Greece requests 3-year bailout, promises reforms

[PoliticAverse]

Source: MarketWatch

BRUSSELS -- Greece formally requested a three-year bailout from the eurozone's rescue fund Wednesday and pledged to start implementing some of the overhauls demanded by its creditors by early next week, according to a copy of the request seen by The Wall Street Journal.

Crucially for Greece's creditors, the letter says the government would start implementing some measures, including on taxation and pensions, by the beginning of next week, though it doesn't go into details.

The letter is a first step toward fulfilling a demand by international creditors, who have given Athens until Sunday to come up with tougher measures they would impose in return for desperately needed financing that could keep the country from bankruptcy and even worse economic turmoil.

...

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said earlier Wednesday that his government would present concrete and detailed overhaul measures in the coming days.

Read more: http://www.morningstar.com/news/market-watch/TDJNMW_20150708152/update-greece-requests-3year-bailout-promises-reforms.html

[geek tragedy]

1. but provided no details. nt

[PoliticAverse]

2. Well are they stalling for time until they get their printing presses working...

or are they throwing in the towel and doing whatever they have to to get money
and stay with the Euro?

[geek tragedy]

3. they're promising to throw in the towel, who knows if they will? nt

[cosmicone]

4. Greek reforms

1. Reduce salaries by 0.001%
2. Raise the retirement age from 52 to 52.5

[cstanleytech]

6. 3 years? I call BS because the IMF said they are going to need a hell of alot longer than 3 years

to get their shit in order.
Also whats with the taxation part? I thought they were supposed to fix their taxation issues long ago as part of the original bailout? Are they saying they didnt do it in the first place?

[Igel]

8. Perhaps.

But they were also talking short-term fix while they worked out a longer-term solution.

Yes, they were supposed to have done many things by now. Some they did--it was easy to reduce some spending and let the # of employees on the gov payroll decline, although it's hard to tell (for me at least) exactly which they did. I just keep hearing stories about people whose pensions were reduced, usually without any word as to how old they were, who paid their pension, or any other source of income they may have.

Many reforms and changes they did not implement, even though they promised over and over to do so. Fixing the tax evasion bit was one of them..

[Amishman]

14. I think they raised taxes but did nothing to stop their systematic tax evasion problem

Its even worse than the rich ducking taxes here, the actual rate doesn't matter if those who should owe find ways to avoid paying their share.

[fasttense]

7. Now if I were a rational person

I would want Greece to give me assurances that fraudulent loans could NOT be so easily obtained again and that the corrupt politicians and banksters who cooked the documents were being punished.

But of course the EU does NOT act like a rational person. They act more like sociopaths. They put Greece into a Great Depression by forcing austerity down their throats. They give them 50% more debt on top of the debt they already owe and they punish the Greek people for their imaginary lavish living. They refuse to give them the same type of debt relief most of them were handed after WWII and they cheer as more people suffer.

[Baclava]

9. So they caved for more austerity afterall - and another bailout - so much for that vote

“Greece officially submitted a request for a three-year loan facility from the European Stability Mechanism also promising to implement tax reform, and pension measures”

http://www.theguardian.com/business/blog/live/2015/jul/08/greece-battles-to-avoid-grexit-live

[PoliticAverse]

10. What an incredible betrayal to the people that would be if it happens. n/t

[Baclava]

11. oh, it's happening

Athens submits request for third bailout

The finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, marked his third day in office by requesting a three-year aid plan from Europe’s permanent bailout fund, the ESM.

He pledged that Athens would immediately begin implementing tax and pension reforms, starting next week, if Europe would provide funding needed to avert bankruptcy.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/08/greek-crisis-alexis-tsipras-confident-meeting-bailout-deadline

[Throd]

12. Cokehead promises to stop using cocaine if you give him some more money.

[cloudythescribbler]

13. what, other than money, is the "cocaine"?

Here we are talking about bad loans, misspent, LONG before Syriza came to power. Greece has undergone austerity, which has proven counterproductive and the lenders (who really insist on not bearing their share of the burden) insist on more austerity to follow the "rules".

To me, AUSTERITY itself is the class warfare from above drug here, and the troika and other neoliberals just can't abandon their austerity addiction

[LanternWaste]

15. Poster promises to refrain from using fallacious analogies if people will pay more attention to him.

Poster promises to refrain from using fallacious analogies if people will pay more attention to him.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other...

[PoliticAverse]

16. Copy of the Greek letter...

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/world/read-greeces-official-one-page-letter-asking-for-a-new-bailout-program/1637/

More recent article on the events: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141140249

[candelista]

17. The Greek government is working now to figure out a bottom line.

How much further are they willing to cut the budget? What is their initial offer and what is their absolute bottom line beyond which they will cut no further? Tsipras has to come out with something better than the proposal that the Greeks rejected in the referendum. I would not want his job.

[Taitertots]

18. One dollar in austerity cuts causes more than a dollar in economic contraction

The "reforms" will just push Greece further in debt.

[cstanleytech]

19. So you think that the EU will just give them even more money?

I have my doubts that the EU countries will be lining up around the block for a 2nd helping of a bag of shit to be served to them by Greece but hey its possible I suppose.