Goldman Sachs helped Greece hide debt and the debt almost doubled in the process

[think]

Facebook Post by economist Robert Reich:

People seem to forget that the Greek debt crisis -- which is becoming a European and even possibly a world economic crisis – grew out of a deal with Goldman Sachs, engineered by Goldman’s Lloyd Blankfein. Several years ago, Blankfein and his Goldman team helped Greece hide the true extent of its debt -- and in the process almost doubled it.

When the first debt deal was struck in 2001, Greece owed about 600 million euros ($793 million) more than the 2.8 billion euros it had borrowed. Goldman then cooked up an off-the-books derivative for Greece that disguised the shortfall but increased the government’s losses to 5.1 billion euros. In 2005, the deal was restructured and the 5.1 billion euro debt was locked in. After that, Goldman and the rest of Wall Street pulled the global economy to its knees – whacking Greece even harder.

Undoubtedly, Greece suffers from years of corruption and tax avoidance by its wealthy. But Goldman Sachs isn't exactly innocent. It padded its profits by catastrophically leveraging up the global economy with secret, off-balance-sheet debt deals. Did any of its executives ever go to jail? Of course not. They all got fat bonuses and promotions. Blankfein, now CEO, raked in $24 million in 2014 alone. Meanwhile, the people of Greece struggle to buy medicine and food.

Doesn't seem right, does it?

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich?fref=ts

[peacebird]

1. Goldman Sachs needs to be forced to relinquish the blood money it squeezed out in the process

The whole IMF is a vampire squid...... Take apart all of these too big to fail monsters and re-i pose Glass Steagal.

[magical thyme]

16. I read the other day at work (so can't remember the source, unfortunately) that GOldman Sachs

pushed a lot of this most recent mess because they want to force more QE from EU. Apparently with another QE, they'll make, or rather, steal another bundle.

[PoliticAverse]

2. They're not called a "vampire squid" for nothing... n/t

[think]

11. Indeed.... /nt

[KamaAina]

3. Has Hillary been reached for comment?

[think]

12. I look forward to the debates....

[sadoldgirl]

4. Robert Reich has a good point,

but what he leaves out is that the Greek government
agreed to this. For years the conservative Governments
knew that the country lived beyond its means and did
not do anything to change it.

The problem goes far beyond Greece, although that
country's disastrous situation now brings it to the
attention of everyone involved.

You cannot have a floating common currency between
sovereign countries unless you insist first on common
laws. Brussel wanted to look into the budgets of Greece,
and the Greeks claimed sovereignty. As far as I recall
other countries had made the same claim successfully.
Thus Brussel caved. The dream of a European Federation
sounded great, but cannot be achieved by the Euro.

[PSPS]

6. "The dream of a European Federation"

The dream of a European Federation sounded great, but cannot be achieved by the Euro.

That's the real nut of the problem. A common currency without a common political structure can't work.

[Recursion]

13. The assumption was people would see fiascos like this coming

and adopt the common fiscal and legal framework to avoid them. The euro was the carrot to bring on the more integrated EU.

The lesson: never underestimate the human ability to kick the can.

[think]

8. Yes, the problem is complex and the former Greek Government is certainly still to blame.

Last edited Wed Jul 8, 2015, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Still the MSM and even some here feel free to ignore the involvement of Goldman Sachs and the repercussions from their questionable actions which made the problems in Greece much worse.

When a major bank behaves in a manor that is ethically questionable their involvement should not be kept secret and protected from public knowledge.

JMO...

[Edited to state it was the former Greek government and it's members were at fault.}

[magical thyme]

15. the particular administration that did the deed, yes. Just like W will always be to blame

for the Iraq war, along with everybody in congress who voted for it.

But are the American people to blame for being duped by W? Or for being in the minority who *weren't* duped by W and did whatever we could to stop it...and were abused, called unpatriotic, and even threatened and jailed for protesting it?

We are responsible for it as a whole, though and have to pay for it.

