“In the 1950s, Europe was founded on the forgiveness of past debts, notably Germany’s, which generated a massive contribution to post-war economic growth and peace. Today we need to restructure and reduce Greek debt, give the economy breathing room to recover, and allow Greece to pay off a reduced burden of debt over a long period of time. Now is the time for a humane rethink of the punitive and failed program of austerity of recent years and to agree to a major reduction of Greece’s debts in conjunction with much needed reforms in Greece.”
(Thomas Piketty, Jeffrey Sachs, Heiner Flassbeck, Dani Rodrik, Simon Wren-Lewis)

The Nation: Austerity Has Failed: An Open Letter From Thomas Piketty to Angela Merkel