38 questions to the Greek EuroLovers from Pr. Katsanevas

Translated and posted by Peter Charitopoulos, 

Sept,2, 2015

Theodore Katsanevas is a Professor of labor economics in the University of Piraeus. He received his degree from the same University. Later he obtained an MA from the University of Warwick, and a Ph.D. from London School of Economics. He was also a member of the Greek Parliament from 1989 to 2004. In 2013, he founded the political party “Drachma Greek Democratic Movement 5 Stars” which supports the exit from the eurozone and the return back to the national currency.

Professor Katsanevas in his personal blog has contacted 38 questions for the supporters of the euro and the eurozone. For the past 5 years in any discussion about this matter, we were seeing the supporters of euro raising many questions about the return to the national currency. How we will pay wages and pensions, how we will import all the necessary raw materials or energy like gas and oil. There were many answers for these questions. All of them are under the judgment of the Greek people; however we never heard answers from the supporters of the euro, for the future of our country inside the eurozone.

The next 38 questions from Professor Katsanevas is a wakeup call for all of those who believe that the country has any future inside the madness of the eurozone. Feel free post any comment to the below questions.

1. Why today we are living in a much worse condition than when we had the national currency?
2. Apart from wars did we ever experienced a tragedy like this one?
3. Why all the countries in the southern Europe are faltering?
4. Why does our national debt keep rising despite haircuts and endless austerity?
5. Was there any other case like Greece with such a deep recession for so long?
6. How can we explain the fact that the countries out of the eurozone have recovered from the economic crisis while countries inside the eurozone are still suffering?
7. Why, countries like Turkey, Ethiopia, or Ghana are in a much better condition than Greece?
8. Why we cannot write off some of our debt like we did for Germany back in 1953?
9. Why hasn’t Germany pay war reparations to Greece?
10. Why can’t we have a big haircut on our debt or a suspension of payments like other countries did in the past?
11. Why hedge funds can buy Greek debt for 10% or 15% of its value, while the Greek State and the European Central Bank cannot do that?
12. How can we explain the fact that the European Central Bank has profits from the Greek debt?
13. How a tough and expensive currency like the Euro can work for our economy?
14. Why China and other countries are keeping in low levels the parity of their currency?
15. Why countries like Japan are devaluating their currency?
16. Is it possible for Greece to repay the continuously rising debt?
17. Why the governmental and international predictions for the recovery of the Greek economy are always been disproved?
18. Is it possible for a country with endless austerity and a tough currency to get away from a recession?
19. Is it possible in the near future to see our GDP growing more than 3.5-4% in order to have more jobs?
20. Are there any countries with youth unemployment more than 60%?
21. Was there ever a period where tax offices were opening bank accounts or we were seeing people losing their houses or seeing pensions cut by 50%?
22. Why the euro is a taboo?
23. Was the eurozone responsible for the capital controls in Greece, driving the Greek economy in more recession?
24. Why were we able to have energy and medications with the national currency and we will not be able with the new national currency?
25. Why there is no problem having raw materials, for countries like Albania, Turkey or Ghana which they have national currency?
26. Why our productivity shrank after entering the eurozone?
27. Why a room in a hotel costs double than in countries like Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, countries which don’t have euro?
28. Why some of the richest countries in Europe like Sweden, Denmark, and U.K. don’t want to join the eurozone?
29. Why most famous economists are supporters of Greece exiting the eurozone?
30. Since we depended on euro loans, are we ever going to get rid of the memorandums and the extreme economic politic of Berlin?
31. If the return to the national currency is a disaster, then how we should call today’s situation?
32. Is today’s Europe, with poverty, unemployment, misery, the Europe that the founders have dreamed about?
33. How and why the famous “No” of the people turned to a “Yes” in a subjection to the eurozone?
34. How is it possible for a Left government to implement extreme neoliberal policies and surrender the country to the creditors?
35. How today’s government, some months ago was against any privatization and now they are signing the sell-off Greek infrastructures to the German State?
36. How can we explain the change of feelings of the big Media corporations towards today’s government?
37. Is there any chance to get any benefit from a negotiation if you don’t have alternative solutions?
38. Is there any dead-end in Democracy?

The above questions to the supporters of euro need to be answered. However, these questions are proving one thing. The conditions of the eurozone are not in favor of countries like Greece. Countries and economies like Greece need an alternative solution, a solution which can bring recovery and growth. For the past 5 years Greece is following the wrong road, Greece is following a program which has failed in a spectacular way. The Greek people need to come closer to reality and understand that there is another way. Maybe that time has come already.

Peter Charitopoulos