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[–] didntsayeeeee 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

If a country could just get away with saying "Nyer nyer, we're not paying off our debts" that would fuck the world up.

There needs to be a cost. Like, Greek sovereignty needs to be destroyed, the Greeks moved to Africa and the territory of Greece turned into a German holiday resort where every German gets to leave a towel permanently on a deckchair somewhere.

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[–] ShinyVoater ago 

Historically, sovereigns defaulted all the time(though more options were available to force them to pony up if they owed the wrong people). Debts aren't collected on pain of war anymore, but creditors have so many choices these days that a default generally means that you're not getting lent money until you've taken care of the people you owed.

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[–] yankee_rebel 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I sovereign can't ever really declare bankruptcy, they can default on payments which has a similar effect credit wise but the debts still exist and to re-enter foreign markets/obtain future credit they'll need to re-negotiate with other nations who hold the notes not to enforce them. If Greece tomorrow says were refusing to make payments on outstanding debts, Germany, France, Japan and all those that lent money can still nope you still owe us and refuse to lend/impose sanctions until they feel they've been satisfactory repaid and Greece can't do a thing about it other than continue to say were not paying it.

While default should generally be avoided history has shown it does provide wake-up calls to nations. Is default right for Greece only time will tell, but if they do go the route of default there is going to be a lot of economic hardship in the near future without any major source of exports.

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[–] Shammyhealz ago 

That's a dangerous line to walk, though. If they do declare bankruptcy, other nations will not want to loan them money afterwards, or if they do it will be at a high interest rate. And they will need money, because declaring bankruptcy still won't solve the financial issues that put them so far in debt in the first place.

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[–] pilgrimboy14 ago 

That's the way bankruptcy works. The current situation seems to be that the powers that be don't want to loan them money in a way that doesn't cripple them. So Greece has to choose being crippled or being crippled with overlords.

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[–] Shammyhealz ago 

The problem is that they're going to need money still. They haven't made the policy changes necessary to be fiscally solvent, and once they declare bankruptcy no one will loan them the money to tide them over until they make such policy changes. My takeaway from the articles is that the changes the creditors are asking for are going to be essentially necessary anyways.