For the architect of the euro, taking macroeconomics away from elected politicians and forcing deregulation were part of the plan The idea that the euro has "failed" is dangerously naive. The euro is doing exactly what its progenitor – and the wealthy 1%-ers who adopted it – predicted and planned for it to do. That progenitor is former University of Chicago economist Robert Mundell. The architect of "supply ...

“Austerity has failed because Greek society has been destroyed, the production base has been dissolved. Our country has been in a deep recession for five consecutive years. This has never happened in Europe in peacetime.” –Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece’s Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) Europe is a trainwreck. The signs of a credit crunch are popping up in countries on the periphery, a slow-motion ...

In the millions of words written about Europe’s debt crisis, Germany is typically cast as the responsible adult and Greece as the profligate child. Prudent Germany, the narrative goes, is loath to bail out freeloading Greece, which borrowed more than it could afford and now must suffer the consequences. Would it surprise you to know that Europe’s taxpayers have provided as much financial support to Germany ...

Privileged access to EU summits helped the banking lobby avoid paying for their own excesses At the Euro Summits in July and October 2011[1], crucial decisions “to save the Euro” and “to save Greece” were made. It was agreed to restructure Greek debts and banks were asked to accept a 'haircut' to their profits to avoid a Greek default and the risk that some banks might default as a result. In Summer 2011, t ...

Ian Traynor and Helena Smith in Athens The Guardian   MPs in Athens approve severe budget cuts imposed by the EU after rallies against the bill erupt in street violence. Greece enacted billions of euros in spending cuts and fresh austerity measures last night in a volatile parliamentary vote aimed at avoiding default on its national debt and keeping the eurozone intact, despite some of the worst riotin ...

Last week the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, a British think tank, released a startling chart comparing the current slump with past recessions and recoveries. It turns out that by one important measure — changes in real G.D.P. since the recession began — Britain is doing worse this time than it did during the Great Depression. Four years into the Depression, British G.D.P. had regained ...

By economistmeg.com At the top of my list of to do’s for the past few weeks has been to update the post on Greek PSI that I wrote just before Christmas to include some more recent developments, such as the prospect of ECB participation. Last night, Peter Spiegel from the Financial Times (@SpiegelPeter) published the German government’s proposal for Greece’s “improvement of compliance” with the terms of the ...

Headlines the world over ‘agonise’, on behalf of Greece and Europe, on whether the PSI+ negotiations will come to a conclusion. The presumption is that, if they succeed, Greece will be reprieved and Europe (with France and the EFSF having recently been downgraded) will buy some much needed extra time to put, at long last, its house in order. Nonsense, I say! This PSI+ is yet another assault on Reason. It co ...

Groningen 6 Oct. Yanis Varoufakis Co-speaker Michael Koetter Language English The Euro is in crisis. Europe’s politicians and central bankers are in confusion. And European electorates balk at more bailouts and more centralization. Is the Euro finished? Should the ‘PIIGS’ (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) never have joined the Eurozone? Will Greece go bankrupt? Who will follow? And do we need a U ...

A Greek default and exit must be taken in the people's interests – not entrusting the process to the EU, IMF and banks. Costas Lapavitsas for guardian.co.uk Greece is facing an economic and social disaster, the result of its so-called rescue by the "troika" of the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. Greece must change course to avoid a grim future for its people: it must defau ...