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a country that reminisces over its glorious past, fails to live in the present or plan for its future. the housing market goes tits up, and tourists fail to disembark. toffee. so, they get given two hundred and forty billion euros, worth repeating that international telephone number, two hundred and forty billion euros. yet the workforce still refuses to put in a 40 hour week, unions still want more wages for even less working week, bank savings are being raided. and now they have voted in a 40 year old leader whose stance is to not pay back the money they have been given. apparently, people there really want to love on the never never, with someone else footing the bill. all the commentators are suggesting that if he doesn't get his way, then he will try and get greece out of the euro. just how will he reverse 50% unemployment in the under 24? clearly the ripples will be felt further afield, and greece could be the first of many to call for changes in economic policies in europe. he calls for a fairer europe.
where is bono when you need someone calling for huge loans to be written off, as they are just unfair and cause huge internal turmoil.
do you keep the pressure on greece to return the monies lending them, but change the terms of the payments? maybe allow them 100 years to repay and throw in the elgin marbles? or do you push hard and suffer the consequences?
It's not what you've got; it's where you stick it.
The vast majority of the 240bn Euros has gone to the banks. The "bail out" of Greece is designed to save banks rather than people. Yesterday's result has finally brought a party to power that finds this sickening. Of course Syriza is doomed - no party can take on the power of world capital. But at least it is questioning the absurd workings of hyper capitalism, which is creating a super-rich elite and is widening income inequality by the second. Cause for celebration: you must have heard London Calling playing at the Syriza victory party!
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Another Greek Tragedy on 09:48 - Jan 26 with 2842 views
Simple really - do not spend more than you can afford.
Greece has been doing that for almost 40yrs! A very corrupt country, everyone (and I mean everyone) dodging taxes, absurd working practices and they expected the Germans to keep on bank-rolling their way of life!
They have two choices: 1. Pay it all back and reform their society; 2. Return to the drachma and see their economy fall apart.
The Irish and Portugese have shown the way.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 10:15 - Jan 26 with 2790 views
I know nothing about Greece, but Ireland have only shown the way to capitulate. Our 'debt' was foisted on us by the EU so the banks got paid after they ran themselves into the ground. We foolishly bailed them out and now owe that money ourselves.
We got ridden. And good.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Another Greek Tragedy on 09:48 - Jan 26 by BostonR
Simple really - do not spend more than you can afford.
Greece has been doing that for almost 40yrs! A very corrupt country, everyone (and I mean everyone) dodging taxes, absurd working practices and they expected the Germans to keep on bank-rolling their way of life!
They have two choices: 1. Pay it all back and reform their society; 2. Return to the drachma and see their economy fall apart.
The Irish and Portugese have shown the way.
“Return to the drachma and see their economy fall apart”.
Isn’t the point that their economy is already hopelessly fu cked anyway? Austerity policies don’t appear to have done much to help; 25%+ unemployment and 50%+ youth unemployment after 7/8 years of cuts, GDP 25% down on where it was at the start of the cuts. After one year of unemployment, there are no unemployment benefits; how are people supposed to survive? Can you imagine a situation where ¼ adults is out of work across an entire country? Where ½ of all under-24 year olds are out of work and the brightest have little option but to migrate? After WWII, Germany and Japan were helped to rebuild their economies, shattered cities and societies; should Greece be left to rot because of the financial mismanagement of its elite and because banks exercised poor judgment/greed in their dealings? It sounds like the Greek people have decided that Austerity clearly isn’t working, so they’ll try something radical to see what happens with the view that things can’t get much worse. As ever, it’s ordinary people who are suffering the most, and I wish them luck.
Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts
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Another Greek Tragedy on 10:26 - Jan 26 with 2753 views
“Return to the drachma and see their economy fall apart”.
Isn’t the point that their economy is already hopelessly fu cked anyway? Austerity policies don’t appear to have done much to help; 25%+ unemployment and 50%+ youth unemployment after 7/8 years of cuts, GDP 25% down on where it was at the start of the cuts. After one year of unemployment, there are no unemployment benefits; how are people supposed to survive? Can you imagine a situation where ¼ adults is out of work across an entire country? Where ½ of all under-24 year olds are out of work and the brightest have little option but to migrate? After WWII, Germany and Japan were helped to rebuild their economies, shattered cities and societies; should Greece be left to rot because of the financial mismanagement of its elite and because banks exercised poor judgment/greed in their dealings? It sounds like the Greek people have decided that Austerity clearly isn’t working, so they’ll try something radical to see what happens with the view that things can’t get much worse. As ever, it’s ordinary people who are suffering the most, and I wish them luck.
