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Jason Stapleton on Modern Greece debt and entitlement crisis
So I listen to this podcast called the Jason Stapleton Program everyday and he talks about politics, economy, and current events. He Absolutely hits the nail on the head about Modern Greece and their way of living in a fantasy. Listen from the 18 minute mark and you'll get a good chuckle like I did I am sure (I found it hilarious that modern Greeks think it's ok to retire and collect a state pension at the age of 53
).
Slayer Of The Modern "greek" Myth!!!Comment
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Modern Greece still looking to act like crybabies and play the victim role by continuing to demand WWII reparations from their German Masters and Creators. Pathetic society built on a single lie that their pretended ancestors were the ancient Hellenes so now everyone today owes these malakas. It seems like the current communists in power in modern greece are going to try and bite the hand thats been feeding them
Slayer Of The Modern "greek" Myth!!!Comment
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The problem with Greece, from a German perspective
The problem with Greece, from a German perspective
Germany is currently being portrayed as a hard-nosed disciplinarian unbending in its resolve to make the Greek people pay handsomely for Greece’s financial profligacy. Much of the European media criticise this inflexibility as a barrier to finding a long-term solution to the benefit of all parties, even if this means a little forgiveness needs to be forthcoming.
Yet, in most respects, the on-going economic problems facing the Greek people is not the membership of the euro or the conditions laid down by the troika (International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and the European Commission) but a direct result of the utter dysfunctionalism of governance allied with fiscal policy over many years. For too long Greece was run by a self-interested duopoly mainly based on family ties and backed by oligarchs.
The entire body politic and civil service (from governmental level down to the lowest local level) was completely based on a system of clientism and patronage. As governments changed from Pasok to New Democracy and back again, whole swathes of civil servants and senior political appointments rotated between Government posts and specific quango posts that had few responsibilities but paid adequate compensation. Allied to this was a culture of tax evasion and avoidance in the private sector that infected all parts of society.
Even today, the Greek administration is incapable of collecting most taxes that are due. For the elites of Greek society, their tax burden is little changed with the administration targeting the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of income tax paid by public officials and low-paid employees of large firms. Clientism infected all levels of society, from knowing the local mayor to contacts with government ministers, everybody jockeyed for favours out of the public purse or where able to make money by governmental fiat that favoured certain individuals or firms.
Yet, as regards Hellenic tax morality little seems to have changed. As http://greece.greekreporter.com highlighted late last year “Even in the current climate of economic reform overtaking Athens, tax evasion rates remain startlingly high in Greece, with an estimated one in four economic transactions going unrecorded. In fact, a recent report conducted by Stephen Hall, an adviser to the Bank of Greece, finds that two out of three Greek employees are declaring figures less than their actual incomes – and, in some instances, aren’t declaring anything at all.”
The website went on to report “This is not a new or peculiarly Greek phenomenon. In Europe generally, about 19% of all economic activity goes unrecorded. But based on research dating back to the 1990s, “tax morality” among Greeks is particularly low – the 22nd lowest among 26 European countries. Furthermore, Transparency International finds that the Greek public sector is more corrupt than that of any other European Union member state. Unsurprisingly, Greeks are reluctant to blindly fulfill their tax obligations.”
Greece is therefore in a triple-blind. Firstly people won’t pay their taxes partly because they see rampant waste and corruption in the public sector. Secondly, the public sector cannot reform itself because it is utterly dysfunctional at nearly all levels. Thirdly, the Greek government cannot rely on an efficient tax take or good public administration to deliver policies that will protect the poorest in society.
The weight of the bureaucracy in Greece is all-pervading, discouraging private (and public) economic initiatives, yet also producing a very poor service to the Greek people. In many ways, viewed from Berlin, forgiving Greek debt is akin to throwing good money after bad. At present, a Greek government cannot make good on its promises because of the triple-blind it finds itself in.
Structural reform, especially in the public administration, is a necessity for Greece, no matter what its future is (in or out of the Euro or even in or out of the EU). A culture of excessive consumption, and external and internal public borrowing for over 40 years cannot be overturned in a few days or even months. Syriza may find that Angela Merkel and others may well be receptive to helping Greece out of its present predicament if it first looked internally for a partial solution.
Rapid reformation of the public sector is necessary, Syriza needs to quickly formulate a plan that will deliver efficient public services and a moral attitude to tax-paying before looking outward for much-needed assistance. At present any foreign assistance to Greece would be better delivered directly by international NGOs than through the Greek state.
Yet the status quo cannot be allowed to continue. The poorest in greek society are paying the heaviest price."Ido not want an uprising of people that would leave me at the first failure, I want revolution with citizens able to bear all the temptations to a prolonged struggle, what, because of the fierce political conditions, will be our guide or cattle to the slaughterhouse"
GOTSE DELCEVComment
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Greek Banks Can’t Withdraw Capital From Macedonia, Governor Says
Greece can’t plan a barbecue, let alone a currency, UniCredit's Nielsen Says
IMF to Alexis Tsipras: 'Do you feel lucky, punk?'
==Last edited by Amphipolis; 06-12-2015, 09:46 AM.Comment
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Of course their money is safe in macedonia. how lucky can they get?If that money or assets are ever released it will all go into a bottomless pit.THat's rhe last thing any investor needs.I think greece can't go on without pulling out of the eurozone and staying on the drachma.That was on the cards for a long time.THe last issues would be the name issue as its something to get people's minds off the economic woes of greece.
