Yanis Varoufakis on why we should 'let the banks burn' | UpFront
Are we in the midst of a new banking crisis?
The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank in early March threatened to destabilise major banks in Switzerland and Germany, triggering fears of a wider downturn like the one that led to the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
While at this point the crisis seems to have been somewhat contained, is this a sign of a broader structural problem? And what lessons, if any, have been learned since the Great Recession?
In an UpFront Special, host Marc Lamont Hill speaks to world-renowned economist and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis about what can be done differently this time and why workers always seem to bear the brunt during times of economic downturn.
Subscribe to our channel bit.ly/AJSubscribe
Follow us on Twitter / ajenglish
Find us on Facebook / aljazeera
Check our website: www.aljazeera.com/
Check out our Instagram page: / aljazeeraenglish
@AljazeeraEnglish
#Aljazeeraenglish
#News
This man is a gift for the Greek people, yet on Sunday's elections people didn't even put him in the parliament. We deserve what is happening to us.
That is why they deserve their misery and hopefully more comes their way.
Absolutely fking not . Thank God we got ride of him .
@@Jovan_Jarkarane He was the only one who spoke out against the exploitation of the EU and the euro. He had the guts to say no to the EU but Tsipras betrayed him He is the only one that wants Greece out of the EU and the euro. For Greece to be free unlike the traitors and fake patriots New Democracy and their hypocritical supporters.
@@Jovan_Jarkarane why? whats wrong with varoufakis? id like to hear more.
@@GuitarTherapy144 Varoufakis is a narcissist, who almost got his country totally destroyed in 2015 by putting his personal beliefs and his personal vendetta with EU above his country. Thank God we got ride of him
Thank you Al Jazeera for having on people like Yanis!!
Yanis is an Economic Legend-🙌👍👊. I have been listening to his Economic research and analysis since the 2007/08 global financial crisis. He is legendary for dissecting the prognosis of economic and political issues like a piece of cake.🙌😎👍👊✊️
✌ 🌍 .
Thanks to Yanis for a rational, wise and sound analysis. We need more people like him in Europe. Also very glad to see he is doing much better after the nefarious attack he was subjected to.
We need people like Yanis in every country in the world.
@@sassa82 - Why not?
@@alexoperacz9913just need one but with real power, in the USA
@@anji_j He's a Greek nationalist who is more concerned about whitewashing Greece. Financially, his nation is the Pakistan of Europe. They do very little work, they have almost no modern skills. They grow olives and want to buy BMW's.
@@sassa82 What are you talking about Sassa!!!! Gianis was the first minister of Economics of Greece that didn't increase the country's dept (denied any loan to pay previous loans) and he resigned when his prime minister bend the knee and sold the whole country to the bankers.
Great show and respect to the Interviewer for asking the Q and letting the answere be heard in full without interruption
I love how Yanis breaks down and explain the most complex things.
Glad we have this brave Man Mr.Varoufakis.
Oh, so brave! He's a pro-austerity fraud.
What happened back in 2015 in greece is not even that far in history.
Yes he is!
@@averayugen7802 Yes he is what? A fraud. That he is, certainly.
@@averayugen7802 Did you read His Book " Adults in the Room "? Brilliant ! . A Must Read.
I hope Yanis is back to full health... He is a diamond; telling us what is really going on in the murky world of global capitalism. Thank you Al J for having him on. I listened to him months ago explaining how we were being fleeced by energy producers and suppliers. His insights and analyses are necessary and educational in order to see through the opaque systems of finance which govern our lives. He cares about the workers of the world. Thank you Yanis..
That man destroyed his country back in 2015.
Why you say that. He chose NOT to go with huge DEBT upon his people. Indebtedness.