'Austerity' - is code for 'take from the poor to pay off the debts of the rich'.
It's a bullshit term, and Greece are completely right to take control of their own affairs.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
“Return to the drachma and see their economy fall apart”.
Isn’t the point that their economy is already hopelessly fu cked anyway? Austerity policies don’t appear to have done much to help; 25%+ unemployment and 50%+ youth unemployment after 7/8 years of cuts, GDP 25% down on where it was at the start of the cuts. After one year of unemployment, there are no unemployment benefits; how are people supposed to survive? Can you imagine a situation where ¼ adults is out of work across an entire country? Where ½ of all under-24 year olds are out of work and the brightest have little option but to migrate? After WWII, Germany and Japan were helped to rebuild their economies, shattered cities and societies; should Greece be left to rot because of the financial mismanagement of its elite and because banks exercised poor judgment/greed in their dealings? It sounds like the Greek people have decided that Austerity clearly isn’t working, so they’ll try something radical to see what happens with the view that things can’t get much worse. As ever, it’s ordinary people who are suffering the most, and I wish them luck.
If the ordinary Greek people had some guts they would have hoisted out the ruling elite. The reason they did not follow that course of action is that "life was too good". Insane mis-management of a country and a blind population feeding on others to support their way of life. Europe has attempted to halt what would have been a social and financial meltdown of a country although given their vote last night that now looks likely. We should all be cautious here as this has the makings of sending the European economy into BIG trouble. Simple analogy. You dont pay your mortgage you get given payment options. Continue to not pay you get your house re-possessed.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 10:40 - Jan 26 with 2714 views
Another Greek Tragedy on 10:28 - Jan 26 by BostonR
If the ordinary Greek people had some guts they would have hoisted out the ruling elite. The reason they did not follow that course of action is that "life was too good". Insane mis-management of a country and a blind population feeding on others to support their way of life. Europe has attempted to halt what would have been a social and financial meltdown of a country although given their vote last night that now looks likely. We should all be cautious here as this has the makings of sending the European economy into BIG trouble. Simple analogy. You dont pay your mortgage you get given payment options. Continue to not pay you get your house re-possessed.
Utter, utter nonsense. The GFC was created by the rich but it's been the poor who have paid for it, firstly via the billions poured into the banks (that stayed with the banks) and then via unemployment and loss of working rights and public services.
The only country where this was not the case is Iceland. They arrested, charged, tried and imprisoned the financial con artists who created the mess, and held a national convention to design and elect a new government.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 10:41 - Jan 26 with 2710 views
a country (football club) that reminisces over its glorious past, fails to live in the present or plan for its future. the housing (transfer) market goes tits up, and tourists fail to disembark.
so, they get given two hundred and forty billion euros, worth repeating that international telephone number, two hundred and forty billion euros. (yep the 'owners' lend them 150 odd million) yet the workforce still refuses to put in a 40 hour week (Bosingwa, BAE, etc etc) , unions (Agents) still want more wages for even less working week, bank savings are being raided. and now they have voted in a 40 year old leader (67 year old manager) whose stance is to not pay back the money they have been given -(but who wants to continue spending and not living in austerity). apparently, people there really want to love on the never never, with someone else footing the bill. (Arry) all the commentators are suggesting that if he doesn't get his way, then he will try and get greece (QPR) out of the euro. (Premiership).
Another Greek Tragedy on 10:41 - Jan 26 by Hooparoo
The Greeks have no one to blame but themselves and now the stupid c*nts want to be commies. Idiots.
I suggest you do a bit of research first. Couple of posts above get it spot on. In simple terms the ruling elite have f*cked over their economy and now want the poor to pay the bill. And it looks like they're not having it. Can't blame them.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 11:12 - Jan 26 with 2637 views
Another Greek Tragedy on 10:50 - Jan 26 by Westy75
I suggest you do a bit of research first. Couple of posts above get it spot on. In simple terms the ruling elite have f*cked over their economy and now want the poor to pay the bill. And it looks like they're not having it. Can't blame them.
Of course it's all somebody else's fault. Nothing to do with Greeks living beyond their means, avoiding their taxes and expecting their more prudent neighbours to always bail them out.
Another Greek Tragedy on 10:40 - Jan 26 by nadera78
Utter, utter nonsense. The GFC was created by the rich but it's been the poor who have paid for it, firstly via the billions poured into the banks (that stayed with the banks) and then via unemployment and loss of working rights and public services.
