
What You Were Never Told About Greece
by Tyler Durden, Authored by Alexis Tsipras via Syriza.net
Most of you, dear [German] readers, will have formed a
preconception of what this article is about before you
actually read it. I am imploring you not to succumb to
such preconceptions. Prejudice was never a good guide,
especially during periods when an economic crisis reinforces
stereotypes and breeds biggotry, nationalism, even violence.
In 2010, the Greek state ceased to be able to service its debt.
Unfortunately, European officials decided to pretend that this
problem could be overcome by means of the largest loan in
history on condition of fiscal austerity that would, with
mathematical precision, shrink the national income from
which both new and old loans must be paid.
An insolvency problem was thus dealt with
as if it were a case of illiquidity. In other words, Europe
adopted the tactics of the least reputable bankers who
refuse to acknowledge bad loans, preferring to grant
new ones to the insolvent entity so as to pretend that
the original loan is performing while extending the
bankruptcy into the future. Nothing more than common
sense was required to see that the application of the 'extend
and pretend' tactic would lead my country to a tragic state.
That instead of Greece's stabilization, Europe was creating
the circumstances for a self-reinforcing crisis that undermines
the foundations of Europe itself.
My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with
the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the
citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money
but because you gave us much, much more than you
should have and our government accepted far, far more than
it had a right to. Money that would, in any case, neither help
the people of Greece (as it was being thrown into the black
hole of an unsustainable debt) nor prevent the ballooning
of Greek government debt, at great expense to the Greek
and German taxpayer.
Indeed, even before a full year had gone by, from 2011 onwards, our predictions were confirmed. The combination of gigantic new loans and stringent government spending cuts that depressed incomes not only failed to rein the debt in but, also, punished the weakest of citizens turning people who had hitherto been living a measured, modest life into paupers and beggars, denying them above all else their dignity. The collapse of incomes pushed thousands of firms into bankruptcy boosting the oligopolistic power of surviving large firms. Thus, prices have been falling but more slowly than wages and salaries, pushing down overall demand for goods and services and crushing nominal incomes while debts continue their inexorable rise. In this setting, the deficit of hope accelerated uncontrollably and, before we knew it, the 'serpent's
egg' hatched – the result being neo-Nazis patrolling our
neighbourhoods, spreading their message of hatred.
Despite the evident failure of the 'extend and pretend'
logic, it is still being implemented to this day. The second
Greek 'bailout', enacted in the Spring of 2012, added another
huge loan on the weakened shoulders of the Greek taxpayers,
"haircut" our social security funds, and financed a ruthless new cleptocracy.
Respected commentators have been referring of recent to
Greece's stabilization, even of signs of growth. Alas,
'Greek-covery' is but a mirage which we must put
to rest as soon as possible. The recent modest rise of real
GDP, to the tune of 0.7%, signals not the end of recession
(as has been proclaimed) but, rather, its continuation.
Think about it: The same official sources report, for the
same quarter, an inflation rate of -1.80%, i.e. deflation.
Which means that the 0.7% rise in real GDP was due to a
negative growth rate of nominal GDP! In other words, all
that happened is that prices declined faster than nominal
national income. Not exactly a cause for proclaiming the
end of six years of recession!
Allow me to submit to you that this sorry attempt to
recruit a new version of 'Greek statistics', in order to
declare the ongoing Greek crisis over, is an insult to all
Europeans who, at long last, deserve the truth about
Greece and about Europe. So, let me be frank: Greece's
debt is currently unsustainable and will never be serviced,
especially while Greece is being subjected to continuous
fiscal waterboarding. The insistence in these dead-end
policies, and in the denial of simple arithmetic, costs
the German taxpayer dearly while, at once, condemning
to a proud European nation to permanent indignity. What
is even worse: In this manner, before long the Germans
turn against the Greeks, the Greeks against the Germans
and, unsurprisingly, the European Ideal suffers catastrophic
losses.
Germany, and in particular the hard-working German
workers, have nothing to fear from a SYRIZA victory.
The opposite holds. Our task is not to confront our partners.
It is not to secure larger loans or, equivalently, the right to
higher deficits. Our target is, rather, the country's stabilization,
balanced budgets and, of course, the end of the grand squeeze
of the weaker Greek taxpayers in the context of a loan agreement that is simply unenforceable.
We are committed to end 'extend and pretend' logic
not against German citizens but with a view to the
mutual advantages for all Europeans.
Dear readers, I understand that, behind your
'demand' that our government fulfills all of its
'contractual obligations' hides the fear that, if
you let us Greeks some breathing space, we
shall return to our bad, old ways. I acknowledge this
anxiety. However, let me say that it was not SYRIZA
that incubated the cleptocracy which today pretends
to strive for 'reforms', as long as these 'reforms' do
not affect their ill-gotten privileges. We are ready and
willing to introduce major reforms for which we are now
seeking a mandate to implement from the Greek electorate,
naturally in collaboration with our European partners.
Our task is to bring about a European New Deal within
which our people can breathe, create and live in dignity.
A great opportunity for Europe is about to be born in Greece.
An opportunity Europe can ill afford to miss.
_______________________________________
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-29/alexis-tsipras-open-letter-germany-what-you-were-never-told-about-greece
2015 Year of Truth – JJK:
http://lichtweltverlag.blogspot.co.at/2015/01/2015-year-of-truth-jjk.html
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