All that's wrong with Greece

Wookster

Taken from an article in the Telegraph:

In Athens, police arrested Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis for breach of data protection laws after he revealed the names of 2000 wealthy Greeks with HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland.
Known as the `Lagarde list", it was given to the Greek authorities by Christine Lagarde in 2010 when she was French finance minister.
"Instead of arresting the tax evaders and the ministers who had the list in their hands, they’re trying to arrest the truth and freedom of the press," said Mr Vaxevanis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9639512/Germany-rattled-as-taxpayer-losses-loom-in-Greece.html

I keep wandering why Germany is getting the blame when the Greek government cannot get basic things right.
Infact, that the list contains politicians suggest that they are not doing right by their citizens.

Loughton_Monkey

If the list is correct, it implies HSBC might be complicit in money laundering.....

.... that's stretching imagination a bit isn't it? Surely that can't be right? What next? Barclays fixing Libor rates?

Generali

From the OP's article:

Hans-Werner Sinn, head of Germany’s IFO Institute, said it is becoming cruel to keep Greece in EMU. "The austerity needed to restore wage and price competitiveness will break society first. We are sacrificing a generation of young people who cannot find work, and all in the name of the euro. It is irresponsible. A euro exit would offer hope at last," he said.

Back of the net Sinn old sonn.

Zorz_2

Greece is not alone – tax evasion is a British problem too

vivatifosi

I don't know if anyone has seen the video that the Guardian uploaded last week (it's long, nearly 13 mins), but it is very disturbing:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/oct/26/golden-dawn-greece-police-video

ruggedtoast

Greece is a victim of neoliberal globalisation.

If the euro crisis doesn't prove that the bankers are tossing a coin with two heads then nothing does.

They lent billions to Greece, a country which if it were a person would have trouble getting a payday loan, and made a fortune out of doing so.

Now Greece is unable to repay, so the loans are guaranteed by EU taxpayers, none of whom have a democratic right to opt out; and the banks make another killing.

Wookster

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Now Greece is unable to repay, so the loans are guaranteed by EU taxpayers, none of whom have a democratic right to opt out; and the banks make another killing.

Having just taken large write downs through the Greek PSI I struggle to see how "the banks" are making a killing. Not to mention the write downs on Spanish, Irish, Italian and Portuguese debt.

GeorgeHowell

The Germans would introduce compulsory sponsoring of a Greek family by all of their citizens if they thought it would preserve their precious dream of European domination. Nobody should feel any sympathy at all for Germany in any of this -- it's all self-inflicted.

Loughton_Monkey

ruggedtoast wrote: »

....Now Greece is unable to repay, so the loans are guaranteed by EU taxpayers, none of whom have a democratic right to opt out; and the banks make another killing.

Yes, agree with Wookster. Can't see that the banks are exactly making a killing. The loans are to the Greek so-called 'government'.

• EU Tax payer gets screwed.
• Greek Tax Payer (if exist) gets not quite as screwed.
• Worldwide equity investors get screwed by volatility.
• EU Bureaucrats keep their gravy train.

The 'killing' will eventually be by wealthy greeks. They already have their Euro piles stashed away in Switzerland. All they are awaiting is the inevitable expulsion of Greece from the Euro. Then 1 Euro = 1 New Drachma. Let it 'mature' for 2 or 3 years, until 1 Euro = 7 New Drachma. Then exchange it all back again.

..... large oozo & tonic all round....

C_Mababejive

Germany gets the blame because they are seen as a bullying overlord ,think WW2.

Totally unwarranted but thats how it is. Greece had a bad time in WW2.

But lets not dwell on that.

Greece has a heck of a lot going for it.

The people are generally amenable,warm and friendly.
The wine
The food
The beaches
The weather
The music
The culture
and last but not least..the beautiful women

ruggedtoast

Wookster wrote: »

Having just taken large write downs through the Greek PSI I struggle to see how "the banks" are making a killing. Not to mention the write downs on Spanish, Irish, Italian and Portuguese debt.

The bank-ers rather.