@@marywest6844 the truth is that his opponents in Greece and EU that own all media, presented to the public a huge campaign of character assasination on him. The main narrative was that he destroyed Greece. Just like that. Without any further explanations. People believe what media says. So there's your answer. But Yanis is a diamond of a person. Humanity will be a better place because of his actions. In Greece we have soon elections and our party Mera25 seems to be doubling its force in the parliament. The future will be very interesting in Greece, Europe and the world. ☮️💛
@@marywest6844 lol, Greece is heavily indebted, and it is so especially because of politicians like him. I like his critique of capitalism, but as a politician and as a financier he is a clown.
@@marywest6844 With his policy I used to stand in front of ATMs for months in huge rows to take my daily 60 euro. Because he closed the banks. Also my best friend went bankrupt because his e shop could not make transactions with other countries. Follow Yannis, the success is guaranteed.
Brilliant mind! one of the key voices in this world to shine the light and make sense of the destruction of the middle class.
@@suezcontours6653 if you are so wise, why dont you give youre analysis.
He's a brilliant self-promoter. He's also a pro-austerity fraud.
@@The.world.has.gone.crazy... I recommend to read his Book " Adults in the Room " Brilliant ! 🌍
@@mariettestabel275 thank you, i will. Have a good day.
Just finished Yanis's book "Adults in the room". Highly recommended it, its such an eye opener on the corruption and anti-democratic practices within the EU.
Right ! I read that book too. Just Brilliant !
Varoufakis is a great economist. His explanations is cutting through the bs of corporate media. Also thank you to great host Lamont Hill.
Yanis, it's so good to hear an intelligent reasoned argument against the status quo constantly pumped out by the majority of the media. Please keep it up.
So refreshing to have a reporter ask a question that is not leading and listen to the answer
Love to hear Yanis talk. A man of the left so maybe I'm biased but his reasoned analysis serves to provide a genuine (not simply a bloated rhetorically device) alternative to our current financial system. Lets be clear his ideas are not perfect and there will be opportunity costs for sure. No system is perfect but at least he knows the details well enough to show what can be done to restructure the system away from bank and financial institution friendly interventions, towards an intermediation mechanism that directly fits with needs of the people and small/medium sized companies
Yeah let the government track your every move - what can go wrong. In democratic theory, what do you do with the government that get's corrupt? You vote in the opposition? Good luck getting an actual opposition in a world where the corrupt people can shut genuine opposition with one click of a button.
All the bankers know they will always get bailed out. Their bonuses are guaranteed!! They cant lose!! What a world we live in?
Yanis Varoufakis you are a gift to humanity! thank you
Exactly what we should have done in 2008-2009. Let the "too big to fail" banks fail. If you or I start a business and manage it horribly, we go bankrupt. The same should be true for all financial institutions otherwise we're kicking the moral hazard can down the road for an even bigger collapse. There shouldn't be bailouts for any businesses or institutions that choose greed over sound business practices. We're going to pay big time for the past decade and a half of bailouts and "quantitative easing".
Agree.. if they are too big to fail… then they are simply too big…
Your post describes why I loathe Obama. He is a traitor to his country
You might do everything right and go bankrupt, because the govt is saving giant banks with trillions.
Purposeful heist alarm bells. Open for business. Purposeful theft is all these crooks are in to.
The problem is, as Yanis said, that they hold us and our cash hostage.
Love to see Lamont Hill with his own show
It's so good to see Marc Lamont Hill.
I have to say I was very impressed by his tone, knowledge and openness!
helps that he is in agreement with Yanis on this but i agree hes got the best presence
A unique ability to know like an insider, but see like an outsider ...
Mr. Varoufakis is one of the few clear-headed and courageous people who can communicate that economics as it's been structured is a form of brain damage.
He's a pro-austerity fraud.
It's broken in a way that's still working phenomenally well for those in top.
@@philipm3173 That why Varoufakis brought Lazard to Greece? Why he imposed capital controls, forcing old pensioners to stand in queues (and often faint under the hot summer sun) to get their pension money from the ATM? Why he proposed 8 billion euros in austerity measures to the troika in April 2015 and signed off on the extension of the second memorandum in February 2015, both times as finance minister? That why he has funds stashed offshore in Oman (oh, man!)?
