How to Leave the Euro!!!!
By STERGIOS SKAPERDAS
HAVING been led down an ever-worsening spiral by the euro zone and its own government, Greece now faces two options, both of them painful: stay the course, or default and exit the monetary union.Each presents difficulties and uncertainties, but in the long run there is no question that default, and a return to the drachma, offer the better chance of economic growth and employment.
Staying the course — which, despite the impending change of government, is still Greece’s plan — means continuing austerity and unemployment for the foreseeable future. The young and skilled will go abroad, leaving behind an older, less productive and needier population to endure a crushing debt. In the meantime, all important economic decisions will be made in Paris, Berlin and Brussels.
Default at Greece’s initiative, by contrast, would allow Greece to influence its destiny. The process would be largely governed by Greek law, instead of its being a matter of private discussions between the German chancellor and the French president, and would thus lead to a more sustainable debt burden.
Because of problems with financing Greek banks and pension funds, default would be likely to mean leaving the euro. But that’s a good thing, as it would give Greece control of its own monetary policy. This is especially important now, with Greek credit and liquidity severely restricted, most critically in its vital small-business sector. Moreover, since the “new drachma,” as the post-euro currency might be called, would depreciate, both tourism and exports would rise, and imports decrease, all of which would make Greece more competitive.
So why have Greek leaders stuck with the euro at all? In part, it’s because the thought of defaulting and leaving the euro after nearly a decade is so intimidating. But while not without costs, it would in fact be relatively straightforward, especially if preparation is underway behind the scenes.
To minimize the number of days banks would need to be closed, the decision to move to the new drachma should be made on a Friday. Bank deposits and domestic debt would be immediately converted to new drachmas at the initial exchange rate. It would fall to the Greek courts to determine whether pre-2010 public debt would follow suit, but there is no reason to think they would treat it any differently from domestic debt.
Loans from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, though, would probably be kept in euros. That’s a problem, because once Greece leaves, the euro itself would substantially increase in value — and thus the loans’ price in drachmas would increase. But since incomes would also drop if the country stayed in the euro zone, the real, productive resources the country would need to service that debt wouldn’t be much different.
Apart from these steps, the transition would take time. It could take perhaps months to print enough new drachmas to support domestic transactions, and during that time euros would stay in circulation. Banks would also need time to adjust their accounting, computers and clearing routines. Still, a few distinctive details of the euro aside, managing the transition from one currency to another is well understood: the change of currencies that followed the breakup of Czechoslovakia, for example, took several weeks and by all accounts went well.
True, such a move would close off access to international bond markets, making bilateral borrowing from another country Greece’s only option abroad. But this is less a concern than some think, because Greece is soon expected to achieve a primary budget surplus (the government budget surplus, excluding interest on debt) which would make domestic borrowing sufficient.
Initially, foreign exchange would be scarce, making it harder to import essential goods. In the short term, then, Greece would need to limit the outflow of foreign capital, an aggressive but not uncommon practice. The private, euro-denominated external debt of banks and other companies would also need support through government guarantees.
Some of these steps may seem daunting, but they are not much different from what Greece faced before its adoption of the euro. In any case, the policies followed so far have demonstrably failed. Greece must contemplate, and then undertake, an exit from the euro zone. The sooner a transition occurs, the better for everyone.
Baltimore Greek Week 2012 Begins
The Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee is celebrating Greek cultural heritage and special cuisine with the 2nd Baltimore Greek Week commencing on Sunday, March 18, and culminating on March 25, with a parade in Greektown commemorating Greece’s National Independence Day (2pm to 4pm.).
This year’s Greek Week will pay tribute to the Mediterranean flavors and diet with many restaurants in the area having special prices on traditional Greek meals and sweets during the Week.
Other events organized for the week include
- the “Young Greek Artists, Art and Photography” exhibition to be hosted at the Baltimore Gallery, with a cocktail reception taking place on Monday, March 19, at 6pm.
- a lecture on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet at Captain James Landing on Thursday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. in order to discuss the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet and Greek wine.
