Greece, a grim picture

http://www.spiegel.de/international/eur ... 23,00.html

I really don't understand what the protesters are thinking...or if they even attempt to think. The country is beyond bankrupt...where do they think all these wages and pension funds are going to come from when the well is not only dry, it's on fire. I understand them being upset, but how is rioting going to fix anything? I guess they could kill off all the richest citizens and live off that for a year or so.

Despair from a blog of someone who I assume is Greek with out too much digging.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_ar ... 012_427392

CritiKalbILL wrote: I really don't understand what the protesters are thinking...or if they even attempt to think. The country is beyond bankrupt...where do they think all these wages and pension funds are going to come from when the well is not only dry, it's on fire.

Oops wrong thread, I thought you were talking about the USA. Sounds the same.

Greece is toast. Burning buildings and riots is going to do wonders for their tourism industry too.

Obama is way smarter, just offer the citizens "free" stuff and print more money.

Joe wrote:

CritiKalbILL wrote: I really don't understand what the protesters are thinking...or if they even attempt to think. The country is beyond bankrupt...where do they think all these wages and pension funds are going to come from when the well is not only dry, it's on fire.

Oops wrong thread, I thought you were talking about the USA. Sounds the same.

Greece is toast. Burning buildings and riots is going to do wonders for their tourism industry too.

Obama is way smarter, just offer the citizens "free" stuff and print more money.

My sentiments exactly! We should study what's going on in this microcosm called Greece because as far as I can tell it's the harbinger of things to come right here in the good ole' USA if we don't get serious about the deficit. You can only blow smoke up the people's asses for so long until the truth comes out. Greece and the larger Europe seem to be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The only thing the captain can do is order the orchestra to play louder, happier music. Everyone knows how the story ends...but it's fun to deny it for a while.

Who is going to bail the US out when our bill comes due? Chirp, Chirp, Chirp......silence.

Yup. Crank up that music!

And who knows how grim this will get. This is not a permanent fix by any means. They will really need to try to create an environment that would make businesses want to invest there - and that's going to be a tough road.
While many there are enraged at a 20% cut in the minimum wage I found it interesting that their current minimum wage is 50% higher than Portugal and 20% higher than Spain.

Another article, this from Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/greece-left-idUSL5E8DD61O20120213

In Lithuania, where a centre-right government cut wages and benefits during a 2009-2010 financial crisis, the leader of the main centre-left party said Greeks had spent themselves into this mess and had to take their medicine now.

"Greece has no escape but to implement strict austerity measures or to face bankruptcy. It can't save itself without outside assistance," Algirdas Butkevicius, leader of the Lithuanian Social Democrat Party, said.

Obama & the Fed will create another bailout for Greece and the Euro banks.

FredHayek wrote: Obama & the Fed will create another bailout for Greece and the Euro banks.

I think what you mean is that they will engineer another illusion of a bailout right?

I'll stick with my "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" analogy. The Greeks are proving that you can't spend your way out of a deficit no matter HOW HARD you try to.