The only country where this was not the case is Iceland. They arrested, charged, tried and imprisoned the financial con artists who created the mess, and held a national convention to design and elect a new government.
Have to disagree here.
If you blindly ignore paying taxes (at any level) you are on the road to ruin. I ask - would you pay to refurbish your neighbours house for free and take no interest in the value of the property? I assume the answer is no.
Greece at all levels in its society has been dodging any kind of good fiscal housekeeping for decades. Eventually, the whole system will collapse. There are no comparisons to the Greek problem because it is such a mess. Europe could well write-off all their debt them out but I do not think that will happen. They can play with far-left policies, but we all know where that takes an economy. They will have to re-structure (again) their finances but my take is that this will be a generational change in Greece that may take 10-15yrs to resolve.
In the meantime, they will struggle - unless they discover some other means to prop up their economy.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 12:16 - Jan 26 with 2538 views
'According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, people in Greece, that famous nation of skivers, worked on average 2,032 hours in 2011 — only a shade less than the supposedly workaholic South Koreans (2,090 hours). In the same year, the Germans worked only 70% as long (1,413 hours), while the Netherlands was officially the "laziest" nation in the world, with only 1,379 hours of work per year. These numbers tell us that, whatever else is wrong with Greece, it is not the laziness of their people.
Now, if the laziness story has such flimsy bases in reality, why is it so widely believed? It is because, in the past three decades of dominance by free-market ideology, many of us have come to believe in the myth of the individual fully in charge of his/her destiny.'
Another Greek Tragedy on 10:15 - Jan 26 by BrianMcCarthy
I know nothing about Greece, but Ireland have only shown the way to capitulate. Our 'debt' was foisted on us by the EU so the banks got paid after they ran themselves into the ground. We foolishly bailed them out and now owe that money ourselves.
We got ridden. And good.
I never understood bri , why the Irish voted 'no' in the 2008 EU referendum , then Were made to vote again 14 months later , this time a 'yes' vote.
"...The monkey is never dead, Dealer. The monkey never dies. When you kick him off, he just hides in a corner, waiting his turn."
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Another Greek Tragedy on 13:10 - Jan 26 with 2382 views
“Return to the drachma and see their economy fall apart”.
Isn’t the point that their economy is already hopelessly fu cked anyway? Austerity policies don’t appear to have done much to help; 25%+ unemployment and 50%+ youth unemployment after 7/8 years of cuts, GDP 25% down on where it was at the start of the cuts. After one year of unemployment, there are no unemployment benefits; how are people supposed to survive? Can you imagine a situation where ¼ adults is out of work across an entire country? Where ½ of all under-24 year olds are out of work and the brightest have little option but to migrate? After WWII, Germany and Japan were helped to rebuild their economies, shattered cities and societies; should Greece be left to rot because of the financial mismanagement of its elite and because banks exercised poor judgment/greed in their dealings? It sounds like the Greek people have decided that Austerity clearly isn’t working, so they’ll try something radical to see what happens with the view that things can’t get much worse. As ever, it’s ordinary people who are suffering the most, and I wish them luck.
Superb summary Konk.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 13:18 - Jan 26 with 2349 views
I am sure I read somewhere that their bus drives were on 100k a year and this was given to them if they agree to vote for a particular candidate in the last election. Mental if so.
Agree with the "nobody pays tax" comment....I know a greek godfather who paid the police wages every thursday at his hotel.
This'll be like the Arab Spring, Tony Blair 97, BBC news teams creaming themselves showing the leftie wnkers dancing in the streets today, only realising too late, they've been fcked over again.
'Thinngggs, can only get better', no they fckin won't.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 13:58 - Jan 26 with 2239 views
Another Greek Tragedy on 10:40 - Jan 26 by nadera78
Utter, utter nonsense. The GFC was created by the rich but it's been the poor who have paid for it, firstly via the billions poured into the banks (that stayed with the banks) and then via unemployment and loss of working rights and public services.
The only country where this was not the case is Iceland. They arrested, charged, tried and imprisoned the financial con artists who created the mess, and held a national convention to design and elect a new government.
This.
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Another Greek Tragedy on 14:00 - Jan 26 with 2229 views
This article sums it up nicely, Central banks once again lending money that cannot possibly be paid back, creating a 'debtors prison' for the citizens. "By the time Greece was cut off from the markets in 2010, its soaring public debt of 130 percent of GDP was obviously unpayable in full. It should have been written down, as the IMF later acknowledged publicly."
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