No Is Not the Answer.docVIP

No Is Not the Answer 　　In what some deemed like an indulgent― even petulant―move， the people of Greece voted a resounding “no” to their EU creditors’ demands on austerity in the bailout referendum， but their troubles will most definitely not end there. For the civilians of Greece， whether it owes to EU austerity policies or to the current capital control measure of the Greek authorities， their lives in recent years have gotten a lot harder. 　　The referendum has placed both Greece and European Union （EU） at an embarrassing crossroads. The future development of the Greek debt crisis concerns not only the well-being of the Greeks but also the process of EU integration and even the pockets of global investors. However， with both sides standing firm， the way out of the current crisis appears to be nowhere in sight. 　　 Stalemate 　　In the historic referendum， an overwhelming 61.3 percent of Greek voters cast their ballots against the EU-proposed debt deal which re- quired more austerity， while the rest voted in favor. 　　The outcome appears to have surpassed even the worst fears of leaders of the major EU creditors. Ahead of the voting， many parties in the international community urged Greece to make what they saw as the right choice. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany―Greece’s largest lender―displayed optimism toward the referendum. 　　Li Gang， a researcher fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences （CASS）， said the outcome of the Greek vote showed that emotion has defeated rationality. 　　In the face of the ever-worsening economic situation and a bleak overall outlook， the Greeks have laid the blame for their present situation at the foot of the EU austerity package. On the face of it， the austerity package has brought with it mostly negative economic and social consequences to Greece. The Greek people have been required to tighten their collective belt in the five years that have passed since the March 2010 outbreak of the debt crisis. Statistics from W