The background on this story is pretty straightforward: The Greeks spent themselves into bankruptcy a few years ago (you may have seen it in the news at the time), they demanded that the European Union - which is to say, the Germans - bail them out or they'd leave the E.U. (which, for some unexplained reason, was and is considered a bad thing), the Germans acquiesced to being conned into lending billions to the Greeks, and now the Germans are demanding that the Greeks pay up, while the Greeks are demanding still more loans from the Germans, on threat of....leaving the E.U.
If this sounds like children are running the world, congratulations on your keen perception.
The latest developments are even more entertaining. First, the Greeks are now threatening not just to exit the European Union, but to side with the Sino-Russian Axis:
Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said that if Greece failed to get a new debt agreement with the euro zone, it could always look elsewhere for help.
"What we want is a deal. But if there is no deal - hopefully (there will be) - and if we see that Germany remains rigid and wants to blow apart Europe, then we have the obligation to go to Plan B. Plan B is to get funding from another source," he told Greek television show that ran in to early Tuesday. "It could the United States at best, it could be Russia, it could be China or other countries," he said.
"Give us your money or we give the Russians and ChiComms a foothold in Europe." Greece - the birthplace, some would argue, of Western civilization - has now effectively declared itself to be an enemy of the West out of nothing more than their own puerile greed. But it got them at least part of what they wanted, as the E.U. - which is to say, the Germans - have granted Athens a six month reprieve on its debt repayments, with the possibility of fresh "short-term" financing.
Nothing really newsworthy about any of this, really.
The other entertaining development? Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) is demanding that the United States totally bail out Greece. And wait until you here the reason why:
“I trust that nobody wants to see a Nazi Party come to power in Greece.” That’s part of one U.S. Senator’s rationale for demanding the U.S. bail out the struggling Mediterranean country. Would this save the European Union from impending financial disaster? What would it cost the American taxpayer?
As opposed to the hardcore socialist junta that's ruling it now and is perfectly willing to sell out to the Russians and ChiComms. Yeah, that's much better.
Making the case during a CNBC interview yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) said the problem was an overdose of austerity, with relentless budget cuts (whether real or theoretical) doing nothing to dig Greece out of its giant hole. And besides, he added, we’ve essentially been bailing out the whole of Europe since 2008 anyway. [emphases added]
Actually, Greece's problem is that they haven't really undergone any "austerity" at all. It all gets back to this bogus "too big to fail" concept. The notion implies that (1) there should be no consequences for irresponsible fiscal behavior and (2) that a day of reckoning even can be avoided. In reality, all the postponement does is make the eventual collapse that much bigger and more devastating. Far better for Greece to be made to "take its medicine" - or "eat its crap sandwich," if you prefer - now and get it over with and that country back on solid financial footing than to keep facilitating its fiscal incontinence.
The supposedly responsible and frugal Germans didn't heed that wisdom, and are now apparently willing to be fleeced in perpetuity until their own financial situation is destabilized. And rather than have to bail them out for bailing out the Greeks, Senator Sanders urges us to cut out the middleman and buy Greece directly.
As though Obamerikastan hasn't already been financially (and in a whole host of other ways) destabilized itself.
For you Tea Partiers out there who (1) loathe foreign aid and (2) thing a GOP Congress is useless, take a good, long look at this story, and start counting your blessings.
No comments:
Post a Comment