What are the advantages and disadvantages of a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote in a question that few people seem to fully understand.
YES
What Greece has to lose: Negatives of voting Yes
– You’ll be damned if you do as it will mean a return to the negotiating table with even harsher austerity measures than the ones already proposed.
– Debt will keep spiraling upwards (indefinitely), and will be offset with an endless spiral of constantly harsher austerity measures (indefinitely).
– The government will need to lower wages, slash pension, raise retirement age, impose education cuts, etc. as a humanitarian crisis continues to unfold.
– Likelihood of a new round of elections as the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government’s policies are proven futile, hence even more political turbulence and a worsening situation.
– Expect the brain drain that has already caused problems as a result of the memorandum to increase as wages get lower and young people seek a better future elsewhere.
What Greece has to gain: Positives of voting Yes
– Greeks will get bailout funds to pay interest rates on previous bailout funds and so forth.
– Greece will have good relations with its EU creditors by doing everything required to pay for interest rates on bailout funds.
– Hope that things will get better as Greece does what it is told.
NO
What Greece has to lose: Negatives of No
– An unprecedented no brings uncertainty as nobody knows the full repercussions that may ensue as Greece’s creditors lash out at Greece
– Risk of euro exit (though lawyers say that this is legally next to impossible)
– Supply shortages as imports may stop (eg. medicine, etc.)
– Increased likelihood of bankruptcy as the pressure on Greece is amped making life suddenly harder rather than slowly harder that crushing austerity gradually imposed by a Yes result would bring.
What Greece has to gain: Positives of No
– An end to an economic policy that has obviously failed. After all, austerity under recession makes no sense, just making the situation worse.
– Better negotiating power and pressure on the EU to accept a deal with easier payment terms.
– Greece as a country would preserve its sovereignty and its right to table its own reforms.
– Hope of more humane, worker-friendly policies and an egalitarian EU that recognizes the rights of less wealthy states.
Ask me anything
Explore related questions
