A lot of people here seem to have no clue about what's happening in Greece.....

[magical thyme]

56. pensions have already been cut by 44%.

You left out a few salient facts.

1. The Troika used ~90% of the loans to Greece to bail out *private banks*. The deal forced by the Troika essentially took *private* debt and turned it into *public* debt. Iow, the Greek people did not benefit from those loans.

2. In 2008, here in the US we also turned *private* bank losses into *public* debt. However, we accompanied our new crappy debt with stimulus to support the economy so we could pay off that crappy debt. We also instituted programs, like the income based student loan repayment program to enable student unable to find adequate work to live. The Troika, on the other hand, instead imposed *austerity* which crushed the Greek economy so it was unable to pay off the debt.

3. Greece has already met all of the Troika's demands. That is what crashed it's economy. It has slashed its public budget, has 25%+ unemployment, shrinking GDP (which ensures that no matter how much debt they are able to pay, it will continue to be too high relative to GDP, eg unpayable) and has cracked down on its 1% tax deadbeats.

Germany stands alone in insisting on doubling down on its failed austerity program. Back in 2010, the IMF wrote that austerity without restructuring would result in the current situation. That report was kept hidden until just the last couple weeks.

The IMF stands firm, and is joined by France, Italy and other EU countries in recognizing that the debt *must* be restructured.