Posted on 05/07/2010 2:49:47 PM PDT by fightinJAG
The euro crisis is far from over. Markets are reacting with skepticism to the largest bailout ever – an attempt to prevent the bankruptcy of Greece. Former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Slovakia, are now expected to bailout Greece. On Sunday the IMF and the 15 other Eurozone countries – the member states of the European Union (EU) which, together with Greece, use the euro as their common currency – agreed to bail out Athens with bilateral loans totaling €120bn ($160bn) over the next three years. Many of these 15 countries, however, have huge debts themselves. They have agreed to help Greece, hoping that someone (read: Germany) will come to their rescue, too. Will Berlin and the IMF be able to save them all?
Polls show that between 66% and 86% of the Germans are opposed to bailing out the Greeks. Nevertheless the German government says there is a “good chance” of getting the Bundestag to agree to the bailout by Friday. Germany has to pay €22bn of the €120bn – the largest share apart from the IMF, which pays €40bn. Nevertheless, 76% of the Germans expect that Greece will not be able to pay back the loans it receives. The German political establishment, however, feels it has no other choice but to come to the rescue of the Greeks. “It is about recognizing our national responsibility within Europe,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel long resisted the plans to bail out the Greeks. Last week she changed her mind. One of the people who rang her to ask her to bailout Greece was U.S. President Barack Obama. Merkel insists, however, that the Greeks implement harsh measures, “not just for one year but for several years.” Merkel said on German television that due to the bailout
(Excerpt) Read more at brusselsjournal.com ...
Rube Goldberg could not invent a better system.
66-86% oppose bailing out Greece...
wait until they are asked to bail out all of Europe.
lol
I can not wait to see the Quadrillion dollar Drachma note. This seems like Health Scam all over again. I wonder if the Germans will roll over like the Americans did. Welcome to the NWO!
Cut the sickest part, take some bitter medicine and you MAY survive.
The Germans just found out that, while their retirement age is 67, the Greeks can retire at 55.
Oops.
45 for Government ee’s and pass the pension on to their kids...Germans though usually just go along with the government without complaint.
No workee,no eatee.
Yup. That Quadrillion Drachma Note might buy something one day.
How does that work again? 40 M on food stamps here in the U.S. . . .
I workee. They eatee.
It's not the Greeks who are going to be bailed out. It is the people and countries which invested in Greek bonds. So German tax payers will be paying off German bankers and German investors.
Probably not. Americans rolled over on the promise of helping other Americans. Germans and Greeks are miles apart and have centuries of differences. The fact that Greeks are killing for 2 extra months of monthly pay doesn’t help.
But the Germans will heel to the government. It is their nature.
Yes, there is truth to that and I think that is the only way ANY country would be doing this. In the end, there has to be something in it for you, so to speak. It has to somehow affect your own nation’s interests.
Sidenote: I was thinking yesterday, too, how the sharp cuts in Greek income should lead to consumer price reductions, which will then lead to . . . more German tourists than ever! Just another little way in which this could play out.
It is not Christian charity to inculate dependency,oops,forgot,the U.S. is not a Christian nation.
I agree with you.
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