Should Germany pay Greece reparations for World War II?

[Lief 🗽]

Yes (normal).

[Antonio the Sixth]

No, they should just accept to write off a part of the Greek debt and implement Euro-bonds. No need to resurrect old disputes if they stop being pretentious pricks on current ones.

[Lief 🗽]

No, they should just accept to write off a part of the Greek debt and implement Euro-bonds. No need to resurrect old disputes if they stop being pretentious pricks on current ones.

Forgiving the Greek debt would be an acceptable "payment" of reparations, yes.

[DC Al Fine]

Yes, because the last time Germany had to pay reparations, it worked out well for everyone involved

[ingemann]

I voted no, but only because the option maybe didn't exist. Greece may have a realistic claim, the problem is that this claim come at this point in time. Greece have had two decades since the reunification (which they claim is then German should pay it debt). Greece have completely ignored it until it was discovered that they had delivered false budgets for years to EU. Suddenly Germany now owed Greece money.

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yes, because the last time Germany had to pay reparations, it worked out well for everyone involved

OK, then Greece knows what it has to do to get some respect from Europe: elect an insane, warmongering tyrant who will spread death and misery throughout the continent.

[Tender Branson]

Ehh, no.

Germany and Greece already settled that issue together in a contract in the 1950s.

[Antonio the Sixth]

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

Does not follow.

[ingemann]

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

Does not follow.

Well I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that your suggestion will result in German tax money being transfered to French bankers.

[Oakvale]

Of course not. Jesus. How the hell is "Yes" winning?

You know, now that I think about it, it's remarkable that I don't think I've ever seen a thread on this situation that hasn't been  poor innocent Greece  or alternatively weird glee at how Greece can best fuck up Europe as some kind of infantile revenge for the consequences of their own mistakes. Even the election threads were dominated by Trotskyite hysterics.

I look forward to Tsipras's next pathetic stunt, anyway. Does Greece have a nuclear power plant he can threaten to force into meltdown?

[Antonio the Sixth]

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

Does not follow.

Well I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that your suggestion will result in German tax money being transfered to French bankers.

I don't get it. Why should writing off the debt owed by Greece toward French banks be a good thing for said French banks and a bad thing for Germany?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Of course not. Jesus. How the hell is "Yes" winning?

You know, now that I think about it, it's remarkable that I don't think I've ever seen a thread on this situation that hasn't been  poor innocent Greece  or alternatively weird glee at how Greece can best fuck up Europe as some kind of infantile revenge for the consequences of their own mistakes. Even the election threads were dominated by Trotskyite hysterics.

I look forward to Tsipras's next pathetic stunt, anyway. Does Greece have a nuclear power plant he can threaten to force into meltdown?

Are you living in an alternate reality? This forum is full of insane austericrats.

[Velasco]

Yes, because the last time Germany had to pay reparations, it worked out well for everyone involved

Nowadays, the roles seem to be exchanged. Frau Merkel and Herr Schäuble are developing an increasing similarity with Monsieur Clemenceau.

[Tender Branson]

Are you living in an alternate reality? This forum is full of insane austericrats.

Well, I still have some hope left that you will once join the good side too, once you start earning your own money - instead of simply spending the money from your parents to finance your studies etc. ...

[ingemann]

As for Antonio's suggestion, as most Greek debt is in French banks, I'm sure it's not just pure opportunism.

Does not follow.

Well I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that your suggestion will result in German tax money being transfered to French bankers.

I don't get it. Why should writing off the debt owed by Greece toward French banks be a good thing for said French banks and a bad thing for Germany?

Because Germany don't owe most of the Greek debt, they're only the third largest Greek creditor (after France and UK). So what you really suggest is Germany taking over the Greek debt.

I don't serious think you knew this. But I think you should think about it, everytime a French media suggest that the Germans should cover the Greek debt. What they really say are; "save our banks".

BTW I found a nice BBC graph from 2012

[Velasco]

The exposure of German banks to the Greek debt has fallen dramatically since the beginning of the crisis, because more than 80% of the rescue package went to foreign banks. Also, German banks were the main beneficiaries of the Spanish bank bailout. Nowadays the Greek debt is owed mainly to 'official' creditors, that is to say, European taxpayers and IMF. Thanks to the backdoor rescue of the German banking system, Germany can play the Grexit card without fearing adverse consequences. 

[Antonio the Sixth]

Maybe I'm dumb but I still don't get the point Ingermann is trying to make. The fact that French banks own most of the Greek debt should make me support slashing off said debt? What sense does that make?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Are you living in an alternate reality? This forum is full of insane austericrats.

Well, I still have some hope left that you will once join the good side too, once you start earning your own money - instead of simply spending the money from your parents to finance your studies etc. ...

Spoken like a true US Republican. "Those damn lib'ruls only care about helping the poor because they're lazy moochers, but once they begin working their ass off they'll become good upstanding fiscal conservatives like us!"

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Austerity objectively doesn't work so I'm really not sure what to make of this tendency to act like it's the default position and any deviation from it is infantile histrionics.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Austerity objectively doesn't work so I'm really not sure what to make of this tendency to act like it's the default position and any deviation from it is infantile histrionics.

Indeed. I spent several threads trying to make this point, but I've mostly given up by now. I've come to realize the entire northern Europe is subject to an incessant media propaganda that systematically distorts facts to create an alternate reality where Greece could magically solve all of its problems and start off anew if it just wanted to, but instead for some reason prefers to continue mooching off the good harworking northern countries. This has become a mass indoctrination. You'd have better chances convincing a Scientology adept that he's being scammed.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Spending like there's no tomorrow objectively doesn't work either.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Are you living in an alternate reality? This forum is full of insane austericrats.

Well, I still have some hope left that you will once join the good side too, once you start earning your own money - instead of simply spending the money from your parents to finance your studies etc. ...

Spoken like a true US Republican. "Those damn lib'ruls only care about helping the poor because they're lazy moochers, but once they begin working their ass off they'll become good upstanding fiscal conservatives like us!"

     Well, working for one's own keep and facing the realities that come therewith does breed a healthy antipathy of the naively affluent creature known as the leftist.

[© tweed]

yes, but France paying Haiti is the most important.  re-instate Aristide and give him a $75b check.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Spending like there's no tomorrow objectively doesn't work either.

False dichotomy.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Spending like there's no tomorrow objectively doesn't work either.

False dichotomy.

Is there anything to suggest Greece would change course from what they've been doing if they were given money with no strings attached to cover their debts?