Nah. Just annoying them.
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I think I remember reading a lot about how Greece had lied to get into the Eurozone to begin with or something like that? They hadnāt met the requirements.
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That rings a bell. Although I canāt remember how much of it had been a case of actual lying, and how much was known but the EU turned a blind eye to get Greece on board.
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I think a good deal of the latter. There was a push to keep the smaller nations on board so that the Eurozone wasnāt just regarded as a Franco-German project.
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Read a lot of books about Billy Goats when you were a kid didnāt you, youāre obsessed with them.
Not true. Taxing farm inheritance and public schools is essentially targeting the wealth that the super rich canāt offshore.
Probably could have done more, but sadly any attempts to just increase basic taxation for the super rich is only going to be futile.
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Yes, theyāre not all the same, but they could be a lot more different
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This was because banks like Morgan Stanley had fixed the numbers from memory to show they had a vibrant economy to meet EU economy standards for membershipā¦they didnāt and that is what basically collapsed their economy and cost other EU nations (mainly Germany and Britain)ā¦
And it wasnāt just Greece that Morgan Stanley apparently failed in how nations joined the EU.
That sounds like fraud to me. Was that actually the case?
Iāll need to look it up.
Apologies it was Goldman Sachs
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As said above, the leading EU nations understood this at the time (and Greece publicly admitted as such by around 2004), so it isnāt really what caused the collapse, nor UK/ German choice of rescue package.
There were certainly decisions made by the Greek government following entry which had a greater impact - borrowing for the 9 billion euros it spent on the 2004 Olympics for example.
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For something more reputable/reliable than Quora:
https://www.reuters.com/article/goldman-sachs-greece-derivatives-idUSLDE61L1KH20100222/
The key contention being not that fraud was committed, but Goldman Sachs among others sold Greece derivatives to enable them to reduce the nominal level of debt.
The specific instruments at contention in the article are currency swaps, which helped Greece to mitigate rises in foreign-denominated debt.
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Farm inheritance is a contentious subject, and VAT on public school fees is a drop in the ocean.
Highest rate of income tax could have been looked at and tapered upwards.
To my knowledge, the highest rate is 45% (47% in Scotland) on earnings above Ā£150k.
Another rate (or 2) could have been added on say earnings above Ā£250 you pay 50% and earnings above Ā£350k 55%.
But what do I know compared to the chancelor with so many years under her belt as an experienced economist?
For what itās worth by the way, if anyone criticises the bailouts on the grounds that it imposed punitive conditions on Greece, it should also be pointed out that the exact same economic principle for the conditions are those that austerity is based on, and also one of the fiscal rules Reeves tweaked in the recent budget.
What do you think of a wealth tax?
Yes, but Labour had ruled out raising income tax as part of the manifesto.
It also makes sense for the government to broaden the range of taxes it uses to raise revenue, or close loopholes.
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Iām assuming that she has consulted with the many economists that are employed by the government. The criticism that I have heard of the current government is that they are being led too closely by the treasury and lack political street-smarts.
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I remember they announced the setting up of an economic advisory council up announced led by John van Reenan and which featured economists from other organisations too (including one who used to be a violinist with Clean Bandit!).
There may also be other external economists featured on the mission boards they have set up.
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Definitely this.
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Fair comment.
We wouldnāt want them going back on previous promises would we?
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