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Chart of the Day – Greek Denial

by Whaleoil on May 26, 2012

ᔥ Andrew Sullivan

The Labour party and the Greens might like to think that Europe isn’t in crisis and Greece isn’t an issue. They are simply in denial and the problem with denial is that it eventually catches up with you. The world economy simply patched over serious issues in 2008. The festering sores under those band aids are starting to stink.

The World economic situation isn’t getting better anytime soon and to pretend otherwise is simply denial:

The fact is that technocrats at the IMF and elsewhere made it easier for politicians to delay the reckoning by putting together economic programs that didn’t hang together from day one.  With optimistic growth projections, debt dynamics looked a lot better, which in turn made it look like sustainability was around the corner. There is an important lesson here for the next round in Spain. Economists have to do a better and more honest job.  When programs don’t add up, they have to say it loud and clear.

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  • Blokeintakapuna

    Yep – it’s always easy to offer hope – false hope – to those who get to spend other peoples money on people who live beyond their means. Hello Greece! Any other country come to mind?

    Greece will be kicked out of the Euro and only then will they be able to devalue the Drachma and eventually start to get some economic momentum – after being forced into selling a few islands to cover their huge dept.

    Sure there will be pain, but better to have pain where there will be some ability to eventually control their own financial destiny’s, rather than just pain and having to constantly submit to the wishes of others and still have the same issues.

  • ConwayCaptain

    In Greece tax dodging is the national sport.  I know many of the rorts but they are too many to mention.

    No one pays to go on the Athens Metro paid for by the EU.  The Greek National Railways have a wage bill in excess of 1 billion euro but and income considerably less than this sum.

    If all the WEALTHY Greeks paid tax the counrtry would be OK but none do.
    Apparently since Italy has started buckling down on Tax Dodgers they have recovered BILLIONS of Euro

    • Johnbronkhorst

      Couldn’t be that 80% of greeks work for the govt.????They have a completely unsustainable public sector! Something labour did to us. Labour are still espousing this. The thing that stagered me was John Key’s statement (even after their layoffs) that the govt. sector is still 25% of the NZ economy. Thats like a company of 20 people, 4 would be admin. (ie a cost to the business) 2 max would be required!! My personal opinion is that, if your admin staff exceeds 10% of your total staff, you are over burdened with the cost of running your business….Same applies to govt…….10% cost to run the country.

  • Carver Media Network

    The financial issues in Europe with France are 200 times worse than Greece – this is just a drop in the ocean

  • AngryTory

    Fuck Greek denial Whale – what about Kiwi denial?

    Bill the Greek is borrowing ten billion for this weeks budget – who the fuck thought that was a good idea. And no, total state sector in NZ is more like 55% not 25% – go ask wiki!

    Benefits, Health, education. The Greeks, Italians and yes French cant afford them and don’t deserve them. And neither do we! And as soon as government policy is made on that basis, the better for NZs competitiveness!

  • ConwayCaptain

    LADIES and GENTLEMEN

    The wealthiest area in Spain cannot pay its bills and one of the LARGEST banks in Spain wants E15billion + to bail it out.

    In the DT today it is reporting that Fr Banks are moving to London.  I wonder why??

    I was at sea for 18 years on NZ ships ing=c the rank of MASTER and have paid my taxes.  I had to FIGHT to get my redundancy from SCONZ under the Lange Govt.  My wife and I home schooled a son with dyslexia and dthe family cared for a sick Father for two years and I caredc for my wife for 7 months at home when she was dying.

    I am pissed off with supporting n’er do wells spitting out kids like machine gun bullets an peopkle who think it “is their right” to bludge off the state.

    I am on the OAP but I still run my business and battle against // importing etc.

    • Gazzaw

      Good on you CC and good you for picking up the OAP & running your business as well. I am like you and unashamedly delight in getting the OAP and treat it as a tax deduction on the $50k+ tax I still pay each year out of my business. Fuck anyone who calls us the lucky generation – Ive looked after aged parents, educated our kids privately and at the same time paid over a million dollars taxation in my lifetime. That tax included payments for my OAP (it is not a benefit) & I’ll take it as an entitlement. Neither me, my family or my kids have had a benefit if any sort and it riles me to know that the taxes that I currently pay are going to paying bludgers a third of my age.

      So Angry Tory, rant on as much as you like about benny bludgers, you can stick the OAP entitlement up to 70 but leave people like CC and me out of your ranting.

      • ConwayCaptain

        Hi Gazzaw

        People were amazed that I kept my business running whilst my wife was bedridden and hysing.  She died on 21/7/08 and all my suppliers said to me donmt worry if you dont pay on time but we know your sitauation.  The chqs went out on 20/8.

        Now I get people saying we cnant pay as our customers havent paid us B:LAH BLAH BLAH.  They afre given short shift.

      • Greg M

         Captain, and Gazzaw, THANK YOU.

        Men like yourselves make a huge contribution to this country in so many ways.
        Enjoy the OAP, you both have earned it, and then some.

        G.

  • Mediaan

    Keep an eye on the cunning, sly,
    “everybody will have to have their debts, bank balances and assets turned back to zero, then we will start again with 100,000 each” school of thought. It is out there. It feeds into insane overspending, socialist public service numbers, and protests against austerity.

    It will attract support from all the bozo crowd who think it’s more than they have now so that sounds good.

    Until they have to take a wheelbarrow to carry enough money to buy a dozen eggs.

  • http://jccarter.myid.net/ JC Carter

    Optimistic projections and living on somebody elses money?   Sounds like Bill English.  How many dollars will be loaned this year to cover tax cuts?

    • Gazzaw

      So what’s your cure for our ills JC?

    • Pukakdion

       Gazz
      You know that JC and the Left parties have no solutions.   All they have is moaning about how everyone has to pay more for them and put downs for those who actually make the hard decisions.

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