Greece has sovereign debt outstanding of 340 billion euros ($481.5 billion). The is debt equivalent to 150 percent of annual output.
It is more than 30,000 euros ($42,300) per person in a population of 11.3 million.
Last year, the EU-IMF agreed to provide over-time a 110 billion euro bailout. The current crisis is over a 12 billion euro payment of that bailout agreement. Some EU-IMF members, especially Germany, argue that Greece has not done enough in terms of bringing its financial house in order to justify the upcoming scheduled 12 billion payment. The payment will eventually be made. The EU-IMF is not going to allow the banksters to fail because of 12 billion euros.
A second bailout package of 120 billion euros is also under discussion, because the first 120 billion was not enough to reverse Greek's financial troubles. Since these are all loans, the EU-IMF simply delays the Greek crisis. Greece has no way of paying the EU-IMF loans when they come due.
Greece has already cut public sector wages by 20% and pensions by 10%.
The only real solution would be for Greece to default on its debt and drastically cut the role of government in the economy. As things stand now, things will only get worse, as more and more youth, who have any skills at all, leave the country.
Where on earth has all this money gone? Do Greek public employees all get a Mercedes with their pension??
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ReplyDelete"...Greeks get paid for 16 months per year (instead of 12 like the rest of us)? And it doesn't include benefits and other expenses."
ReplyDeleteI bet the labor unions here in the U.S. wished they'd thought of demanding such a sweet deal like that a long, long time ago! Hahahaaa
"Greece has already cut public sector wages by 20% and pensions by 10%."
ReplyDeleteNot really. The total of wages at the public sector was increased by 10% in 2010 (and will also increase by the same % in 2011) due to extra overtime and extra bonuses.
The reality is much more complex than political rhetoric.
well i see not greeks knowing that good how much salaries we gat each year, 15 by one then 16 by an other good informed then...?On the other hand during May of 2010 all greek workers (public sector's too) have lost at least 2300 euros or 2.5 salaries BUT Eu's, IMF's and EuroBank's orders have been failed to change our way of debt so thats why we have to have new taxes and salary cuts again now! It means that we -the greeks- have to "obay" once more to them that dont know their job, or even worst they do make experiments on our back! Question is...since they all have been proven wrong -their methodes as well- since we have start paying ( 2300 euros in 30000 is close to 10%) since we will not be able to go back to the markets for loans next 3-4 years (according Eurocrates) since we have to lower our salaries more again, schools have been closed, hospitals too, social care programs there arent anymore, even Public sector's investments have been cut down, no 'light in the tunnel' for ending this crisis, all the moneyholders on europe offer us more money again to save us (why? because they love us? dont think so), given that greek participation in euro is 0.3%,given that as is said our failure will have a global impact. Isnt wise by us -the greeks- to say "no thank you, we have suffer enough, we want to stop pays abroad what they ask because we dont have the money, because we have to choose will we survive it or will make reachests the loangivers? The answer is LET STOP PAYS NOW!LETS GO BACK TO DRACHMA!
ReplyDeleteIts capitalism after all that rules, bad investments are loosing their money!
Yes, go back to Drachma.
ReplyDeleteYou'll lose all your savings and at least half or more of your salaries, just sayin'.
@NagyGa1: ah come on, they are going to lose their savings and salaries anyway
ReplyDeleteSomeone should do a clean sweep of the Greek government. Because of the corruptness.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Greece a few times and spoken to their students and teachers about their crisis and why things are as they are.
And they've ALL told me the same thing, even though some of them have never met eachother.
The Greek government is corrupt, the money that goes to Greece never reaches the streets, the sad thing is that nobody really cares about Greece, and those who and does something about it, ends up either with a bank account which reads a big ZERO, a few less family members or dead.
And the police in Greece are not there for the civilians, so they aint got nobody when the shit hits the fan, there's a clip on youtube about police brutality as well, about a person who hasn't done anything at all and only says "don't hit me, please don't hit me" gets smacked up real good.
Great world we live in... Simply fantastic.
Greece is lost unless the world does something..
The Greeks are working the longest hours in Europe - 42 hours a week, according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. The average per capita income is 803 euros. The real age is 40 years, as claimed by Anders Bora, but 61.4.
ReplyDeleteIt is about one of the most hardworking, while lower-paid people in Europe. But they have a country dependent on tourism rather than a purely hers big production. And a country with zones of a social contract. Where people do not trust the state while the state does not allow citizens or basic social services. And that, as a culmination of all, is to loop the euro.
Yes, loop the euro- in a noose, and pull the platform.
ReplyDeleteThe pix on Zero Hedge of the frustrated businessman who went to Pireaus Bank to renegotiate his loan, and then set himself afire with petrol after he was turned down, made me cry. And I don't cry.
The Euro expirenment has been great for transferring money to the wealthy, and f*cked everyone else.
Dale Fitz, crying as I type...