Lot's Wife Edition 5 2015

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12 POLITICS 500 Word Challenge BY JULIA PILLAI Why Greece were Wrong to Vote ‘No’ Regardless of which way Greece voted in the referendum, their economic situation is dire and will take years to recover. The referendum was really a vote between two unideal situations; to take a bailout and more austerity measures, or to refuse. If Greece voted Yes they would have known exactly what they were voting for. They would know what areas of their lives austerity would affect, they’d know how to prepare for that, they’d also know that there would be money in their ATMs. Accepting a bailout from the European Union and accepting austerity would show that Greece is committed to maintaining its ties with the rest of the continent; this would make other countries in the Eurozone sympathetic for Greece, and perhaps make them keen to assist Greece in economic recovery. Sure, a bailout and austerity measures are a huge blow to Greece’s pride, however, the No vote has plunged the country into extreme political and economic uncertainty that their government and people may not know how to deal with. It is very likely that Greece could be in a severe recession with intergenerational implications; it is certainly possible that Greece could leave the Eurozone. The economic crisis in Greece is indicative of an issue that could jeopardise the existence of the Eurozone, and the Yes vote would have been an opportunity for both Greece and the European union to make amends of a serious mistake. In the Eurozone we have a situation where there is a monetary union (the currency is the same) between countries without a fiscal union (taxation laws, government spending are very different). This situation is problematic as you have countries like Germany with ridiculous surpluses (meaning that they are not spending as much as they are earning), and there countries like Greece with similarly ridiculous deficits that are spending too much while the government is not earning enough; both situations hinder growth and investment. The fiscal policies of countries in the Eurozone need to become more standardised – not necessarily the same policies, but enough to ensure that countries have healthy deficits or surpluses. Greece’s taxation laws cannot fund their superfluous welfare system (for a long time Greece’s "They need austerity and extreme fiscal reforms to overhaul their economy entirely, and no, increased tourism through a weak drachma alone is not going to renew their economy." retirement age was 45, which is just as ridiculous as a retirement age of 70 for the opposite reason), less people are working, and those who do work only work for a small time; how does a country build an economy with this relationship with employment? Regardless of what currency Greece has, drachma or euro, they need austerity and extreme fiscal reforms to overhaul their economy entirely, and no, increased tourism through a weak drachma alone is not going to renew their economy. If the European union does not solve issues like Greece, it will continue to reoccur. The No vote stopped Greece and Europe from learning, and fixing a broader issue, and while a Yes vote would mean ordered austerity, the ‘No’ vote will bring austerity in the form of a recession. Image Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/photos/environmentblog/ www.flickr.com/photos/popicinio/with/18815885873/
POLITICS 13 This month’s issue: Greek Bailout Why Greece were Right to Vote ‘No’ KOPELIS BY GEORGE The Greek referendum on Sunday sent a clear message to European and international observers that Greece would no longer tolerate the austerity measures implemented over the last five years. 61% of Greeks voted ‘No’ to accepting the conditions of the latest bailout offer, which included further cuts to pensions, reduced spending on subsidies and defence, and other reforms. The ‘No’ vote justified the Greek government’s determined stance against austerity. SYRIZA and its leader Alexis Tsipras were elected in January <strong>2015</strong> based on their opposition to the proposed bailout measures. A ‘Yes’ vote would have made Tsipras’ position untenable as it would have indicated majority opposition to his government’s policies, leading to new elections and more political instability. Since the election, the ‘troika’ of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have restricted Greek banks’ access to credit as a response to the election of an antiausterity campaign. This essentially forced Tsipras to close all banks from the 29th of June until at least Wednesday the 8th of July to prevent a run on the banks. Greeks are limited to €60 withdrawals from cash machines as ATMs run dry across the country. The ‘No’ vote is not a rational economic decision, (it frustrated the troika greatly) but instead it’s a social decision motivated by the plight of the ordinary people. 25% of Greeks were unemployed in March and half of all young people don’t have work. The Greek people are right to consider that if five years of the rational economics of austerity have not delivered any visible relief for the population, then a different solution should be tried. The most important consequence of the ‘No’ vote is that it makes a Greek exit from the Eurozone a real possibility. When the banks run out of money, which is extremely likely if no deal can be reached in Brussels this week, the "There would definitely be a few months of high costs of living but free of the Euro, Greeks will have much more of a say in the affairs of their own country. That can only be a good thing. " Greek government will need to provide emergency funding. The problem is the government has no money! To solve this, the government could print its own currency. This would run against Euro treaties, basically pushing Greece out of the Eurozone. It would immediately lose most of its worth, leading to high inflation for a short time. This cheaper, more competitive new currency could quickly lead to higher exports - especially in tourism (which currently makes up about 20% of the economy). A resolution to the crisis would also bring an end to much of the instability on the global sharemarket in the last few weeks. There is little risk of Greece becoming the first of many countries to leave the Euro. Other struggling economies such as Italy and Spain are much larger countries with centralised economies and larger industrial bases. There would definitely be a few months of high costs of living but free of the Euro, Greeks will have much more of a say in the affairs of their own country. That can only be a good thing. Image Courtesy of : www.flickr.com/photos/124247024@N07/
Page 1 and 2: Lot’s Wife MoNASH UNIVERSITY SToo
Page 3 and 4: 15P-0650 Cover artwork by Julia Cha
Page 5 and 6: EDIToRIAL 3 Editorial London, Edinb
Page 7 and 8: OB REPORTS 5 Environment and Social
Page 9 and 10: 7 7 PoLITICS Politics 22 ILLUSTRATI
Page 11 and 12: POLITICS 9 "However, does the Labor
Page 13: POLITICS 11 Politics of Climate Cha
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Page 19 and 20: STUDENT AFFAIRS 17 "Bluestocking we
Page 21 and 22: STUDENT AFFAIRS 19 The Monash vs. M
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Page 31 and 32: SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 29 BY CAROLYN
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Page 41 and 42: ARTS & CULTURE 39 "Within our high-
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Page 47 and 48: ARTS & CULTURE 45 By CARINA FLOREA
Page 49 and 50: ARTS & CULTURE 47 Gig Guide Want to
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