@@neoellinas man you are fooled. Search for truth. Improve your info sourcing system
@@konstantinospapadopoulos134 He is not fooled. You are the fool here. Everything he said happened. Sadly for most of you economics is a science you will never understand.
Refreshing view! Thank you Yanis!
Your savings are safe, but your freedom is gone.....
Hi Professor Hill, so glad to see you're doing well and working for Al Jazeera. Peace to you.
Prof. Yanis. A great contemporary thoughts 🙏
Thank you Yanis , Al Jazeera for this objective analysis.
Amazing interview 👌 I need to rewatch and take notes!
Inflation also finally materialized because from 2008 to 2020 with cheap money, corporations used the easy money to build upon their monopolies. They gave up margins and accepted losses in exchange for market share. They also used the cheap money to buy/control more components of the supply chain to have complete price control. Now that interest rates are increasing, they can exercise their monopoly and raise prices without any competition for consumers to turn to. This is happening in every industry, from retail to their stranglehold on pricing as suppliers have no other buyers to compete for their goods.
Excellent comment! The so called free market promoters are actually anticompetition by the very actions you describe.
Genuinely curious. What do you mean with cheap money? Money in a time when rent was low? So investing or focussing on growth makes more sense than expecting profit? When rent was low most tech companies focusses on agressive growth and capturing marketshare. Now that savings return rent, boardmembers starting to expect companies to be profitable. And thats the point where we see expensive money?
Great Interview! Thank you for this AlJazeera!
this was easily one of the most informative + inspiring things I've ever seen, I've just finished watching it for the 2nd time, and I'm really excited to now get the book, Yanis' references to the late 1700s are a terribly relevant example from recent-ish history, so powerful to think we may be on the brink of undoing the current cloud-shackles - I'm really grateful to be able to have access to the thoughts of incredible thinkers around history/economics/revolutionary ideas like this, it's really exciting to think we're potentially only one small revolution away from a far more equitable social situation, given how "globalised" the world asserts to being... it really sounds possible that enough people can agree around the world.. that we don't want to be cloud serfs, maybe more that we want to have a share of the profits being sourced from technological growth. no longer should the risks be socialised with profits privatised, the more people that learn this key human right the better I think. thank you yanis, pls i rly hope that people see the sense in this information..
That was a great piece and I learned a lot, about how the systems that are in place in our society are designed to behave chaotic, especially on demand.
Meanwhile in Greece, pension age has been raised to 67 years with almost no backlash at all (I.e. practically nobody is going to get any pension). It’s shameful how the media has put my fellow countrymen to a collective sleep.
Nice to see someone else championing many of the issues that have been causing me mental health issues. I've been talking about them for a long time. Nice to see someone getting some traction on them. They mock me when I say them. Mentioning them is not the real issue. Sad he got attacked. I think they go after anyone who speaks about it. My life got very problematic. It's better now, though.
Aren’t we always in a banking crisis? The entire house of cards would come crashing down tomorrow w/o government’s guarantee of bail out.
Capitalism needs repeating crisis, Marx pointed that out 100 years ago
@@ThomasVWorm its the same thing. Its build to entertain crisis!
Iif this was true living standards wouldn’t have been falling steadily since the 90s. Comparatively, China has the opposite effect, and its just as technologically advanced than the west these days, if not more so.
Produces* not needs. @@damalailhama
Thank you Yanis for the courage to speak out and expose the the nexus of the banks and the governments. Like George Carlin said, 'It's a big club and you ain't in it!'
Will repeat this a few times to memorise his mind blowing breakdown of what is happening.
Mr. Varoufakis always points out the truth. Thank you!
Sensible suggestion. Provision of state backed payment system. A parallel system to remove the monopoly of banks in payments. UPI in combination with eRupee CBDC is a model in place in India. Exactly on the lines of Yanis's suggestion.
Apart from the content of this interview, baby, that studio center-piece table is AMAZING!
