Does The IMF Actually Want To Cause A Greek Debt Default?By Michael Snyder What is going on in Europe is a perfect example of this. If everyone was negotiating honestly, I believe that a Greek debt deal would have been reached by now. As this endless crisis has stretched on month after month, it has become increasingly apparent that more is going on here than meets the eye. In particular, the IMF has been standing in the way of a deal time after time. So what do IMF officials want? Are they looking for the unconditional surrender of this new Greek government in order to send a message to other governments that would potentially defy them? Or could it be possible that the IMF actually wants a Greek debt default for some other insidious reason? When the latest Greek proposal was embraced with enthusiasm by EU officials, many hoped that this meant that the crisis would soon be resolved. But it turns out that there is still one very important player that is not happy, and that is the IMF. The following comes fromthe Wall Street Journal Greeces plan calls for reducing the deficits in its pension system and government budget by relying heavily on raising taxes and social-security contributions, whereas the IMF wanted bigger spending cuts. The Washington-based IMF has said Greeces economy is already too heavily taxed and that too many additional tax increases would hurt economic growth, making it harder to pay down Greeces debt. It is still short of everything that should be expected, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Monday, suggesting Greece will have to modify its proposals significantly to win the IMFs backing. So what would make the IMF happy? Would anything short of total capitulation by the Greek government suffice? Meanwhile, members of Syriza are expressing a high level of frustration with the compromises that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has already agreed to. At this point, there is even doubt whether the current Greek proposal could get through the Greek parliament. The following comes fromBloomberg Some of Syrizas more radical and populist lawmakers expressed opposition Tuesday to the proposal as the deals backers called on members to see the bigger picture. Personally, I cannot support such an agreement that is contrary to our election promises, Dimitris Kodelas, a Syriza lawmaker associated with former Maoists, said in an interview. I do not care about the consequences of my decision. Despite all of the optimism that we have seen this week, the odds of a Greek debt deal getting pushed through are looking slimmer by the day. And even if a deal somehow miraculously happens, all it would really mean is that the can has been kicked down the roadfor a few more months The final tranche of cash from the existing bailout should be enough to meet repayments due to the IMF and European Central Bank through the end of August. But the Greek government will then have to find more than two billion euros for both institutions in September and October. If this week concludes with agreement between Greece and its creditors, it wont be long before the next chapter in this drama, said Angus Campbell, senior analyst at FxPro. And no matter what happens by the end of this month, it is a virtual certainty that the economic depression in Greece will just continue to deepen. At this point, normal economic activity in the nation has pretty much ground to a halt. Just consider the following excerptfrom a recent Zero Hedge article For Greek banks, mortgage loans left unserviced by strategic defaulters have become a particular headache, especially since the Syriza-led government says it is committed to protecting low-income homeowners from foreclosures on their properties. Theres a real issue of moral hazard...Around 70 percent of restructured mortgage loans arent being serviced because people think foreclosures will only be applied to big villa owners, one banker said. For a long time, I have been warning that the next major economic crisis would begin in Europe before spreading across the entire globe. Greece has a relatively small economy, but Italy, Spain and France are going down the exact same road that Greece has gone. And what IMF officials are doing right now is that they are setting a precedent for future debt negotiations that they know are almost certainly coming with other countries in the future. Sadly, most of my readers (being Americans) dont really grasp the importance of what is going on over in Europe. We are watching a horrific train wreck unfold in slow-motion, and what is going to happen over the next few weeks is going to have massive implications for the entire planet. This article first appeared here at the Economic Collapse Blog. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here. Heres the thing about asking the right question. It always contains the answer. The trick is knowing the right questions to ask. Few are able to do so. Its a gift really. I respect that. Take the path taken by Iceland. Sadly, most of my readers (being Americans) dont really grasp the importance of what is going on over in Europe. Please Michael, give *your* readers some credit. I would certainly agree that most Americans are clueless, but they arent the ones reading in the venues that publish Mr. Snyders articles. We may be few, but we are proud to be well informed in a world full of disinformation and fluff. For a long time, I have been warning that the next major economic crisis would begin in Europe before spreading across the entire globe. This is about the other counties in Europe deep in hock. If the EU and Greece wanted to do a sustainable deal it would have did years ago. Raising taxes in Greece is a non starter the Greek government cant collect the taxes its owed now, If I know that, if I know that the IMF knows that. 