It's much too soon to gloat, but there are hopeful signs all across the horizon.
The intellectual back-stops of austerity have been revealed as frauds.
That will be good news for the many millions who are more than tired of the Merkel-induced and Reinhart and Rogoff inspired "austerity enema" from Greece to Spain to Cyprus to Italy and beyond.
Little people across the board are less inclined to give the free pass to the banksters who have weaseled multiple billions out of the public purse over the past few years.
Ultra-conservative Alberta has a major labour uprising on its hands.
And Jason Collins just made it OK to be gay.
The shape of a new world is coming into focus.
Showing posts with label Cyprus financial crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cyprus financial crisis. Show all posts
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sheldon Adelson to save Cyprus?
Anytime, anywhere that talk comes round to legalizing casino gambling, you can bet that Sheldon Adelson will be ready with a plan to save your stumbling economy.
After all, look what the man has done for Las Vegas. And Macau.
The Spaniards have evidently fallen for his Spanish Salvation Strategy and plan to proceed with the pie-in-the-sky "Eurovegas," because as everyone knows, there's nothing like a mega-casino development to create secure and well-paying jobs and fund education and health-care.
At the end of the day casino gambling is a tax on stupidity. In order for a casino to run profitably over the long term, this tax requires not just stupid people, but a vast pool of stupid people with money.
That's where the casino model of economic development eventually hits the wall. There are a limited number of sheep to be fleeced, and even though it's a big number, it's nonetheless limited.
After all, look what the man has done for Las Vegas. And Macau.
The Spaniards have evidently fallen for his Spanish Salvation Strategy and plan to proceed with the pie-in-the-sky "Eurovegas," because as everyone knows, there's nothing like a mega-casino development to create secure and well-paying jobs and fund education and health-care.
At the end of the day casino gambling is a tax on stupidity. In order for a casino to run profitably over the long term, this tax requires not just stupid people, but a vast pool of stupid people with money.
That's where the casino model of economic development eventually hits the wall. There are a limited number of sheep to be fleeced, and even though it's a big number, it's nonetheless limited.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Cyprus seen as blueprint for future bank bailouts
That's according to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the European Stability Mechanism.
The logic seems to be that a troubled bank's owners and investors should be held liable for a bank's losses before the taxpayer is called on for a bailout.
He seems to be saying that people who put their money in a bank are "investors" in that enterprise.
They're not.
The kind of financial hanky-panky that gets banks into trouble has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my all-too-modest pay is deposited there, and that I then use my account to pay my mortgage and utilities.
While it is fine to hypothesize that the people taking the biggest hit in the Cyprus fiasco are Russian tax cheats, the principle here is that you the depositor are going to be held to account for the derivatives trading losses of that twat who got himself a multi-million bonus last year but lost his bank a billion this year.
Doesn't sit right with me.
The logic seems to be that a troubled bank's owners and investors should be held liable for a bank's losses before the taxpayer is called on for a bailout.
He seems to be saying that people who put their money in a bank are "investors" in that enterprise.
They're not.
The kind of financial hanky-panky that gets banks into trouble has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my all-too-modest pay is deposited there, and that I then use my account to pay my mortgage and utilities.
While it is fine to hypothesize that the people taking the biggest hit in the Cyprus fiasco are Russian tax cheats, the principle here is that you the depositor are going to be held to account for the derivatives trading losses of that twat who got himself a multi-million bonus last year but lost his bank a billion this year.
Doesn't sit right with me.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Frau Merkel wags finger of righteousness at Cypriots
"Don't try our patience?"
I trust that every citizen of Cyprus will be waving their middle finger right back at Frau Merkel.
The German arrogance is something to behold. How the German people, a decent enough lot nowadays in spite of their sordid history, have become the bully-boys of the Euro-zone is an interesting question. I didn't realize that Merkel was elected to be the global emissary of the banking industry.
But there she is, telling the citizens of Cyprus that they must tighten their belts for generations to come, and by the way, give up a good chunk of whatever savings they might have, in order to save the prevailing financial order.
Rob the people to save the banks.
I trust that every citizen of Cyprus will be waving their middle finger right back at Frau Merkel.
The German arrogance is something to behold. How the German people, a decent enough lot nowadays in spite of their sordid history, have become the bully-boys of the Euro-zone is an interesting question. I didn't realize that Merkel was elected to be the global emissary of the banking industry.
But there she is, telling the citizens of Cyprus that they must tighten their belts for generations to come, and by the way, give up a good chunk of whatever savings they might have, in order to save the prevailing financial order.
Rob the people to save the banks.
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