Posted on 01/29/2015 11:06:03 AM PST by Starman417
Syriza, the neo-communist party led by Alexis Tsipras, has won the elections in Greece. The party is a collection of Marxists, Socialists, Maoists, Trotskyites and Greenies. In other words, Syriza is the party of the moochers. They oppose the austerity measures that the troika of the EU, European Central Bank and the IMF imposed on them in exchange for loans.
The Greeks, who cheated their way into the EU, are fed up with the austerity measures. They remind me of someone who maxed out his credit card and had to depend on his relatives to save him from bankruptcy.
As a condition for fresh loans from the troika, Greece had agreed to drastic cuts in government spending. This caused 5 years of recession and a drop in their standard of living. Greeks cannot afford the cushy welfare state they had grown accustomed to. Leftist governments had given away free health care, generous pensions and early retirement to win elections. That was how they went broke. See my earlier article on Greece and what it means for the US.
Now, the Greeks had thrown a temper tantrum against the troika and voted for an ultra leftist party. Syriza promised them a roll back of the spending cuts and to persuade the troika to continue lending them more money! What cheek.
That was the snake oil Syriza sold the Greeks and they bought it. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has a lot of clout in the EU because they contribute the most money. The Germans are fed up with the Greeks. This is not surprising. According to marketwatch, the German retirement age was 65 as of 2010, while the retirement age in Greece was 57 years.
According to the top 10 list, Greece has the second lowest retirement age in the world. If they work till 57, they are entitled to a generous pension from the government. The outgoing Greek government had promised to raise the retirement age to 63 this year to save money. That’s still lower than the retirement age of the Germans who are the biggest lender to the Greeks. So the Greeks expect the Germans (who have to work till 65) to lend them more money so that they can retire at 63 (assuming Syriza keeps the previous government’s promise).
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will tell the mooching Greeks to …. off (choose your expletive). That is my prediction. The Greeks have an outrageous sense of entitlement. Years of leftist government have taught them the idea that the world or somebody owes them a living and a good living at that. They think they are entitled to mooch on other people’s money.
The Greeks will have to face reality. The first reality is the Socialism does not work. Obama, please take note. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
I think the EU and especially the Germans are running out of patience. Syriza ran on the election campaign promise to renegotiate the terms of the loans that the previous government led by Antonis Samaras had signed. The troika had reluctantly agreed to lend them more money in exchange for spending cuts because a Greek default on its debt would bring down European banks. The loans were more for the purpose of saving the banking system from collapse rather than to save Greece. But after five years, the European banking system can withstand the shock of a Greek default.
Therefore, Alexis Tsipras does not have the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) to force the troika to lend them more money. The Greeks who voted for him will have to face the hard reality that they have finally run out of other people’s money.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
This will repeat until the EU has taxed all the wealth out of their citizenry, and at that point, cue a World War.
Syriza: the Party of the Mooching Class!
This is akin to any election outcome. "Same Circus, Different Clowns..."
Don’t think so this time. What the rest of the EU fears is that if Greece is thrown a life preserver that will encourage other leftist governments like Spain to seek the same debt relief.
No, I think the Germany (let’s face it it’s the Krauts that call the tune in this case) will insist that the Greeks honor their commitments and if not they will let them default and go their own way with the drachma. The EU is strong enough now to weather that. And it will be an instructive lesson to other leftist governments who might want to try to skip out on their debts.
Silly? I don’t know what you think exactly, but this is not a simplistic tale of stupid and lazy Greeks against Hardworking Germans.
The creation of the Euro and allowing Greece to borrow at German rates for 7 years simply fed the socialist nanny state of the EU, particularly it fed the corruption of already badly governed places like Greece.
And yes, I am cheering them on. Greece is screwed either way, so I would like to see them poke a few major holes in the EU ship.
The amazing trick is central bankers convince folks we’re post scarcity. Then they carefully buy up as many assets as possible. Then when the bubble bursts, they buy up the rest.
