> if you don't count the payments on all the loans.
That's the definition of primary surplus.
> but if I loan a million dollars, build some business that generates profits which are less than the payments on the loan, it's not a surplus
Greece does not get the loans now - that money is already gone. The key insight from the "primary surplus" is that a haircut would work, because Greece could be self-sufficient once the debt burden is gone.
It's semantics, at the end of the day Greece owes money, and you simply cherry-picked a term that doesn't contain that debt.
> The key insight from the "primary surplus" is that a haircut would work, because Greece could be self-sufficient once the debt burden is gone.
And so would my hypothetical business that can't even cover the monthly payments on the loan. If we magically erase the debt, just like that, I got a profitable business I can brag about.
> Greece does not get the loans now - that money is already gone
That's the definition of primary surplus.
> but if I loan a million dollars, build some business that generates profits which are less than the payments on the loan, it's not a surplus
Greece does not get the loans now - that money is already gone. The key insight from the "primary surplus" is that a haircut would work, because Greece could be self-sufficient once the debt burden is gone.