Just like the Troika, who suspected Greece's books were cooked, but let them in the EU anyway, for personal gain. Such as Germany's bad weapons deal that they refuse to cancel. They, too, share responsibility.

And then after '08 when Greece couldn't keep up with the payments (like a *lot* of countries) and were advised by the IMF that their plan would not work and would lead to unpayable loans while destroying the economy but refused to restructure the loans anyway.

But instead the Troika made 90% of the loans to bailout *private* bank losses and made the loans to *private* banks Greece's *public* responsibility. And made them try to pay the unpayable out of pension money.

[think]

17. I'm sorry. I should have stated that the former members of the government were at fault as you say.

That was sloppy on my part.

[magical thyme]

19. too bad we can't all make our corrupt governments pay for their evil deeds.

Somehow they always seem to escape the carnage they foist upon the masses.

[roamer65]

20. Bingo.

The United States did not have a common currency until the Currency Act of 1857. Spanish colonial Reales and other regional currencies ciruculated until well after our political union was established.


Sorry folks, as much as you may hate him...Nigel Farage is dead on accurate when it comes to Greece and the Eurozone.

[Warpy]

5. And Goldman Sachs skimmed the difference and took it as profit.

This, alone, even without all the bribes to right wing leaders by military contractors, should enable Greece to invoke "odious debt" and give those old boys the "haircut" they deserve, a scalping.

If you think Greece is the only beneficiary of their kind attentions, think again.

[randome]

7. So if Goldman Sachs was the accomplice, that makes Greece...?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[think]

9. From the post:

Undoubtedly, Greece suffers from years of corruption and tax avoidance by its wealthy. But Goldman Sachs isn't exactly innocent

[GliderGuider]

10. I don't know about Greece the country (whatever that is), but the Greek people were the patsies.

The Greek government of the time was criminal.

[Octafish]

14. Never forget Government Sacks. Er, Goldmine Sacks. Er, what would Goldman think?

Vampire Squid squeezed democracy out of its homeland to turn a buck off austerity economic trickle down ripoff crapola.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Greek-Depression-the-by-William-K-Black--Austerity_Austerity_Austerity_Bailout-141231-49.html

Larry Summers: Goldman Sacked

By Greg Palast
Reader Supported News, September 16, 2013

Joseph Stiglitz couldn't believe his ears. Here they were in the White House, with President Bill Clinton asking the chiefs of the US Treasury for guidance on the life and death of America's economy, when the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers turns to his boss, Secretary Robert Rubin, and says, "What would Goldman think of that?"

Huh?

Then, at another meeting, Summers said it again: What would Goldman think?

A shocked Stiglitz, then Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, told me he'd turned to Summers, and asked if Summers thought it appropriate to decide US economic policy based on "what Goldman thought." As opposed to say, the facts, or say, the needs of the American public, you know, all that stuff that we heard in Cabinet meetings on The West Wing.

Summers looked at Stiglitz like Stiglitz was some kind of naive fool who'd read too many civics books.

CONTINUED...

http://www.gregpalast.com/larry-summers-goldman-sacked/

The Greeks never knew what hit 'em.

[think]

18. Never heard this. It's good Nobel Economist Stiglitz was present and shared the comments by Summers.

Amazing how brazen they were and still are....

[Octafish]

23. They know most people have insufficient information to connect the dots.

Here's President Obama and his then-new nominee Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker:



What's not mentioned could fill a book.

Not talked about at all in history class, from high school to most colleges.

Newspapers aren't cutting it anymore, either in content or readership.

Hate radio is too busy spewing to bother with the truth.

Tee Vee has no interest in telling the truth.

That leaves it up to Stiglitz, Palast and us, think.

[Hydra]

24. You do an awesome job keeping up with all of this and keeping us informed about it Octa :)

[Tatiana La Belle]

21. Never, never forget this

Also never forget how many of our politicians--and presidential candidates--have Goldman ties.

[grahamhgreen]

22. This is the core of the issue. Thanks!