Greece 50% writedown (Oct. 2011)

[opebo]

I just looked it up - Greece's total public debt is only like 330 billion Euros!  What is that, like 400-450 billion dollars?

And they can't just print this rather petty amount?  They have to halve it?  What's wrong with these people?

[opebo]

But Germany needn't 'pay for' anything, Wonk - just agree to allow the ECB to eliminate the debt.  Being in the euro is hugely beneficial to the Germans by allowing them to play their destructive export-too-much-consume-too-little game with a lower currency value.

[opebo]

So  you are saying the BOJ has monetized nearly 90 trillion yen and Japan is still beset by deflation, with no inflation for decades and none likely to ever come, and you think if the ECB did the same there would be inflation in the Euro?

The fact is of course in the deflation-depression condition in which we all live, one can reflate through currency creation without any negative effects.

[opebo]

Japan has been in a 20 year secular deflation/decline because of its government becoming an increasingly bigger part of the economy.

What now?  The cure for inflation is making your government bigger?  You do spout some funny self-defeating stuff, Wong.

[opebo]

This is a very complicated answer, but lets start by seeing how much you know about fractional reserve banking, the money supply, and the velocity of money. That way hopefully we don't have to start this all the way back at the basics of what happens when a bank lends.

I can't believe I'm actually allowing opebo into a discussion. You better stay very far from crazy town in this discussion or I'm not ever going to let you into a discussion again. Your last 2 posts have been fine, they better stay that way.

Shut your quivering little pie-hole, upstart.

[opebo]

I actually kind of enjoy being a "villan", opebo

Sorry, who are you?  What do you mean?

[opebo]

Greece still has inflation at a steady 3% rate, and the current account has barely shrunk by one-tenth over the year. Given the surge in the unemployment rate to 18%, this is hard to accept. It seems they are getting all of the pain but none of the reward. Where is the internal devaluation? At this point, they may as well impose a mandated, across-the-board cut in ALL wages and prices by 15%. This is a balance of payments crisis and the government and IMF must target the balance of payments! That they have made so little progress on this after inflicting so much pain is a horror movie.

This is because competition doesn't work, Beet.