Quote:
Originally Posted by AmeNoJaku
@Mentar: I'd rather not take this to a personal level, I understand that you have very strong feelings over the matter, and obviously as I probably see IMF+Merkel/Schäuble policies as destructive for the EU, not just the eurozone, you see hope in a another kind of Europe, that reminds to many outside Germany the mid-war period. But let me ask for hopefully more calm clarifications here:
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So please answer my question from before: How did the EU/IMF/Merkel/Schäuble "destroy" Cyprus? This is what makes me so angry, because it is _ridiculous_ and the root of all evil.
When Cypriot banks pay lavish interest rates for money deposits, then try extremely risky gambles like investment in Greek bonds to somehow earn enough, and then lose their bets, who "destroyed" them, hm?
If you have wealthy parents, live a luxurious lifestyle which you try to finance by maxing out the credit cards you got from them (when Cyprus entered the Eurozone), and then take huge amounts of cash from shady people (Russian offshore banking), start gambling in the casino (purchase of extremely risky Greek bonds), and finally end up being unable to pay the bills, who destroyed you? Your parents, because they force you to sell all your expensive cars, only take over half of your debts, and force you to adjust your lifestyle to poverty until you have to pay back the rest? Who is then to blame for that? Your parents?
If you then come out insulting them, calling them Nazis for daring to force you to quit your country club membership and instead force you to eat at a soup kitchen for a year, are your parents "destroying your life"? Are your parents then trying to "dominate you"?
Yes, the adjustments ARE painful, and yes, they WILL lead to an increase of unemployment or poverty, but WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE? Are you seriously thinking that perpetuating this casino banking by simply bailing them out (parents simply writing a cheque) would be a solution? What would you think of parents who actually did that?
The EU _did_ support Cyprus. They could have kicked them to the curb and forced them out of the Euro, by simply doing NOTHING and leaving them to their own devices. Amusingly, many low-information people actually think that this would be the better solution for Cyprus, and that the EU "forced" Cyprus to endure the humiliation. No, sir - it was Cyprus who was desperate to stay in the Eurozone in the end. Their bluff was called, and suddenly all those impossible conditions were no problem anymore.
What Europe needs right now is a dose of accountability and responsibility. And OF COURSE this doesn't come for cheap, no matter what the political rat catchers to the right (scrap the Euro!) and the left (print money and bail out everyone!) are saying. Any lasting solution MUST include exactly what Schäuble was writing: A return to responsible budgeting and adherence to the convergence criteria - or at least, a credible effort to get there. Once this is understood, and banks realize that they can destroy themselves if they don't conduct their business in a responsible way, things might actually get better again. Anything else is not credible in my view.