WASHINGTON, D.C. Nov. 1 (DPI) — Readers of US news sites reacted fiercely to sudden plans by the Greek government to hold a public referendum on a Euro Zone proposal to restructure the country’s debt.
The plan to put the proposal to a public vote struck many readers as counterproductive to Greece, which is facing years of austerity ahead no matter what happens, whether there’s a default or restructuring of any kind.
The referendum was seen as a political move by the current government in Athens, reeling for months from the pressures to negotiate its nation’s huge debt load with European banks.
Fewer than a quarter of readers (15%-20%) saw the referendum in a positive light — those readers viewed citizens of Greece, birthplace of democracy, standing up to the French and German banks which for years over-lent to the country.
But more than half of all readers see a referendum as further proof that Western governments engage in a corrupt process of buying votes with entitlement promises, an unhealthy dynamic that almost by definition is unsustainable.
And readers too expressed fears that the US was headed in the same direction.
From WSJ.com: “When politicians secure their political party’s future by buying votes…this is the result. Greece has run out of other people’s money and now wants a referendum on the consequences. Their path is exactly the same the Democratic Party currently in power here in the US is taking us.
The 1st lesson taught in Economics 101 is “All debt is paid”, either by the lender or borrower. It’s is just a matter of who is going to pay for these borrowed votes…most likely it will be Europe and most likely it will cost the freedom of future generations…
“I would hope America chooses to get back on the path that made us great. Free Enterprise along with limited government yields more finacial freedom and more opportunity for all people.”
(Washington Post comment) “The people don’t always know what’s good for them” — Darth Vader, Star Wars
(WSJ.com Comments) “Another Greece fire in the Euro kitchen.”
NYTimes.com readers generated more thoughtful replies:
#36 “That the referendum will not work, simply points out why Democracy does not work, but Republics do: The public is not going to be responsible for the outcome of the vote, but they will vote against the Deal. The responsible representatives should shoulder the responsibility and make the best deal possible for the nation, not put it to a public “mob rule” vote. Too much ability of the public to vote themselves entitlements got them into this mess, it is hard to imagine how more of the same will get them out of it.
And many readers have a low view of Greece and its economy and business culture to begin with:
#37 “A Yes or No vote on a referendum is not going to make Greeks pay their taxes and more than they already don’t. Between corrupt governments over the decades and tax evasion, they are a long way from solving their problems whether they remain in the EU or drop out.”
#43 “The Germans and French should have never committed to bailing out the Greeks. The Greeks cannot live within their means and are incapable of paying their debts. They must be cut loose from the EU. Any bank that loaned them money deserves to lose that money!”
#9 “How possibly could a referendum question be framed considering the complexity of the issue at hand?
To reject their fate after decades of living in denial is the definition of a failed state. The EU would be left with little other choice but to kick the Greeks out of the union. And where would that leave the Greeks but isolated in the face of self-induced calamity?
This ain’t your Aristotle’s Greece, that’s for sure.”
#13 “Wow, I see the market has finally caught up to the idea that the bailout was a farce, never ever even remotely possible and fixed nothing. The Greek referendum, had anything been fixed, would not matter. The fact is, nothing was fixed, Europe’s economy is falling apart. Now the markets resume their fall, and we wait to see the next “ultimate fix-everything solution” from Merkozy (which will never work because you need something called credibility to create trust, and they have zero). The game is up folks, the markets are imploding again, and if you think Europe will be “contained”, then I have a mortgage-backed security I’d like to sell you.
They had a chance to try and fix things in 2008 – and they did nothing, now we are here again, falling into the abyss. This time, we are strapped with government debt from false-pretense wars, tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy, and bailing out all the bad debts of the banks. It’s the real deal this time, and there are precious few actions we can take to mitigate the problems Wall Street has caused (in Greece and everywhere else).”
#1 Greece has arrived at the point that all Social Democracies will come to. The entitled masses who live off the work of others and are forcibly subsidized by what has been extracted by mob rule coercion will topple. The United States is headed there too. ”