Greece’s financial problems evidently were weighing on investors’ fevered brains on Friday. Grexit hysteria, which resurfaces every couple of months like a stubborn rash, was thought by some to have triggered a global selloff in stocks that saw the Dow Industrials fall by 1.54% and Germany’s DAX plunge even harder, suffering a 2.58% decline. Don’t they ever learn? First of all, no matter what you read, Greece will not be leaving the EU any time soon. That’s because the consequences are not only unpredictable, but potentially catastrophic. Despite attempts by the spinmeisters and their news media lackeys to convince us that the impact of cutting Greece loose from the eurozone would have but a minor impact on Europe’s economy, we know better. We’ve already seen how the bookkeeping problems of an obscure bank in Cyprus nearly toppled the global financial system. It’s a house of cards, as the banksters well understand, and that’s why the EU is unlikely to kiss off Greece, its puny economy and rinky-dink banks.

Shortening Athens’ Leash

Also, no matter how deeply Greek’s socialist government and the rabble that voted it into power dig in their heels to resist “austerity,” Greeks would starve if they had to pay in drachmas for what they consume. That is why they will do whatever it takes to keep on borrowing. And while we’re on the subject of austerity, let’s be clear about one thing: It was not imposed on Greece by creditor nations, but by the fact that Greece is broke and no one wants to lend them more money. They will, though, and soon, since letting Greece fend for itself would be too dangerous an experiment for an enterprise as shaky and irresolute as the European Union. More likely, we shall soon be reading about how EU banks, while continuing to lend to Greece, have put Athens on a very short leash, tightening controls on the movement of capital out of the country. In the meantime, investors can rest assured: the banksters will continue to lend, and the silly game will go on.