Posted on 08/19/2015 4:53:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
BERLIN — Germany's parliament overwhelmingly approved a third bailout for Greece on Wednesday, removing a key hurdle to providing new loans to the country and keeping it from defaulting on its debts in as little as 24 hours.
The vote's result also seemed to dispel any speculation that Chancellor Angela Merkel would have difficulty getting her conservative bloc to sign on. Lawmakers voted 454-113 in favor, with 18 abstentions.
The approval is among the last due from parliaments across Europe, with the Dutch scheduled to vote later Wednesday, after which Greece is expected to get the first installment of its new 86 billion euro ($95 billion) loans package.
The country needs the cash to make a debt repayment Thursday. The board of the European bailout fund that will disburse the money will hold a teleconference Wednesday night to discuss the matter.
The German approval was never in doubt but in a similar vote last month, 60 members of Merkel's conservative bloc voted against and some local media had speculated that even more could rebel this time as Germans are increasingly skeptical about giving Greece more money.
Though a party-breakdown of the vote was not immediately available, the result suggested that if anything, more of Merkel's lawmakers voted in line with her recommendation
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Really, what is in this for Germany? Free vacation vouchers? Bulk discounts on gyros?
I wonder if there is a German Donald Trump? I am sure the citizens are happy working until 75 while the lazy Greeks are retired and on the beach at 45.
What do both the US and Germany have in common? Governments that are not working in the interest of their citizens.
I bet there were German bankers in that audience. Just the commission for brokering such a deal would make any if them rich in one transaction alone; ebough to share the wealth and still be set for life.
History has witnessed things like this before. Extreme measures to “preserve the union”.
“II am sure the citizens are happy working until 75 while the lazy Greeks are retired and on the beach at 45.”
What’s the definition of insanity? “Repeating the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome?” The Greeks have become masters of the art of screwing others out their money. And, that’s what they will do with this third bailout. Greeks know that Germans still harbor a deep guilt complex about WWII and thereby can be manipulated by playing the guilt card.
But there IS a George Soros...
Germany maintains the Eurozone (if Greece did an Iceland, Spain, Portugal and Italy would be watching closely). And Germany— an export dependent economy that sends over 50% of its exports to other Eurozone countries— needs the trade bloc to hold together.
This is an older book, but still very worth the read if you want to understand the politics of Europe’s money:
http://www.amazon.com/Rotten-Heart-Europe-Dirty-Europes/dp/057117521X
Got it. Ein Welt, Ein Krieg, Ein Deutschland.
Problem is, Germany is loaning money to Greece in order for Greece to buy German products. Therein lies the definition of "deminishing returns".
Yep, that’ll work.
More things change, more they stay the same. Everybody wants to talk about race, nobody wants to talk about culture, and specifically the way different peoples treat money.
German families are net savers, similar to the Japanese in that regard. The Greeks have raised tax evasion to an Olympic sport, but they want the benefits of a Scandinavian-style welfare state. They disregarded the fact that the only country up north still pulling that off is Norway, with its huge Sovreign Wealth Fund investments paying out on revenue derived from oil sales (see how long that lasts in a low oil price environment...).
Currency unions last less time than a celebrity marriage and cause a whole lot more damage.
I actually would be in favor of letting the Greeks host the summer Olympics for the next couple of decades just to give them something to get some revenue coming into the country.
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