Posted on 02/14/2010 5:52:05 AM PST by reaganaut1
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BERLIN (Reuters) - A majority of Germans want debt-ridden Greece to be thrown out of the euro zone if necessary and more than two-thirds oppose handing Athens billions of euros in credit, a poll published on Sunday showed.
Vocal opposition to aid for Greece from members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition also grew at the weekend with several senior politicians expressing skepticism, especially as Germany's own recovery is fragile.
The Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed 53 percent of Germans asked said the European Union should, if necessary, expel Greece from the euro zone.
Athens has struggled to convince investors it is tackling its debt crisis and markets are nervous about a default.
EU leaders discussed the issue last week and offered words of support but failed to outline concrete steps, further unsettling markets. Euro zone finance ministers are expected to discuss Greece again on Monday and Tuesday.
Merkel has adopted a cautious stance on support, saying while Greece will not be left on its own, it is up to Athens to sort out its own problems.
The poll also showed 67 percent of Germans did not want Germany and other EU states to give billions of euros in credit to Greece.
"If we start now, where do we stop?" Michael Fuchs, deputy head of Merkel's conservatives in parliament, told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
"I can't explain to people on unemployment benefit that they won't get a cent more but Greeks can draw a pension at 63."
In her first term, Merkel raised Germany's retirement age to 67 from 65 in an effort to rein in the deficit to meet EU goals.
Merkel's coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) are even more resistant to helping Greece.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Does throwing a member out mean that the Euro is breaking up?
It would take a lot more to revive Greece, since that country's primary industry--tourism--fails miserably during a time of economic recession.
I believe the Central valley took a big hit 2 years ago with the decision to limit irrigation. Thread drift here.
socialist remedies for socialist caused problems
A better and vastly cheaper solution for Calli is to let them collapse entirely, then work to rebuild after three years.
This method shuts down the out of control government sector there, and allows real estate values to reset so the working poor can afford housing.
A thought exercise:
Greece has it’s own Euro printing office. What if they simply keep printing Euro’s?
That would be a gigantic mistake. Everything must be done to stop any bailouts for profligate spenders like California.
What California can do is to elect a tough fiscal conservative like Governor Christie of New Jersey, who nis cutting a massive $2.2 Billion from New Jersey's budget even as we speak.
On the other hand, if France were screwing Germany, would Greece help?
They'd be Greek Euros. Some exchange rate with other European Euros world be established. Like that between the Zimbabwe and US Dollar
That would not be legal, and the rest of the Eurozone countries would not put up with it.
Actually, I'm surprised the Euro has lasted this long and with apparent success it had gaining in value compared to the dollar and other currencies. The structural problem for the Euro is that every country can issue Euros. So, you have 27 Chiefs and no Indians. The Chiefs promise that they will budget responsibly. Yeah, expect governments to control their appetite for free money and spending. Sounds like a plan.
We don’t need to bail out government workers in order to save California’s agricultural industry.
Making those cash transactions illegal strikes me as being more fascist than socialist.
So you are saying that California can hold its productive capacity hostage to profligate state spending. Cleave Little and the N-word come to mind.
Good ideas, but I believe that 85% of the California budget is lock in as entitlements and can’t be changed without a formal declaration of bankruptcy. Or the political will to tell the government union employees and those living on assistance that you will have your payments renegotiated down (political suicide).
That would work... but it would really be a pain - especially considering that the Greek Euros are already in distribution throughout Europe. Also, the only distinguishing mark is the letter preceding the Serial number (Y in the case of Greece)
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