Varoufakis does not mention fears re. migration from outside the EU. Yet, it is a big factor.

Varoufakis also conveniently forgets that there was supposed to be a 'Growth and Stability' pact which would create a minimum income floor and welfare safety net. Greece refused to embrace this minimum for its poor.

Let us now look at Varoufakis's 5 proposals-

1) Green investment- since the bureaucracies he mentions are bad at spotting viable investment opportunities, this is money down the drain- or rather an opportunity for corrupt rent-seeking. Tax payers won't stand for it. Financial markets will have no confidence in the supposed 'assets' created by it.

2) Employment guarantee scheme- either this is 'workfare'- i.e. a method of penalising the unemployed- and wasteful or it is just wasteful. If Governments had the ability to create jobs which pay for themselves- i.e. which are fiscally neutral- they can do it anyway. If not, how is the fiscal deficit supposed to be financed? Either the currency has to be debauched or the Govt. runs out of money and shuts the banks and cuts wages and benefits as happened in Greece.

3) Bulgaria is poorer than Greece. Will the Greek tax payer be happy to provide a minimum income to Bulgarians? What about Kosovans?

4) Some countries have more capital than others. Varoufakis thinks they will happily tax that capital and redistribute it on the basis of need. Why would they want to do that? Any why stop within the borders of Europe? Why not include the poor people of Bangladesh or Mozambique in this bounty?

5) Anti-eviction legislation- wonderful! Either the 'fair rent' is lower than what you pay or the measure is meaningless. But, if the 'fair rent' i smeaningful, why pay more? You can't be evicted. Let the landlord take a capitalized loss. Let Banks have yet more toxic assets which require a bailout and more austerity on the Greek example. Let the housing market freeze up and housing stock start to deteriorate. If Banks can't evict people, Gangsters can. Within ten years Athens will look like Aleppo.

Why?

Well, Varoufakis's grand scheme depends on debauching the currency. But who is to say that only his own bunch of nutters will do the debauching? Why shouldn't every bunch of nutters or sociopaths take a hand?

Seigniorage arises because the Lord can force you take his scrip. Gangsters gain more seigniorage than bien pensant dreamers.

Varoufakis's tax-based 'electronic public clearing system' suffers an obvious flaw- more especially in countries like Greece with corrupt and ineffective tax departments. In essence, it allows 'black money' to tax 'white money'- it transfers wealth from people who pay their taxes to those who don't. Vide http://socioproctology.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/varoufakis-as-mathematician.html



Varoufakis type silliness is not a solution to, it is a symptom of, European disintegration.