[Ace123]

What would you do if you were leading the country:
1-Accept the EU bailout and impose tough austerity measures, the EU is the future
2- Abandon the Euro and Default but remain a part of the EU
3- Quit the Euro, Declare yourself bankrupt and leave the Eu altogether start again, screw the Eu dictatorship!

[That Bearded Man]

Resign

Although at this point dropping the euro and defaulting sounds the best idea

[CUFCDan]

They can't quit the Euro and remain part of the EU. New members must join the Euro if they join the EU, so I doubt the EU would let them do this.

I'd default and start again. Austerity won't work.

[Jeester]

Admit we failed and sell off our state and assets in land to the highest bidder (Germany).

[Classical Liberal]

Introduce a debt free national currency to operate along side the Euro. I cannot see doing this causing in particular harm in the short term, unlike every other option.

This currency should be good for the payment of taxes and debts. And public sector workers should be paid in the currency to get it to circulate. In addition welfare should be given to poor people in the form of this currency.

[TCD23]

Considering that there are mass riots on the streets, tell the EU to piss off, apologize to the Greek people for allowing the EU to get rid of a Democratically elected government and default and start working to rebuild the ruins of the society.

[Rakas21]

From the Greek position they should man up and commit to austerity and reform, make their citizens pay tax and stop striking.

From the German position they should either go the whole hog and create Eurobonds or kick Greece out.

[chrisawhitmore]

(Original post by Classical Liberal)
Introduce a debt free national currency to operate along side the Euro. I cannot see doing this causing in particular harm in the short term, unlike every other option.

This currency should be good for the payment of taxes and debts. And public sector workers should be paid in the currency to get it to circulate. In addition welfare should be given to poor people in the form of this currency.

The problem with this is pretty much the same one that the Confederate Dollar had in the CSA in the American civil war. Knowing that the Drachma is not likely to hold its value, the vast majority of businesses will demand payment in euros only, making the new Drachma worthless, so all you'd achieve is impoverishing all your public sector workers by paying them in worthless money.

[philistine]

I'd do neither of those. Instead:

Abortions for some; miniature Greek flags for others.

[Classical Liberal]

(Original post by chrisawhitmore)
The problem with this is pretty much the same one that the Confederate Dollar had in the CSA in the American civil war. Knowing that the Drachma is not likely to hold its value, the vast majority of businesses will demand payment in euros only, making the new Drachma worthless, so all you'd achieve is impoverishing all your public sector workers by paying them in worthless money.

That is just an argument to not print too much money. Obviously I do not trust the Greek government to actually be wise with a money supply but it is worth a try given the other options. Also if the currency does fail, then people can just go back to the Euro if they please, as it will still be legal tender. So wild inflation of the Drachma would not cause inflation generally because people would substitute to the Euro.

[floridadad55]

What the Greek's call austerity, most of the rest of the world calls living within your means.

You can't pay your gov't workers large salaries and pensions, if you don't have a prosperous economy to sustain them.

Under Merkel, Germany has been making the tough decisions for a long time now, and living within their means, and Germany has prospered as a result, while most of the rest of Europe has refused to impose austerity. The UK should be commended for imposing some "austerity".

The truth though, is that whatever austerity has been imposed has been much LESS than is truly needed.

Sarzoky's austerity program was very mild and watered down, and even that, the people of France considered too painful.

A country might decide to reject austerity, but if they do, they will be punished in the marketplace, with capital flowing to those countries that get their house in order.

As an American, I can tell you that America's turn is soon coming. We have been racking up massive deficits, first under Bush, and now, three times worse
under Obama. These massive government expenditures have produced very little of value. Much of the money has been wasted or stolen, or used to prevent the layoffs of government workers, many of whom never should have been hired to begin with.

If the economy doesn't improve overnight after imposing austerity, that doesn't mean that austerity is not "working". This will be a long term process, like someone is is way overweight going on a diet, losing a pound a week. Results might not become apparent for a while.

[prog2djent]

Does austerity work?

Depends on the social attitudes of the population, from one extreme we have Germany and the Swiss, the middle ground held by the UK and Scandinavia, and the other extreme being Southern europe.

[Classical Liberal]

(Original post by philistine)
I'd do neither of those. Instead:

Abortions for some; miniature Greek flags for others.

You and I watch too much Simpsons.

[justmyopinions]

just leave altogether. If Greece had left 6 months ago they would be on the road to recovery. Plus, it's what the majority of the Greek people want. Their country, do what they want.

[justmyopinions]

(Original post by CUFCDan)
They can't quit the Euro and remain part of the EU. New members must join the Euro if they join the EU, so I doubt the EU would let them do this.

I'd default and start again. Austerity won't work.

Britain, Denmark?

[OMGWTFBBQ]

(Original post by justmyopinions)
Britain, Denmark?

We negotiated an opt out. The Greeks didn't.

[facdroit]

Sell half of Greece to the Qataris.

[Brandmon]

(Original post by OMGWTFBBQ)
We negotiated an opt out. The Greeks didn't.

Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Romania, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria?

EU =/= Eurozone

Best course of action that I see is to negotiate a gradual process to get back to the Drachma (to stay in the EU rather than get spontaneously kicked out and sold on Ebay), initiate a balance between austerity and modernisation of the economy (since just leaving the Euro doesn't alleviate Greece's debt) and initiate a tribunal investigating the economic conduct of the past Greek politicians that got Greece in this mess in the first place in order to deter any future cock-ups (Especially the 2004-2009 Karamanlis cabinet, which the Greek people would like to see their heads on a pike by now)

[philistine]

(Original post by Classical Liberal)
You and I watch too much Simpsons.

Nothing exceeds like excess.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

(Original post by Brandmon)
Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Romania, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria?

EU =/= Eurozone

How tedious. Do some research please.
All new EU member states must join the Eurozone.

It is only because we opted out that we do not have to.

Those countries listed which are currently in the EU but not the Eurozone have a commitment to join the Euro within a reasonable amount of time.

If Greece pulls out of the Euro, but remains within the EU it will undermine this principle and confidence in the Euro.