Have the Greeks Actually DONE Anything to Address Their Deficit?

pqrdef

47thElement wrote: »

Should they not just retire at around 65 instyead of 55, surley a step in the right direction. Why should the rest of the world pay for them to retire early?

Keeping people on instead of retiring them isn't going to save any money.

I suppose they could raise the retiring age and then make people redundant, but then those people would want redundancy money up front and probably still be able to draw their pensions.

ILW

It seems state employees pension is something like 95% of final salary.

Thrugelmir

Coming to a head.

And Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, warned: ‘Not only does it seem as though something “big” has to happen with Greece pretty soon, but something “big” needs to happen for European bank capital, the clarity and determination of ECB policy making and, most importantly, where Germany wants to lead EMU.’

http://citywire.co.uk/money/endgame-for-eurozone-approaching-fast-warn-analysts/a523672?ref=citywire-money-latest-news-list

pqrdef

tomterm8 wrote: »

Because if Greek is insolvent, so are the creditors.

Hmm. Our casino banks also have creditors, and they're bigger than Greece. But we're cheerfully talking about allowing them to fail.

Thing is, the saving of Greece was supposed to be its smallness. As a mere pimple on the bum of the eurozone, everybody ignored the state of its finances because it couldn't be worth worrying about. Its deficit has grown to the alarming figure of EUR15bn, which is less than the UK banks used to pay in bonuses.

So why hasn't the Greek problem been swatted like a fly? Because the eurozone response has been astonishingly tight-fisted. The so-called "bailouts" have only been of the Ocean Finance variety - consolidation loans, on which interest is charged, initially at excessive rates. Well we know how helpful that is.

And what is worse, the eurozone version of Ocean Finance made it a condition of the loan that Greece would have to feel the pain. So it would have to sell the car, even if it could no longer get to work and would have to quit its job. You couldn't make it up.

What Greece needs is some help. All it's had so far is people screwing it into the ground in return for not calling in the receiver, which they can't afford to do anyway.

tomterm8

pqrdef wrote: »

Hmm. Our casino banks also have creditors, and they're bigger than Greece. But we're cheerfully talking about allowing them to fail.

Are we?

I don't think so, actually. The people who are talking about the 'casino banks' failing probably don't have a clue about the consequences.

pqrdef

Thrugelmir wrote: »

something “big” needs to happen for European bank capital

Meanwhile, Neill O'Jim at Sachsman Gold, or somebody, is saying that Basel 3 is too onerous for America.

vax2002

This Europe thing is a socialist idea and like all socialist ideas it involves those that do the work funding those who don't, so whilst we work until we die for the same wages we got 20 years ago, the Greeks, Italians and French get to sit around and drink the fruits of your labour.
Why should they care when they know your lifestyle will be reduced to pay for theirs ?

ILW

Has anybody suggested to the Greeks that they may trying to live within their own tax receipts for a year or two. Or is that all a bit old fashioned.

oldtractor

ILW wrote: »

Has anybody suggested to the Greeks that they may trying to live within their own tax receipts for a year or two. Or is that all a bit old fashioned.

:j:j love it. Simples. Bet they wont like it.

tomterm8

ILW wrote: »

Has anybody suggested to the Greeks that they may trying to live within their own tax receipts for a year or two. Or is that all a bit old fashioned.

Yes, I believe people have mentioned that option.

It hasn't worked out very well, has it? After twenty months and three massive budget cuts they just announced they have as large a deficit as when they started the project. And no one will loan them money on the markets.

Iceland, who just defaulted and made no attempt to repay their debt, on the other hand, has had the IMF leave town declaring the entire thing a great success. And they are borrowing money on the markets.