Greek Tragedy
March 16, 2010
When the Drachma turned to the Euro, the cost of a loaf of bread tripled, but the average Greek disposable income did not. Add to this an already institutionalized behavior of tax evasion, a national sport in Greece, and there you have it. Add to this a chronic mistrust of corrupt government, and the people intensified their disdain for tax. Unfortunately, this has destroyed their credibility.
Wait there is more.
Socialism in the 80 consolidated a culture of overspending, patronage, & bloated civil service,…etc….
Still more.
The 90′s saw a conservative government focus more on exploiting the capitalist dream, but not reversing the then institutionalized spending. This ensured their election.
In the new millennium we see unparalleled spending AND a line up of global banks just giving them all the debt they “can’t” handle. By the way the spending and patronage continued.
Now we have a global meltdown that has exposed a weak country. But considering the US sub-prime debacle, it really is the second domino…….
I am saddened for the average Greek but they must endure the measures. I don’t paint them all with the same brush like some because many work hard and raise families like you and I. I have no time for the gross generalizations.
I’m equally, saddened for those that delude themselves in thinking that this type of fragility can’t happen here.
Goldman Sachs – Things just keep getting Greece -ier
March 5, 2010
OK which conspiracy theory do you believe? Was Goldman Sachs innocently following rules of the time? Was there a conscious effort to destabilize the EU? Was Greece complicit? How many other Euro countries are involved?
Read this……
Squeaky wheel gets the Greece
February 14, 2010
Alright, now Greece is the problem. Economic crisis is threatening to bring down European giants because Greece is too much in debt. Mmmmmm sound like a familiar sub-prime mortgage fiasco you can think of? Well can you fathom who lent the money to Greece? That’s right folks. The same multi-national banks that bought bad mortgages from the quintessential financial companies in Europe and across the pond. But, why did Greece need these loans you say? Well the usual people that get greased (no pun intended) under the table needed a cut, the fact that tax evasion in Greece is a national past time, and finally, that the change from the Drachma to the Euro saw the average price of a loaf of bread triple. So now a cup of coffee in Greece is conservatively the same as it is in Canada. The kicker is that the average Greek’s disposable income didn’t keep pace with this change and it is about 1/2 of that of an average Canadian. So that is a bitter cup to swallow.
But how bad is the problem in Greece really? Well its all just a mater of perspective according to the following link.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/greek-tragedy-its-all-a-matter-of-perspective-20100212-nxo2.html
