February 18, 2015

The only deal good for both Greece and the Eurozone is not even on the table.

Sir, you write about the need “to reduce the stranglehold of a clientelist bureaucracy over the Greek economy” and hold that “Greece and the Eurozone can still reach a deal” February 18.

Unfortunately, I can’t see on the table, the only deal that could work out great for both Greece and the Eurozone. That would be the following:

Eurozone: We admit our responsibility for imposing bank regulations that allowed banks to hold much less equity against lending to sovereigns and against member of the AAArisktocracy than against lending to SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Greece: And we the Greek government admit to our responsibility in having admitted such nonsense.

Both: That of course could never ever have allowed Greece to catch up with their other Eurozone brethren.

And therefore, we the Eurozone, and we Greece, have entered into the following agreement:

For the next five years, we will all allow our banks to lend, to SME’s and to entrepreneurs in Greece, against the same equity we require our banks to hold against when lending to us sovereigns or to any members of our AAArisktocracy.

Of course, any member of the Eurozone is free to allow that to be applicable to its own SME’s and entrepreneurs.

Of course if that after five years seems works out well, we leave it be, and promise never ever to allow regulators to come up with such foolishness again.