Pure genius insight
I totally Agree Yani even from our New Zealand’s banks! As I heard from a reliable Source that bank managers were putting Pressure on their staff to push for more loans from clients etc…🧐 It’s Greed to feed the so called Coperate World banks ever increasing Debt and this in the not to far away future will crash along with Energy Blindness as researched in graphs by Art Berman and Nate Hagens Gitta The Master Series is also a very Awakening Facts 💦🐬🕊🌏🧐
In Brazil friend of mine worked in a bank who used to push re-financing older debts of old people into abusive deals with criminal rates
Just spot on again, Yanis. You are a gem in these depressing times.
Thank you for this. Just great.
thanks Yanis, good to see you back
The host did great job preparing. just watching another interview with both of them
OH WOW!!!! SO HAPPY TO SEE MARC LAMONT HILL ON AL JAZEERA!!!! I haven't tuned in for a hot minute, what a surprise!
You have to listen Dimitris Kazakis from Greece!
Right, you should definitely invite Dimitris Kazakis on your show.
Thank you! Excelent.
Economic investigator Frank G Melbourne Australia is still watching this very informative content cheers Frank
This video should have millions of views ...
Great to see him healthy and alive…..bless you Yanis
Excellent Talk 💫
Glad to see these two interacting again.
That was great, Thank you all.
Yannis is a brilliant economist and a futurist who sees beyond the obvious ..
I think I’m going to be sick. He’s completely right. And there’s nothing we can do about it.
This gentleman is making a cogent argument. We need to hear more of it in the united states. I would like to hear more from him. I will be looking for his books. Thanks for a revealing look.
I recommend to read his Book "Adults in the Room " Eye opener. Greeks-the Light of the World. 💫
With changes in the economy leading to instability in the stock market, some individuals may face a decrease in their investments in an effort to benefit from the current market conditions, I am considering liquidating my $725k portfolio consisting of bonds and stocks. Someone else in the same situation? Please tell me in the comments!..
@@JeremyMeador I have been exploring the possibility of utilizing advisors to help navigate the stock market during these uncertain times. However, I am still evaluating their potential effectiveness in providing the support I need.
@@JeremyMeador I was considering changing my investment strategy and planning to sell certain positions. As my retirement is coming soon,I became increasingly stressed. After thoroughly researching Christy Vallen D'souza on internet, I concluded that I had made an informed decision. Thank you for this Pointer. She seems very proficient and flexible. I booked a call session with her too.
give your money to the poor,thank me later
Digital currency,can be shut off- would you want your money shut off,like a Canadian trucker ? Do what you want,but scream no to digital national money.whatever it takes !
Terrific and thought provoking discussion.
The US national debt is more than $31 trillion, with 38% of it held by foreign entities. The US also has $38 trillion in unfunded Medicare liabilities and $17 trillion in unfunded Social Security liabilities The US dollar is the dominant reserve currency, backed by its perceived strength, allowing the US to print unlimited dollars as long as the world maintains trust in it. The US dollar is the backbone of US power, and any actions that undermine confidence in the currency threaten to destabilize its position of dominance. Each unilateral sanction imposed by the US risk damaging the stability and credibility of the US dollar, leading to dire consequences for the nation's power and influence. The US is the only country actively undermining the strength of the US dollar. The freezing of Russia's $300 billion currency reserve by Western governments may lead countries to reconsider investing their funds in US Treasury bonds. A significant portion of US dollars is held outside the US, estimated at 60-70% of all US dollars in circulation, due to its status as the dominant reserve currency and wide use in international trade and finance. The one trillion dollar trade deficit of the US is a consequence of being the reserve currency, as a strong dollar makes it difficult for US businesses to export goods and services while simultaneously making it easier for other countries to sell to the US. Countries are shipping goods to the US in exchange for green pieces of paper. The US budget deficit is $1.38 trillion in 2022 which must be paid for by selling more Treasury bonds. The interest on this debt is greater than the military budget. To pay the interest on its debt, the government sells more Treasury bonds, leading to a cycle of increasing debt. The US printing of dollars has been exporting