Irish pushback strategy - we get mail | 305 comments (305 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: I've read your entire contribution (4.00 / 3)

IM is representative of a widespread view in Ireland that it is not realistic for Ireland to default on ECB debt without putting our membership of the Euro and EU in doubt - and destroying our banks and attractiveness as a recipient of foreign direct investment into the bargain. In other words the decision to guarantee the banks was fatal and cannot now be undone now that most of the original bondholders have been repaid and that debt replaced with Sovereign debt.

People understand the situation in terms of their own experience and extrapolate that to high finance where different rules apply. The whole subprime scam was based on the realisation that most people want to repay their debts even at the cost of going hungry and the immorality of high finance and "debt restructuring" is outside their moral universe.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 06:20:01 PM EST
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Re: I've read your entire contribution (4.00 / 4)

it is not realistic for Ireland to default on ECB debt without putting our membership of the Euro and EU in doubt - and destroying our banks

What? People in Ireland still think they have banks left, let alone worth defending?

At least the current Irish Central Banker is not that insane: Sell Irish banks to foreign investors, says Honohan

Ireland's banks should be sold off to foreign owners to quicker clean up the debt crisis, the country's top banker declared today.
Patrick Honohan, governor of the Central Bank, also claimed a new government will be able to change the terms of the €85bn EU/IMF bailout.
The banking chief said getting overseas investors to take over the homegrown banks that survive the current economic mess was looking like the best option.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 06:34:54 PM EST
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Re: I've read your entire contribution (4.00 / 2)

Migeru:

What? People in Ireland still think they have banks left, let alone worth defending?

The ATM machines still work...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 08:03:32 PM EST
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Re: I've read your entire contribution (4.00 / 3)

But that's not what this is about. The payment clearing system will survive unscathed.

Somebody really has to explain to people (and politicians, and unfortunately even to central bankers) how a regulatory bank resolution works.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 5th, 2011 at 02:51:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I've read your entire contribution (4.00 / 5)

That is another central point. The Government literally said the ARMs would stop working if they didn't guarantee and then bail-out the banks. The whole scam was based on the notion that the banks were indivisible and absolutely essential to the continence of ordinary day to day and business life.

The metaphor of the ATMs not working was actually used to bring home to people the seriousness of the situation - unfortunately in an entirely misleading way.

So the key points are - debt restructuring is an entirely routine way of resolving structural imbalanced which have been allowed to build up between debtors and creditors - for which both are responsible, and yes, the ATMS (which is the sum total of many people's experience of banking - will continue to work before, during and after the process.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Sat Feb 5th, 2011 at 06:39:20 AM EST
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Re: I've read your entire contribution (4.00 / 5)

And it's moral to allow the fraudsters and parasites to walk away from the mess they helped create?

What about their moral responsibility for not doing their damn jobs?

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 06:37:38 PM EST
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Re: I've read your entire contribution (none / 1)

No. But it's the law as it stands...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 08:05:00 PM EST
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Re: I've read your entire contribution (none / 1)

And sometimes the law is an ass.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 11:28:42 PM EST
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Irish pushback strategy - we get mail | 305 comments (305 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)