Re: [OT] US to bail Greece?

I listened to the broadcast again. http://video.pbs.org/video/2036923517

The statement was that the U.S. funds the IMF by 17%. His accent was so

heavy I thought he said 70%. However, he went on to say that the new IMF

chief is going to have a difficult time getting more money from the U.S.

I read the charter for the IMF. It states that weak countries are bailed out

by a special fund supported by member countries.

Most resources for IMF loans are provided by member countries, primarily

through their payment of quotas. Since early 2009, the IMF has signed a

number of new bilateral loan and note purchase agreements to bolster its

capacity to support member countries during the global economic crisis.

Multilateral borrowing arrangements provide a further backstop to IMF

resources. Concessional lending and debt relief for low-income countries are

financed through separate contribution-based trust funds.

I strongly think that this special fund is what will be asked of the U.S. to

support by the new IMF chief, Christine Lagarde. Apparently this is the way

Germany and France will provide funds to Greece, not through the member

contributions by member countries to the IMF. If you roll in Spain, Italy,

Portugal, etc. who are asking for bailouts, the amounts that will be

required will be staggering. In the interview I mentioned above, Simon

Johnson says that these countries collectively are "too big to save". The

second problem is that European and especially French banks were allowed to

hold only 3% in reserve and many U.S. money market funds bought their loan

portfolios. This does not sound good to me.