The Greek government has decided to hold a referendum on whether or not to agree to the austerity and neoliberal reforms demanded by the troika (the IMF, the ECB, and the EU). The Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, has implied that if Greeks vote for austerity, he might resign. I’ve written about the negotiations between Greece and the troika in the past. Since then, events have unfolded and it’s now time for Greece to make good on its threat and dump the Euro. Here’s why.
Tag: IMF
13 Terrible Tory Counterarguments
A few days ago, I wrote a post called Britain: For the Love of God, Please Stop David Cameron. I didn’t expect much out of it, because my usual audience is predominately American, and many Americans take little interest in the British elections. So I was pleasantly surprised when it went semi-viral in the UK, quickly becoming the most popular post I have written. Naturally, with a larger audience comes more critical (and sometimes just aggressively hostile) comments, and my usual policy of responding to every critical or interesting comment I receive is increasingly no longer practical. So instead, I’ve decided to write this all-purpose response to the most common bad critiques I’ve seen levied at my post. If you’re one of the wonderful people who read my post and deemed it worth sharing, I hope that this post will help you deal with any Tory supporters you may run across who may try to give you grief about it. So let’s get started.
Syriza vs. The Troika: What’s Going on in Greece
With the recent election of Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) in Greece, it’s time to revisit the Eurocrisis. I’ll be trying to answer several questions:
- What’s going on in Greece right now?
- What does Syriza want to do?
- What does the troika want Syriza to do?
- What happens if Syriza and the troika can’t agree?
Continue reading “Syriza vs. The Troika: What’s Going on in Greece”
How Spending Cuts Make Debt Problems Worse
The IMF has a new paper out that confirms what I have long suspected–when a state with a depressed economy reduces spending, the spending cuts lead to sufficient contraction to result in the cancellation of savings for the state. How does it work? Let’s explore.
Continue reading “How Spending Cuts Make Debt Problems Worse”
Contraction Reaction
The United States has just now posted the worst quarterly growth figures since 2009. The United Kingdom, the country in which I study, is also experiencing economic contraction again, in what may be the start of a triple dip recession in that country. What’s going on? Let’s have a look.
Benjamin Studebaker 