inflation in other countries for decades, but will eventually increase US inflation. Raising interest rates to fight inflation decreases consumer and business spending, increases the trade deficit, and higher interest payments on government debt. Other countries will respond to the US raising of interest rate by raising their interest rate, risking global recession. The Plaza Accord addressed this issue in the past, but it will be challenging to implement such measures now. A well-run country collects taxes to fund essential services and infrastructure. In the US political system, wealthy corporations and individuals can lobby for tax breaks. The shortfall in funding for the US government has reached $31 trillion. Instead of collecting taxes from wealthy corporations and individuals, the government pays interest to them. Banks hold Treasury bonds for their safety, liquidity, regulatory compliance, and potential profitability. When interest rates on Treasury bonds rise sharply, the decrease in bond values reduces liquidity and makes it harder for banks to raise cash quickly. This causes depositors to lose confidence, triggering a bank run. In response to the current bank run, the government is issuing Treasury bonds to raise funds to compensate depositors for any lost funds. There are $19 trillion in deposits in US banks. The estimated unrealized loss on these treasuries is $1.7 trillion. The total size of US banks' equity is $2.1 trillion. The new Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) help prevents discounted bondholders from taking losses when they have to sell them urgently. The BTFP accepts discounted bonds at face value to be used as pledges for loans to inject more money into the economy. More inflation. It's a Ponzi scheme.
not a Ponzi but....very very unfair for the rest of the world... everyone pays for the well being of americans.
Duh Why do you think they hate Islam so much which religiously calls for the gold currency system Turkey, Taliban and multiple Muslim nations have tried to bring back the gold standard but kept getting attacked by the West unsurprisingly
I appreciated your review and to an extent agreed with all points up until "Ponzi scheme"...omit that silly tag, as it undermines the rest.
@@netizencapet tbf it is an intriguing and largely accurate analysis. The only other way of describing this system than a Ponzi would be to describe it as a pyramid scheme or techno-financial feudalism. The system is corrupt at its core IMO and dont believe calling it out for what it is, a ponzi, in practical terms negates anything said prior.
Good break down. Thanks 👍
Amazing❤
I liked the ending of the conversation when the idea that RENT is counter capitalistic. This makes lots of sense for me how through the ages the legitimacy of one of the cores of feudalism, was assimilated deep into our current economic model.
A very good summary of the state of affairs in the world economy.
Wow. Extraordinary.
it doesn't make sense to save a bank or company that doesn't build equity during the good times so when a downturn arises it is not on the edge of bankruptcy. it's greed and ignorance
Yanis Varoufakis ❤✊
this guy is insanely good at explaining these things, 100% behind him!
Once a cancer has grown its too late to incise it. We should never had let the financial speculators grow this far out of proportion.
brilliant!
Personally I think it would've been better to reduce the retirement age from 62 to 60. The reason is because the majority of French citizens spend their money within the economy anyway. The money supply wouldn't change by that much and furthermore economists could also substantiate a minor tax increase on major corporations in order to make the economic system fairer for consumers and business.
These long segments are good. Don't get them on other channels usually
it's not wages that raise prices, it's greed! Companies make hundreds of thousands, millions, billions in profit and yet they raise prices, lay off and fire people!
Sometimes things have to be destroyed and burned down.. like, cancer cells. Systematically broken banks shouldn't be allowed to grow, and definitely shouldn't be saved.
Exactly.
Making perfect sense as usual
On that note, thank you KZhead algorithm for recommending this video.
Varoufakis is always great, also good job by the journalist, which is rare nowadays
An economist that you can understand.
Yes, at last!!
He is also a politician with a logos you can understand. Unfortunately propaganda in Greece makes Hitler's propaganda sound like a kids bed time story.
Smart and whit a lot common sense guy . Respect
Varoufakis is my hero!
I absolutely love this guy. Intelligent, honest, moral, ethical. All words one would not use to describe 99 percent of the world's politicians, industrialists and corporate leaders. Keep punching my friend.
