Euro Zone May Collapse Within Days

New York University economist Nouriel Roubini says the euro zone’s days may be numbered, and he’s not talking about some day far off in the future.

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Demonstration in Marseille, France

“In a few days, there might not be a euro zone for us to discuss,” he said at a Los Angeles conference sponsored by the Milken Institute, Reuters reports.

European policy makers may have to fork over 600 billion euros ($794 billion) in aid or buy government bonds to erase the debt crisis, economists tell Bloomberg.

Roubini says Greece can’t come up with the 10 percent spending reduction necessary to prevent its debt from exploding out of control.

And even if it could, its economy would get ruined in the process, he maintains.

Roubini compares Greece to Argentina in 2001, shortly before it defaulted on its debt.

Greece’s budget deficit, at 13.6 percent of GDP, is much higher than Argentina’s back then. Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio and current account deficit also are much higher, Roubini points out.

The solution, Roubini says: a debt restructuring that reduces interest rates and extends maturities. In addition, Greece should exit the euro, he says.

Roubini’s not the only one calling for drastic measures.

“It may now be time for the euro area to do something much more dramatic in order to prevent the stress from creating another broad-based financial crisis which pushes the region back into recession.”David Mackie, chief European economist at JPMorgan, told Bloomberg.

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