What, they're allowed to do that?
That's an outrage!
What if they catch wind of this insubordination in Portugal?
In Spain?.... Italy?
Hell, what if the people hear about this in America? What if Americans find out that bankers don't need to be allowed to call the shots?
Holy Geez... what's next?
We're on a slippery slope here folks... next you know there's gonna be pitchfork-wielding mobs marching on Wall Street chanting "OFF TO JAIL" and "LET THEM FAIL!"
Showing posts with label Greek debt crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greek debt crisis. Show all posts
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Merkel to Greeks; no relief from austerity enema
One can only marvel at the myopic arrogance Frau Merkel demonstrates in her proclamations to the people of Greece. We hope the new government in Greece will stay the course in governing, finally, for the people of Greece instead of for German banks and foreign bondholders.
Let's not forget that much of Greece's accumulated debt is the result of extravagant military spending over the past thirty years, spending always applauded by the same suspects who now expect the Greek people to endure generations of making do with less to atone for the profligacy of the NATO acolytes who ran up the debt.
There are other problems of course. The Greek elite have been world leaders in the art and science of tax evasion ever since taxes were first invented. (by the Greeks, if I'm not mistaken!) PM Tsipras and his finance minister have let it be known they intend to change that, and hopefully they will not be cowed by the threats of the tycoons to move abroad. Since they're not paying their taxes anyway, that's not exactly much of a loss.
The main reason for Merkel's dire warning and Schaeuble's patronizing tone, as if scolding an errant child, is that these champions of the decaying old order realize history has arrived at a moment where too many are seeing that the emperor is stark naked.
"There's no arguing with us about this..."
Let's not argue then. The truth is, the EU and NATO need Greece far more than Greece needs them.
Let's not forget that much of Greece's accumulated debt is the result of extravagant military spending over the past thirty years, spending always applauded by the same suspects who now expect the Greek people to endure generations of making do with less to atone for the profligacy of the NATO acolytes who ran up the debt.
There are other problems of course. The Greek elite have been world leaders in the art and science of tax evasion ever since taxes were first invented. (by the Greeks, if I'm not mistaken!) PM Tsipras and his finance minister have let it be known they intend to change that, and hopefully they will not be cowed by the threats of the tycoons to move abroad. Since they're not paying their taxes anyway, that's not exactly much of a loss.
The main reason for Merkel's dire warning and Schaeuble's patronizing tone, as if scolding an errant child, is that these champions of the decaying old order realize history has arrived at a moment where too many are seeing that the emperor is stark naked.
"There's no arguing with us about this..."
Let's not argue then. The truth is, the EU and NATO need Greece far more than Greece needs them.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Greeks grow weary of "austerity enema"
As the Greek economy gets progressively sicker from this madness imposed on them by Frau Merkel and the IMF, the economic doctors supervising this slow-motion disaster have a prescription; more of the same.
Have you ever asked yourself why it is that when a private company collapses under an onerous debt burden, they are either bailed out by the public purse if they are deemed "too big to fail", or they are allowed to collapse, leaving the culpable to walk away from the wreckage?
But when a nation state is in the same straits, millions of people are expected to make sacrifices, for decades if necessary, to ensure that their creditors are repaid.
Mark Weisbrot has written an excellent article about the only reasonable solution to the Greek dilemma; an exit from the Euro.
If present trends continue, that's exactly what will happen, and it will be the left-tilting Syriza Party that leads the country out of the Euro.
Something that should have happened two or three years ago.
Have you ever asked yourself why it is that when a private company collapses under an onerous debt burden, they are either bailed out by the public purse if they are deemed "too big to fail", or they are allowed to collapse, leaving the culpable to walk away from the wreckage?
But when a nation state is in the same straits, millions of people are expected to make sacrifices, for decades if necessary, to ensure that their creditors are repaid.
Mark Weisbrot has written an excellent article about the only reasonable solution to the Greek dilemma; an exit from the Euro.
If present trends continue, that's exactly what will happen, and it will be the left-tilting Syriza Party that leads the country out of the Euro.
Something that should have happened two or three years ago.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Pot-addled blogger scoops New York Times by six months
More like seven months, but who cares?
The Times reported this week that a Cayman Island based bond vulture fund got almost half a billion dollars from the bankrupt Greek government.
The supposedly "secretive" Dart Group bought their Greek bonds at a steep discount and got paid out at face value. The Dart Group is run by Ken Dart, an American who lives in the Cayman Islands for tax reasons.
Here's what I wrote about bond vulture funds last October;
The euro-crisis; guaranteeing profits for Bond Vulture Funds
The regular folks in the streets of Athens haven't been too impressed with the "austerity measures" their banker over-lords have been shoving down their throats. Nor should they be.
