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Post by Sir Henry Rawlinson on Feb 22, 2012 10:49:24 GMT -1
Takes me a while to take any interest in P*litics.
The business with Greece getting a second top up of silly billions of cash:
I obviously missed this information when the crisis popped up. But what caused the problem?
I sort of got the impression that Greeks don't like paying Income tax and that their Tax office is enormously corrupt and the Government is no better.
Bit like the UK really.
But what was the story ? In a nutshell and not too long as my attention wande
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Post by notanimby on Feb 22, 2012 11:56:57 GMT -1
Takes me a while to take any interest in P*litics. The business with Greece getting a second top up of silly billions of cash: I obviously missed this information when the crisis popped up. But what caused the problem? I sort of got the impression that Greeks don't like paying Income tax and that their Tax office is enormously corrupt and the Government is no better.
Bit like the UK really. But what was the story ? In a nutshell and not too long as my attention wande That's it in a nutshell plus not only do they not like paying tax - they don't pay it. their government was a tad to positive (lied completely) about the state of its books on joining the euro and the others believed them |
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Post by Sir Henry Rawlinson on Feb 22, 2012 12:22:00 GMT -1
Not much chance of them turning that situation around to the tune of silly billions in the near future then is there?
I think we've paid for the Marbles by now.
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Post by notanimby on Feb 22, 2012 12:55:18 GMT -1
Not much chance of them turning that situation around to the tune of silly billions in the near future then is there? I think we've paid for the Marbles by now. Nope not in the slightest, apparently, I heard on the telly last night, that by 2020 Greece's debt will be down to 120% of GDP - something to look forward to there |
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Post by notanimby on Feb 22, 2012 12:57:16 GMT -1
Not much chance of them turning that situation around to the tune of silly billions in the near future then is there? I think we've paid for the Marbles by now. Aren't the marbles from Elgin? |
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Post by Sir Henry Rawlinson on Feb 22, 2012 13:47:15 GMT -1
Aren't the marbles from Elgin? Perhaps if you left el Gin & Tonic until after el Noon we could have a proper conversation. I have a correspondent chum of the Greek type and he says all the talk in his town is about how to leave. Talk of a whole generation being cast aside to make the cuts to borrow the loot. He's been quiet since I asked him about how much tax he pays. |
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Post by notanimby on Feb 22, 2012 14:06:10 GMT -1
Aren't the marbles from Elgin? Perhaps if you left el Gin & Tonic until after el Noon we could have a proper conversation. I have a correspondent chum of the Greek type and he says all the talk in his town is about how to leave. Talk of a whole generation being cast aside to make the cuts to borrow the loot. He's been quiet since I asked him about how much tax he pays. no G&Ts for me today, visiting the quack later (maybe that is the issue) If I was the greek government I would have just defaulted on the loans - what are the "bankers" gonnae do, send round the sheriffs officers - iceland managed it ok But then again icelanders do pay tax I think the Euro mob were shit scared that Greece would default and others would see that they could do the same, like Spain, Italy and Portugal - a veritable clusterfuck waiting to explode. The Euro mob could also have just cut greece adrift and said yer own your own, sink or swim - but this may have had similar outcome as the above Where's Anthony Quinn when you need him? |
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Post by Sir Henry Rawlinson on Feb 22, 2012 14:15:41 GMT -1
Where's Anthony Quinn when you need him?
Don't start bringing the Pope into it. !
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Post by notanimby on Feb 22, 2012 14:37:41 GMT -1
Where's Anthony Quinn when you need him? Don't start bringing the Pope into it. ! ooooh perish the thought - they have enough problems I was thinking more of a cheery dancing fisherman ( not the shoes of) to boost tourism - you know getting a mexican to play a famous greek |
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Post by westender on Feb 22, 2012 14:57:04 GMT -1
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Post by yonzabam on Feb 22, 2012 18:37:59 GMT -1
Amazing that that piece was written almost two years ago. It could have been written this week (apart from the riots). Then it was 110 bilion euros. Today, it's 130 billion. Crazy money for such a small country. They went from a peasant economy to a modern EU state too fast and couldn't control it. By the way, the problem is in no way fixed. All that has been done is to buy time until the next crisis. The rest of the EU hope to have created a 'firewall' by the time that happens, so that the 'final collapse' of the Greek economy will not have a 'domino effect'. It'll be Portugal next. For anyone interested in a site which delivers great analysis of the coming global economic meltdown, www.zerohedge.com offers some excellent articles although much of it is over my head. You just have to read through it and get the gist. Another good one is www.dollarcollapse.com It cherrypicks articles from the web and provides links, so you don't have to do your own trawling. |
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Post by westender on Feb 22, 2012 19:21:42 GMT -1
It is such a scunner - but somehow, absolutely inevitable - that Scotland launches her bid to set sail under her own steam in the teeth of the biggest financial disaster in living memory....! Acht... come an have a go if ye think ye're hard enough, ya...yan effin Recession ye! *shakes fist*  |
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Post by ozneil on Feb 22, 2012 21:03:58 GMT -1
the thing that gets me about the Greek rioters is who the hell do they think is going to provide the € for them. After years of at best inept socialism & tax avoidance the piggy bank is empty. For years they had to borrow money to implement their social programmes
They are not alone in that regard!!!
Let it be a warning, when was the last time the UK government posted a surplus?
Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2012 21:47:58 GMT -1
[ They went from a peasant economy to a modern EU state too fast and couldn't control it. Fair comment, Yonza. Perhaps there's a need to scrutinise potential new joinees of the EU just a little more than at present? But then again, is it right to deny membership to countries that want to better their lot (if you call rampant capitalism bettering yourself, of course :  I'm not agin the EU, far from it, but only if it works for all the members by way of favourable export conditions for our goods. In Estonia for w*rk last year I noticed a palpable difference in the standard of living there as opposed to say, the older economies of France, Germany and UKE. They joined the Euro very recently. Even in euro , things are not quite as pricey as elsewhere in the Union, but it's catching up fast. Property's relatively cheap so 'Westerners' are buying it up and pricing the indigenous folks out of their own area. The UKE's problem is similar to Spain, Portugal and Greece's IMHO. Manufacturing industries devastated and perhaps an over-reliance on tourism. The challenge for Scotland, shirley, is to find solid ways to trade in Europe and worldwide. Plus maybe we should downgrade expectations of living a luxury lifestyle on the average wage? |
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Post by yonzabam on Feb 23, 2012 10:43:19 GMT -1
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