- The free screening of Greek-American movies like Zorba the Greek, 300, Troy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Never on Sunday, hosted at Hazelwood Inn
For more events, please visit http://www.baltimoregreece.org/baltimore-greek-week2012a.shtml
The Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee was founded in 1982 to promote cultural and business exchanges between the port cities of Baltimore, USA and Piraeus, Greece. As the event organizer, The Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee is simply looking to promote awareness of the Greek-American committee. It hosts a number of Greek cultural and educational events throughout the Baltimore area, which have contributed to raising money for such causes as: Cooley’s Anemia research at Johns Hopkins, the restoration of The Liberty Ship S.S. John W. Brown, and the Ancient Collection of The Walters Art Museum.
Simple solution for Greece: Adopt the dollar !!!!!
LONDON (MarketWatch) — The story that Iceland might ditch the krona and adopt the Canadian dollar instead was one of the more intriguing news items of last week. But it didn’t seem to have much support. The sensible Canadians, who came through the credit crunch with hardly a scratch, quickly decided they didn’t want to take on responsibility for Iceland’s financial “innovators,” even if they might be more chastened these days than they were for most of the last decade.
True, no less a person than French President Nicolas Sarkozy has assured us that with the latest debt restructuring the crisis is over and we can all start worrying about something else. But of course it isn’t fixed at all. Greece is still in a deep economic hole. Its economy may shrink by another 6% this year. Youth unemployment is now above 50%. There is zero sign of stability let alone growth, which means the debt burden keeps rising. Elections are on the horizon, which could well see extremists come to power. If the new government starts to renegotiate the terms of the bailout package, as it might well, the whole thing could unravel and everyone would be back to square one.
American Hellenic Institute Honors Tom Chris Korologos of Utah and 4 others as Most Outstanding Diaspora Greeks
From the left: AHI Awards 2012 recipients Korologos, Elliott, Tsongas, Vahaviolos, Antholis
The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) celebrated its 37th Anniversary Hellenic Heritage Achievement And National Public Service Awards over a splendid dinner last Saturday at the Capital Hilton in Washington.
During the event five outstanding Greek-Americans were presented with the awards:
- Kary Antholis, the President of Home Box Office Miniseries, which is responsible for the development and production of entertaining TV series in the worldwide famous HBO channel
- E.J. “Mike” Eliiott, successful industrialist of Cretan descent and chairman of Gencor Industries Inc.
- Representative Niki Tsongas in the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts
- Sotirios J. Vahaviolos, PhD, founder, chairman and CEO of MISTRAS Group Inc., who is a well known supporter of environmental security measures applied to major industrial and public works and projects around the world.
- Tom C. Korologos, adviser of the DLA Piper law firm and former US Ambassador to Belgium
The program of the event was presented by the economic editor of the TC channel CBS, Alexis Christoforous, while the awards were presented to the honorees by the President of the American Hellenic Institute Foundation, Spiro Spireas, PhD, and the President and CEO of the American Hellenic Institute, Nick Larigakis, in the presence of the founder of the Institute, Eugene Rossides, and the prominent lawyer and high ranking member of the Board of Directors of the Institute, Nicholas G. Karambelas.
Other prominent figures attending the awards dinner included the Greek Ambassador to the USA, Vassilis Kaskarelis, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the USA, Paul Anastasiadis, the US coordinator and President of the Council of Hellenes Abroad, Theodoros Spyropoulos, the President of the Hellenic American National Council, Paul Kotrotsios.
Tom C. Korologos
 | |
| United States Ambassador to Belgium | |
| In office July 14, 2004 – 2007 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Stephen Brauer |
| Succeeded by | Sam Fox |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 6, 1933 Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Profession | Lobbyist |
Tom Chris Korologos, (born April 6, 1933 in Salt Lake City, Utah), is a past United States Ambassador to Belgium.
Early life, education, and early career
A second generation Greek American, Tom has family origins from Tyros, Arcadia, and Greece. His parents Chris T. Korologos and Irene M. Kolendrianos, are both immigrants from Arcadia, in the Peloponnese region. His father was a bartender in Utah.
Korologos started out as a journalist with The Salt Lake Tribune. Later he worked for the New York Herald Tribune, theLong Island Press, and the Associated Press. He was a U.S. Air Force officer from 1956 to 1957. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of Utah in 1956, and a M.S. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1958 where he received the Grantland Rice Fellowship and a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship.
