Uhm actually most shareholders aren't Banks anymore. Its the various EU states.
Debt is owed to banks and other EU governments, all of whom are partly responsible for the problems. If Greeks should pay the costs of their incompetent and corrupt politicians, then so can the rest of Europe.
Also don't get the logic 'Greeks are lazy and profligate. Hey, lets lend them lots of money that they can't pay back because we really, really have a nice dream about Europe as a shining beacon of hope around the world and a counterbalance to those nasty Americans'.
What if I told you that there is basically no housing or credit bubble in Germany? People are extremely wary about taking a credit and getting into debt.
Well and uhm yeah the Greek financial problems are a Greek fault, of course they should bear the brunt. Especially since they don't want to change at all.
Why has economic depression gone hand in hand with record highs on the stock market?
What has been causing high prices for commodities, including foodstuffs?
It is not about consumer credit in Germany, it is about Western economic policy and its effects on the global financial system which is becoming almost a giant ponzi scheme.
Yes of course, which is why most average people want Greece out of the Eurozone.
Also fun fact: Bailouts fixed the problems in other Eurozone members, its just the Greeks who are rather... special.
If 50% youth unemployment is 'fixed', is certainly a point for discussion. A short term crisis was averted, but this was really just a delay, and throughout that delay there is economic depression.
Iceland refusing to honour crippling debts fixed their problems a whole lot better though.
Anyway, wouldn't count my chickens about the worst of Europe's problems being over.
So that the average Greek isn't paying his taxes, has two jobs of which one is declared, takes benefits for deceased family members is perfectly okay. After all its the system which is at fault. Oh and don't worry there is more going wrong, just don't feel like writing it all down.
Perhaps everyone else is just not as clever as the Greeks are.
This was true when they joined the Euro too. They were allowed to join due to a combination of ideological utopianism and venal corruption. Germany was a leading driver of European integration and the Euro and was ideologically blinded to its foreseeable effects. Why should Germany not also pay for its stupidity?
Ideological venture, yeah Europeans tend to not shoot at each other anymore. What a horrible world I live in.
Unaccountable? No not really, its just a Representative Democracy. If you don't like what your head of government is doing in the EU you should vote for another one next time.
Ironically, the ideological drive behind the EU is what will probably destroy it. 'Ever closer union...' has caused a blindness to reality. The EU is a utopian political movement based on an unworkable dream, not one with a realistic goal of a Europe of independent states sharing interest in a loosely bound economic community. Unfortunately, reality always trumps ideology in the end.
And having elections does not an accountable system make. See TTIP for a clear example. The democratic deficit of the EU is almost undeniable.