Progressive leftism is a Trojan horse for an oligarchy of elites running a world that serves their endless greed.
“People of Greece! Let us think and work our way out of this mess! We can’t keep on borrowing money like drunken sailors!”
“Opa! Opa! Opa! Pass the bottle admiral!”
Plenty of people in Greece and around it are comfortable with the idea of doom. It creates opportunities for looting, killing, and taking power. It also pauses all debts for a long time.
Funny to see conservatives cheer Greek communists on.
The disease has to run its course. A mere galvanization of a dead body will not make it alive and healthy, even though the body will twitch. Loans are poured into Greece like into a black hole, and there is no way to continue to do so forever. Greeks have to experience the alternative to the life under austerity regime that they today consider unacceptable. That alternative may include scenes from Venezuela, if not from Ukraine or Yugoslavia. Technically, Greece is already close to being a failed state, as the country is incapable of sustaining itself.
Russians and Chinese will move in to buy assets on the cheap.
It does seem that this is a vote out of desperation. The leaders of these countries keep taking loans (at great benefit to themselves) and saddle their populations with austerity programs and debt to German banks that can never be paid off. Places have tried to vote themselves out of the EU and been told they can't. Another bad feature is the EU puppetmasters are enabling Europe to be over-run by many with terrorist potential who undermine culture and economic well being.
Maybe the only way out of the EU is to be kicked out.
You would think that this would really bother the Germans.
But this isn't the widespread German opinion that the article makes it out to be. Remember, the Germans are also socialists, just a much lighter variety. The general opinion among Germans is, 'Well, why shouldn't we help them...we are rich and they are poor'
Don't expect any immediate negative reaction from the Germans.
Truthfully, while moochers are indeed on one side, the other side are internationalist bankers who do not give two hoots about the Greeks, and are willing for them to undergo tremendous suffering.
What that nation needs is some adult leadership more dedicated to their nation and its people than whatever else they are loyal to.
If I lived in Greece I would be stockpiling toilet paper, Tylenol, and batteries. Anything that would sell well on the black market once the rationing and shortages start.
We come from Bankrussels bearing many gifts.
Sign here.
We come from Bankrussels bearing many “bonds.”
Buy, Our Valued, Greek paper, sign here.
Do or tanks.
The moochers may think they won, but time will tell...got to have something available to mooch off of otherwise it can get awful hungry out there.
Are wealthy Greeks fleeing, and if so, where to?
...they and the educated ones already left for Germany, UK, Australia and the USA....
The moochers have been and are winning here too.
“No, I think the Germany (let’s face it it’s the Krauts that call the tune in this case) will insist that the Greeks honor their commitments and if not they will let them default and go their own way with the drachma. The EU is strong enough now to weather that.”
You may be right.
My take is a bit different.
I don’t think Germany will have a choice. The reason I say this is because the largest holders of Greek bonds are other EU countries and their leading banks. On top of the face value of the bonds are the gigantic pyramid of derivatives.
Frankly, Germany will holler and protest and complain. In the end, if they don’t help Greece, here’s what will happen:
Greece will leave the Euro in order to recapture their ability to print money.
Greece will immediately order all banks to switch to drachmas.
Greece will default /renounce their sovereign debt.
Greece will massively print drachmas.
Other nations will hold bonds that are worthless and will suffer loss. Large EU banks will suffer immediate loss and their balance sheets will no longer meet international Basel Banking standard. Many will not survive.
This will set off a flight of capital from Europe to the Dollar (already happening)
Derivatives will go off like a time bomb.
As the saying goes... If you owe your bank $100,000, it’s your problem. If you owe them a $1,000,000,000, it’s their problem.
In any case, I still believe three nations will leave the euro as a currency and possibly the EU itself.
What happens there is a foretaste of what will hit our own shores a year or two later.
And I do hope you are right and I am wrong. I just don’t see any way around it. Even if Germany concedes, it will just postpone the inevitable.
Best
If it was good enough for us, it’s good enough for them.
Good luck Comrades, you’ll need it.
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