Political career
From 1962 to 1971 he worked for U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett of Utah. He served in the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford presidential administrations from 1971 to 1975, and has worked closely with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He was co-founder of Timmons & Company, a Washington, DC consulting firm. He has been involved in more than 300 U.S. Senate confirmations including assisting Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Vice President Gerald Ford, Supreme Court Justices: William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, and nominee Robert Bork, as well as several cabinet secretaries, including: Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, and Donald Rumsfeld.
Korologos has had a wide and varied Washington, D.C. experience. He has served as a senior staff member in the U.S. Congress, as an assistant to two Presidents in the White House, was a prominent businessman, and most recently was a senior counselor with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad. In addition, he was a long-time member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and a charter member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that has jurisdiction over all non-military U.S. Government radio and TV broadcasting overseas. He currently is strategic advisor at DLA Piper in Washington, D.C.
Non-profit board memberships
- The Choral Arts Society of Washington
- Meridian International Center
- The National Security Agency advisory board
- The Aspen Institute/Rockefeller Foundation Commission on Reform of the Appointment Process
- Layalina Broadcasting
Personal life
Korologos was married to Joy G. Korologos, the couple had three children, Paula, Ann and Philip. Paula Lisbe, one of their daughters, is an actress. Joy died from melanoma in 1997. Tom re-married, to Ann McLaughlin Korologos, who was United States Secretary of Labor in the [[Ronald Reagan] administration who serves on the boards of several major companies. Tom is an avid, and professional photographer who is represented by the Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado.
See also
External links
«One million signatures for Europe»
PURPOSE
The collection of one (1) million signatures in electronic format. The signatures should cover as many regions of Europe as possible on the basis of geography and population. The text bearing the signatures will then be sent to the President of the European Commission.
THE MEANING OF SIGNATURES
Signing the petition will indicate OPPOSITION to poverty and to individual and national subjugation. European Solidarity: this is a huge duty and responsibility for all of us.
WE DEMAND:
The REMOVAL of the onerous Debt. When countries are in “a state of necessity’‘ (when they are experiencing the collapse of their health and education systems, as well as their wages and pensions), repayment of the burdensome debt must be put aside. The necessity for survival and human dignity must come before repayment of a debt.
NOTE: under Article 8 of the Treaty of Lisbon, about one (1) million signatures will be officially put into force on 1/4/2012. From that point onwards, European citizens will be able to make their requests for the passing of Laws in the European Union.
There is a NEED: by that date, SEISACHTHEIA must have collected the signatures of one (1) million European citizens in order to claim and establish the validity of the state of necessity. (When the people are suffering, the usurer cannot be paid).
ONE MILLION SIGNATURES FOR “A EUROPE OF SOLIDARITY”
To: Mr José Manuel Barroso,
President of the European Commission
1049 Brussels, Belgium.
Mr President,
I. It is hard to accept that Europe has established a usurious relationship with Greece (and other countries). The rate of interest of the loans which Troïka have lent to Greece is much more than those rates at which the State creditors borrow. (Germany borrows at a 0,25% rate of interest and afterwards lends to Greece at 5%.) The financial crisis in Greece has been taken advantage of by Member States, who gain inadmissible enrichment at Greece’s expense. And that meets with the total denial of communal solidarity. Such economic cannibalism against a Member State constitutes the highest risk for the values of Europe.
II. The solutions that are given are NOT viable for Greece – and moreover, not generally viable for the European financial structure as a whole. The loans to Greece, at a destructive rate of interest, create a higher debt; as well as the misconduct of every smooth public functioning of the institutions within the Eurozone. The situation REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ACTION.
III. We invite you, under Article 8 of the Lisbon Treaty, to introduce to the European Commission the following resolutions, for adoption:
Write off every part unilaterally: in particular, the part of the public debt, which falls under the category of the “odious debt”, such as the “Greek” debt. Most of the debt consists of the capitalization of the interest, which goes back many decades. The capital of the loans themselves has been paid. In other words, write off this COMPOUND INTEREST.
Establish the Principle of the “state of necessity ”. When the financial and the political existence of a State is in danger because of the serving of the abhorrent debt (galloping unemployment; the collapse of wages and pensions; the closure of hospitals and schools, as well as of social services; individual wretchedness; etc.) the refusal of its payment is necessary and justifiable.
Sign The Petition Here: www.1millionsignatures.eu