I just heard on the news that greece can't pay the austerity measures and the german people have pointed to the fact that they can't stomach anymore about whats happening with greece.That will mean greece will definitely be out of the erozone.In that situation greece can't veto macedonia if its completely coming out of the eu zone.More than likely they will go back to the drachma.As to macedonia biding her time she will eventually enter the eu and the requirement of a name change won't matter anymore.The whole name dispute was a sham requirement to trick macedonia into accepting a different name rather than the constitutional one hence to give greece a monopoly over the name.But with greece out of the erozone things will be a whole different.Last edited by George S.; 06-13-2015, 12:29 AM."Ido not want an uprising of people that would leave me at the first failure, I want revolution with citizens able to bear all the temptations to a prolonged struggle, what, because of the fierce political conditions, will be our guide or cattle to the slaughterhouse"
GOTSE DELCEVComment
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Starvation is the Price Greeks will Pay for Remaining in the EU
Article by Paul Craig Roberts
Starvation Is The Price Greeks Will Pay For Remaining In The EU
Paul Craig Roberts
Syriza, the new Greek government that intended to rescue Greece from austerity, has come a cropper. The government relied on the good will of its EU “partners,” only to find that its “partners” had no good will. The Greek government did not understand that the only concern was the bottom line, or profits, of those who held the Greek debt.
The Greek people are as out to lunch as their government. The majority of Greeks want to remain in the EU even though it means that their pensions, their wages, their social services, and their employment opportunities will be reduced. Apparently for Greeks, being a part of Europe is worth being driven into the ground.
The alleged “Greek crisis” makes no sense whatsoever. It is obvious that Greece cannot with its devastated economy repay the debts that Goldman Sachs hid and then capitalized on the inside information, helping to cause the crisis. If the solvency of the holders of the Greek debt, apparently the NY hedge funds and German and Dutch banks, depends on being repaid, the European Central Bank could just follow the example of the Federal Reserve and print the money to secure the Greek debt. The ECB is already printing 60 billion euros a month to save the European financial system, so why not include Greece?
A conservative might say that such a course of action would cause inflation, but it hasn’t. The Fed has been creating money hands over fists for seven years, and according to the government there is no inflation. We even have negative interest rates attesting to the absence of inflation. Why will creating money for Greece create inflation but not for Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and JPMorganChase?
Obviously, the Western world doesn’t want to help Greece. The West wants to loot Greece. The deal is that Greece gets new loans with which to repay existing loans in exchange for selling municipal water companies to private investors (water rates will go up on the Greek people), for selling the state lottery to private investors (Greek government revenues drop, thus making debt repayment more difficult), and for other such “privatizations” such as selling the protected Greek islands to real estate developers.
This is a good deal for everyone but Greece.
If the Greek government had any sense, it would simply default. That would make Greece debt free. With just a few words, Greece can go from a heavily indebted country to a debt-free country.
Greece could then finance its own bond issues, and if it needed external credit, Greece could accept the Russian offer.
Indeed, if the Russian and Chinese governments had any sense, they would pay Greece to default and to leave the EU and NATO. The unravelling of Washington’s empire would begin, and the threat of war that Russia and China face would go away. The Russians and Chinese would save far more on unnecessary war preparation that saving Greece would cost them.Comment
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I'm not convinced the Greeks were that stupid.It is obvious that Greece cannot with its devastated economy repay the debts that Goldman Sachs hid
The rest of the article wasn't unreasonable in terms of suggestions.Risto the Great
MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
"Holding my breath for the revolution."
Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.comComment
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In a surprising move Tsipras calls for a referendum in 7(!) days for Greeks to reject or accept the Lenders Proposal (not sure which one, as it is not finalised). What's more surprising is that he calls for a NO.
===Last edited by Amphipolis; 06-27-2015, 03:29 AM.Comment
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Why is it surprising? He backed himself into a corner with his election "promises". Now he will seek to deflect the blame for his inability to change the inevitable.Originally posted by Amphipolis View PostRisto the Great
MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
"Holding my breath for the revolution."
Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.comComment
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Bingo, he guaranteed that he would be able to renegotiate terms with creditors and reverse austerity, it became obvious Germany would not allow it now no matter what happens he will be able to say "that's what the people wanted". In the end he has basically been useless.
my money is on a grexit
Originally posted by Risto the Great View PostComment
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I have no idea how this works.
What are the repercussions if Greece cannot pay back the debt? Are there any?Comment
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Greece will be in default and European Central Bank will cut liquidity to Greek banks, because a Euro country cannot be in a selective default.Originally posted by Redsun View Post
Actually this will happen even before defaulting on IMF, simply because the Greek program finishes by June 30th and Greek banks are not considered credible.
There are more repercussions, chain reactions and possibilities not widely known or clear, as this is what they now call "uncharted territory".Comment
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Banks and stock market will be closed for the next 10 days (until Monday July 6th).
==Last edited by Amphipolis; 06-28-2015, 02:12 PM.Comment
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I don't think this is a good idea. They are trying to prevent panic and runs on banks but what happens if the referendum returns a vote to reject Europe's proposal, can you imagine the hysteria the following day when the market opens after being closed for so long? They are not giving the market a chance to deal with any of this and they will basically end up with 10 days worth of volatility in one day. I hope they know what they are doing because this has the potential to run away from any attempt to stabilize it.
Originally posted by Amphipolis View PostComment
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