Greece Embraces "Radical Leftist" Party

Tidewater said:

I believe the path of least resistance for the Greeks is to leave the Euro zone, bring back the drachma and inflate away their debt.

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Bodhisattva said:

That's what our government/Fed does: inflate away a lot of the debt. The public doesn't realize it's a hidden form of taxation.

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Displaced Bama Fan said:

Lets just abolish the federal reserve, and go back to the gold standard...oh wait, we don't have any gold to back that up either.

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The surprise IMF move came as the European Union told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to stop gambling with his cash-strapped country's future and take the crucial decisions needed to avert a devastating default.

A Greek source told Reuters that the entire Greek delegation that had been negotiating a cash-for-reform deal had also left for home on Thursday, citing continuing disagreements.

"There are major differences between us in most key areas," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in Washington. "There has been no progress in narrowing these differences recently and thus we are well away from an agreement."

Greece needs a deal to unlock aid before the end of the month when it is otherwise set to default on a 1.6 billion euro (1 billion pounds) repayment to the Washington-based IMF.

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Tidewater said:

In fairness, the Greek government that just got voted out of power was actually trying to reform their spending. That is why the Greek voters voted them out.
The Greek voters told their politicians, in effect, "No! I demand that you ruin the economy!"

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cbi1972 said:

Democracy is overrated.

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"If we arrive at a viable accord, even if it is a difficult compromise, we will take up the challenge because our only criteria is to get out of the crisis," Tsipras was quoted as telling Greek officials Friday in a government statement.

"The decisions and how we handle them belong to us completely, despite their difficulty," Tsipras said, in the clearest sign yet that major concessions by Athens may be on their way.

Whatever needs to be done "needs to be done quickly", deputy finance minister Dimitris Mardas told Skai TV in Athens, who predicted that there would be a deal.

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Asked if he thought the Europeans were bluffing, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said: "I hope they are."

"I don't believe that any sensible European bureaucrat or politician will go down that road (of a Greek default)," the outspoken Varoufakis added, speaking to BBC radio in London.

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Greece's ruling Syriza party may be in danger of splitting as left-wing radicals propose a default on the country's international debts and the nationalisation of its banks.

The Daily Telegraph reported that a confidential plan for an "Icelandic-style default" will be put forward in the next few days by members of Syriza's Aristeri Platforma (Left Platform) and has gained the support of at least 30 MPs, or one-fifth of Syriza's total parliamentarians.

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The new proposals, which reportedly would also be backed by the nationalist ANEL party which is in coalition with Syriza, would likely be accompanied by a return to the drachma and thus almost certainly necessitate an exit from the eurozone.

It would involve the creation of a sovereign central bank to prop up the new financial system. This would function as a so-called 'bad bank', into which Greece could shift its illiquid and high-risk securities to reduce uncertainty and get its financial system back on track.

It would also entail the imposition of capital controls - restrictions on the amount of money which can be withdrawn and transferred from banks. In Cyprus, where capital controls were implemented in 2013, cash withdrawals were limited to €300 per day.

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