💯
Thanks 😮
It stuns me enormously the way that I go from carrying on with a typical way of life to making over 63k each month I've gleaned some useful knowledge throughout recent years that there are a lot of plenty opportunities in the financial markets;all it takes is just to focus on the right thing. Credits to Gregory Thomas Patchak
The financial markets are full with opportunities, but I've learned a lot over the past few years to doubt that. The key is knowing where to focus. Well appreciated, Gregory Thomas Patchak.
Gregory Thomas Patchak is a very knowledgeable person. I've known him for years, and reading through his qualifications, educational background, and resume is always impressive.
How can I reach him?
Patfinance
Last 3 videos I watched have made me immensely knowledgeable on Dollar, wealth shift and this one. Kudus to French for at least standing up to criminal elites. Afterall their ancestors brought French revolution. We need a global 'French revolution' to cleanse the elites so that the whole world is safe again.
Love your work and insight Yanis. Thank you.
"Digital currency" no thanks, your time is up anyway.. bye bye centralised banking system bye bye petrodollar!!
Go Yanis!❤
Arundhati Roy the famed Indian novelist, author and progressive intellectual was once asked why she was so shrill in her opinions. She replied that when the situation was shrill the analysis, description and prescription had to be similarly shrill in order to address it. She was right. And so is Varoufakis.
You do not need to put in a central bank. You can handle savings like an an equity account. Your stocks in a stock account are not part of the balance sheet of the bank.
!al jazeera, nice vid! to sum it up, we havent learn anything! we just keep repeating history over and over again, which is why we are in another financial crisis, but this time china is not going to help us, cause of the way how we treats them!
The moderator must not interrupt the interview when a question is done, a full answer must be heard, otherwise the moderator must give the answer immediately and continue to the next question.
I agree
Yeah. He kept cutting Varoufakis short just as he was getting to the meat of his answer. Quite irritating.
@@jakobthelibrarycard6261 for me is not irritating, this is like e theater.
There is the matter of time. The moderator just had 25 mins. He could not let Yanis go on for ever. There were points he wanted to cover this meant cutting the speaker short to cover, or to cover each question briefly. If time was not of the essence, he could let Yanis talk for ever.
@@anji_j Let the moderator answer his questions, you may help on the answering. When Y. Varoufakis has not answered the first question, then the second.... there is no sense for an interview asking more questions.
Always an eye opener listening to this man!
Hearing Yanis say 'shenanigans' is worth it by itself :)
I love Yanis Varoufakis
What a gem of an interview there! I am excited about his book.
Have to disagree here with Yanis on relocating funds to a central bank because in agricultural countries , small state banks reach rural areas providing support to farmers where nobody can . Secondly on banks today committing 'no fraud' is a bit misleading since the massive investigation showed how Duestche Bank and others bank in US were heavily involved in money laundering .
I think a central bank could have branches in rural areas, but you're right leading up to 2008 a lot of what happened wasn't necessarily fraud and banks especially Deutsche have been doing illegal things since then.
mmm. I am always eager to hear him.
surprise surprise that Yanis is pushing CBDC's. I was literally shocked to hear that.
Yes, I was totally shocked too! I mean he is not in the von der Leyen camp, normally!
Σε αντίθεση με την Ελλάδα, εδώ Γιάννη οι δημοσιογράφοι δεν σε κοροϊδεύουν, ειρωνευονται ή κάνουν χαζές επίτηδες ερωτήσεις. Είναι ωραίο να μιλάς με κανονικούς δημοσιογράφους που είναι διατεθειμένος να ακούσουν, να ρωτήσουν και να μάθουν.
έλεγα να γράψω κάτι σχετικό αλλά βρήκα το δικό σας σχόλιο, δες τι γίνεται και που ζούμε καν, Βαρουφάκις στο εξοτερικό ΤΟΠ για ΤΟΠ και στην Προβατο-Ελλάδα δεν τον θέλουμε καν στη βουλή...ποιοι εμείς που πεινάμε πιο πολύ απ' όλους.....
Brilliant