Who owns Greece's debt and what did they pay for it? That is a question the public, and especially the Greek public, should be demanding answers to. Greece's public debt fiasco hasn't been a secret. Greek government bonds have been trading at a discount for years, and rightly so. If somebody consistently spends more than they take in, only an idiot would buy their promissory notes.
The big dogs in global finance may be a lot of unpleasant things, but one thing they're not is idiots. When they buy Greek debt they buy it at a steep discount because of the risks involved. Then they go on the 24/7 big-time propaganda blitz: OH MY GOD IF GREECE DEFAULTS IT WILL BE THE END OF THE FREE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT etc. etc. etc. It's on every news program and on the front page of every newspaper every single day.
The purpose of the propaganda blitz is to scare people until somebody somewhere guarantees the face value of the Greek government bonds they bought at a steep discount. Instant windfall for the Bond Vulture Funds. Years of austerity and deprivation for the people of Greece.
I say let them default. We'll sit back with an Ouzo and see what happens, and drink a toast to the people in the streets of Athens.
The Times reported this week that a Cayman Island based bond vulture fund got almost half a billion dollars from the bankrupt Greek government.
The supposedly "secretive" Dart Group bought their Greek bonds at a steep discount and got paid out at face value. The Dart Group is run by Ken Dart, an American who lives in the Cayman Islands for tax reasons.
Here's what I wrote about bond vulture funds last October;
The euro-crisis; guaranteeing profits for Bond Vulture Funds
The regular folks in the streets of Athens haven't been too impressed with the "austerity measures" their banker over-lords have been shoving down their throats. Nor should they be.
Who owns Greece's debt and what did they pay for it? That is a question the public, and especially the Greek public, should be demanding answers to. Greece's public debt fiasco hasn't been a secret. Greek government bonds have been trading at a discount for years, and rightly so. If somebody consistently spends more than they take in, only an idiot would buy their promissory notes.
The big dogs in global finance may be a lot of unpleasant things, but one thing they're not is idiots. When they buy Greek debt they buy it at a steep discount because of the risks involved. Then they go on the 24/7 big-time propaganda blitz: OH MY GOD IF GREECE DEFAULTS IT WILL BE THE END OF THE FREE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT etc. etc. etc. It's on every news program and on the front page of every newspaper every single day.
The purpose of the propaganda blitz is to scare people until somebody somewhere guarantees the face value of the Greek government bonds they bought at a steep discount. Instant windfall for the Bond Vulture Funds. Years of austerity and deprivation for the people of Greece.
I say let them default. We'll sit back with an Ouzo and see what happens, and drink a toast to the people in the streets of Athens.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Euro-crisis: guaranteeing massive profits for the Bond Vulture Funds
The regular folks in the streets of Athens haven't been too impressed with the "austerity measures" their banker over-lords have been shoving down their throats. Nor should they be.
Who owns Greece's debt and what did they pay for it? That is a question the public, and especially the Greek public, should be demanding answers to. Greece's public debt fiasco hasn't been a secret. Greek government bonds have been trading at a discount for years, and rightly so. If somebody consistently spends more than they take in, only an idiot would buy their promissory notes.
The big dogs in global finance may be a lot of unpleasant things, but one thing they're not is idiots. When they buy Greek debt they buy it at a steep discount because of the risks involved. Then they go on the 24/7 big-time propaganda blitz: OH MY GOD IF GREECE DEFAULTS IT WILL BE THE END OF THE FREE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT etc. etc. etc. It's on every news program and on the front page of every newspaper every single day.
The purpose of the propaganda blitz is to scare people until somebody somewhere guarantees the face value of the Greek government bonds they bought at a steep discount. Instant windfall for the Bond Vulture Funds. Years of austerity and deprivation for the people of Greece.
I say let them default. We'll sit back with an Ouzo and see what happens, and drink a toast to the people in the streets of Athens.
Who owns Greece's debt and what did they pay for it? That is a question the public, and especially the Greek public, should be demanding answers to. Greece's public debt fiasco hasn't been a secret. Greek government bonds have been trading at a discount for years, and rightly so. If somebody consistently spends more than they take in, only an idiot would buy their promissory notes.
The big dogs in global finance may be a lot of unpleasant things, but one thing they're not is idiots. When they buy Greek debt they buy it at a steep discount because of the risks involved. Then they go on the 24/7 big-time propaganda blitz: OH MY GOD IF GREECE DEFAULTS IT WILL BE THE END OF THE FREE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT etc. etc. etc. It's on every news program and on the front page of every newspaper every single day.
The purpose of the propaganda blitz is to scare people until somebody somewhere guarantees the face value of the Greek government bonds they bought at a steep discount. Instant windfall for the Bond Vulture Funds. Years of austerity and deprivation for the people of Greece.
I say let them default. We'll sit back with an Ouzo and see what happens, and drink a toast to the people in the streets of Athens.
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