The Bankrupt PIGS of Europe

[The Luke]

Great article.  Notice how TA, Luke, KC, Benny, and the rest of socialists wont go near this issue?

The 333386.

If you look up the GDP to debt ratios of these countries, you'll find that ALL the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) are just as much at risk of systemic financial collapse as the non-eurozone former communist block currencies (Latvia, Estonia etc) already buckling under the weight of paying euro-denominated-mortgages while their own currencies collapse.

You can read all about it here in yet another excellent article by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7182739/Greek-Ouzo-crisis-escalates-into-global-margin-call-as-confidence-ebbs.html

But the reaction in these socialist countries is somewhat different to that in America.

Here in Ireland we just saw the bursting of one of histories most inflated property bubbles... within a year housing prices have collapsed 50% and unmployment has jumped from 4-6% to 22-25%. New taxes somewhat akin to the dreaded "IMF austerity conditions" have been introduced pre-emptively.

But the reaction isn't hysterical... people are protesting the very mention of cuts in the minimum wage rate (approx $12 an hour) and standing together with unions against corporate moves to capitlise on the situation. In fact, most of the public want the bailed-out banks fully nationalised... and many of our politicians are calling for increased taxation on the RICH.

Most Irish people remember the decade of 20+% unemployment Ireland suffered during the 80s... and know what it took to survive such hardship without an IMF bailout (which Britain capitulated to) while maintaining the world class education and healthcare systems our culture insists upon.


Meanwhile, America has a similar GDP to debt ratio (look it up, it's true);
-is fighting two unwinable wars;
-can't impose any taxation on the 0.1% of the population who earn 7% of the income;
-can't tax the have-nots any further (50 million without healthcare; 1 in 8 adults, 1 in 4 children on foodstamps)
-already has the worst wealth disparity in the developed world
-already has the worst education system in the developed world
-has descended into openly corrupt kleptocracy/corpocracy

So America is just as fucked as the rest of the developed world.


But the difference, the difference is how America is reacting... aye, there's the rub.

The American public, (albeit well meaning), are so terribly miseducated and propagandised that they are shifting inexorably towards outright Fascism.

This is frighteningly obvious in the disintegration of the Evangelical Christian "values voters" block, who have morphed into the schizophrenic Tea Party movement.


Not meaning to offend anyone... but Obama is NOT a socialist. Turns out he's just another sugar-coated corporate fascist.

But if you think "Palin 2012" is the answer... then sorry to tell you, but YOU are the problem.



The Luke

[Soul Crusher]

If you look up the GDP to debt ratios of these countries, you'll find that ALL the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) are just as much at risk of systemic financial collapse as the non-eurozone former communist block currencies (Latvia, Estonia etc) already buckling under the weight of paying euro-denominated-mortgages while their own currencies collapse.

You can read all about it here in yet another excellent article by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7182739/Greek-Ouzo-crisis-escalates-into-global-margin-call-as-confidence-ebbs.html

But the reaction in these socialist countries is somewhat different to that in America.

Here in Ireland we just saw the bursting of one of histories most inflated property bubbles... within a year housing prices have collapsed 50% and unmployment has jumped from 4-6% to 22-25%. New taxes somewhat akin to the dreaded "IMF austerity conditions" have been introduced pre-emptively.

But the reaction isn't hysterical... people are protesting the very mention of cuts in the minimum wage rate (approx $12 an hour) and standing together with unions against corporate moves to capitlise on the situation. In fact, most of the public want the bailed-out banks fully nationalised... and many of our politicians are calling for increased taxation on the RICH.

Most Irish people remember the decade of 20+% unemployment Ireland suffered during the 80s... and know what it took to survive such hardship without an IMF bailout (which Britain capitulated to) while maintaining the world class education and healthcare systems our culture insists upon.


Meanwhile, America has a similar GDP to debt ratio (look it up, it's true);
-is fighting two unwinable wars;
-can't impose any taxation on the 0.1% of the population who earn 7% of the income;
-can't tax the have-nots any further (50 million without healthcare; 1 in 8 adults, 1 in 4 children on foodstamps)
-already has the worst wealth disparity in the developed world
-already has the worst education system in the developed world
-has descended into openly corrupt kleptocracy/corpocracy

So America is just as fucked as the rest of the developed world.


But the difference, the difference is how America is reacting... aye, there's the rub.

The American public, (albeit well meaning), are so terribly miseducated and propagandised that they are shifting inexorably towards outright Fascism.

This is frighteningly obvious in the disintegration of the Evangelical Christian "values voters" block, who have morphed into the schizophrenic Tea Party movement.


Not meaning to offend anyone... but Obama is NOT a socialist. Turns out he's just another sugar-coated corporate fascist.

But if you think "Palin 2012" is the answer... then sorry to tell you, but YOU are the problem.



The Luke

The fact of the matter is that Euro & America's govts have made promises that are impossible to keep. 

Luke - check out this site - www.usdebtclock.org

And no, I dont think Palin, Thune, Hucklebee, is the answer or savior to our problems.  The citizens are the problem since we demand free shit with no ability to pay for it.  The polticians cater to voters' demands and whims, give in, and hence, we have structural debt problems that will never be solved until and unless there is a massive collapse and/or rest, or structured default.   

[loco]

We don't have a problem finding young people with skills... our youth is are educated in Canada... not America.

Fixed.

But you will have problems finding skilled Canadians of working age in the near future if fertility rates in Canada keep declining at the rate they are.  Who will replace the current skilled workers when they retire?

How will your government pay for handouts if there aren't enough people with decent wages to tax anymore?

You can't sustain an economy in a welfare state where few skilled workers support many unskilled low income workers and the many lazy people who just won't work, not to mention the elderly, the disabled, etc.

You claim to have an IQ of 160.  Do the math.

[Soul Crusher]

Jag is clueless; like most socialists are to the reality of basic math, economics, demographics, etc.