www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Greece Debt...Can Someone Explain?

I AM not an economist, but I feel something sounds not quiet Right about Greece. They currently have a debt that his Higher than their Gross Domestic Product and are praising a Deal that will reduce operating costs to 120% GDP. The EU will dump a lot of Money on them paid by taxpayers in other nations who now have to bare the burden of financing the Greek governments Economy.

This in the news is seen as “Austerity” and the only way to help Greece get out of Debt…even though this money is seen itself as a Loan that Greece will eventually have today back or default on.

Can anyone explain this to me? How was this supposed to help? It seems like they just pushed their problems forward into the Future, where they will grow and become worse.

Allow me to try...and if anyone notices an error please gently correct me.

Let's say my name is Greece. Credit card companies and other lenders allowed my to borrow way over my head...my annual payments are practically as much as I earn. Now the lenders want their money but I can't pay.
So, let's say a court appointed advisor (the EU) tries to come up with a plan. What they devised on the first few tries was to make me cut spending, however my family starts publicly protesting, saying that they can't buy what they claim as necessities (food, rent, clothes.)
So we re-negotiate. I still have to severely cut spending, but the lenders (the big banks, who were rubbing their hands over the high interest payments and penalties they were going to get) are forced by the advisor to forgive half my debt. The lenders cried to high heaven that they are being cheated but Big Brother says they have to. In addition some unwilling wealthy townsfolk (France, Germany, etc) were cajoled into donating huge sums to help me out.

Generally this is what is happening; no one is sure it will be enough help or whether the Greeks will revolt because repayment is still going to hurt bad. The worst part is that Spain, Portugal and Italy are heading in the same direction as Greece. Will the wealthiest nation, Germany, agree to bail out the debtors? The German people are screaming NO, but France keeps pushing and partially succeeding because the EEC will collapse if a solution isn't found. Now they are pleading with China to help. It used to be the USA who donated, but we have our own crises and may end up like Greece if we don't cut the government and trade deficits.

Aren't you thankful that you are a Christian and even in the midst of tragedies we remain peaceful and hopeful for a better afterlife?

It's not supposed to help. It's supposed to maintain the status quo, which is a sink hole whereby ordinary people are robbed of their wealth, their country, and their lives.

Brought on by irresponsible spending....it's the me, me, me attitude....until its time to pay up. What is their retirement age....55?

Retirement is a bit academic in a country where nobody works in the first place. Anyway the problem is wider than Greece. America is indebted many times beyond any reasonable possibility of repayment. The "me me me" is certainly a cause, but it's a cause that's been carefully fostered in people. You can blame simple folk for following their "betters", but I think it's missing the point.

Bingo. The Euro is doomed. So is the EU. What that means for us remains to be seen.