This is desperately sad and upsetting (Greek Crisis)

This is desperately sad and upsetting (Greek Crisis)

Author
Discussion

Transmitter Man

4,253 posts

223 months

Friday 17th July 2015
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Derek Smith said:
The money we give out in overseas aid is one of our best investments. In essence, it is a bribe: buy our stuff or else we pull the plug. It doesn't always work, but that's normally because other countries pay more in aid. Yet many people, especially on these forums, want to stop it. I feel certain that there are similar people in Germany and if it starts to look as if they are throwing good money after bad - despite evidence to the contrary - then there will be pressure to cut and run.
Derek,

I'm not so sure, some of that aid money is siphoned off to put fuel in the despots' Mercedes and pay for the UK private school fees of the ministers kids.

Like many African & Asian countries the last thing the leaders are interested in is the welfare of the state or it's people.


Edited by Transmitter Man on Friday 17th July 19:34

Transmitter Man

4,253 posts

223 months

Friday 17th July 2015
quotequote all
PRTVR said:
Were not the other bail outs linked to fiscal reform ? Why should anybody expect things to be different this time? Will everybody start paying their full tax? Will the government put up the retirement age to 70 and cut the wages of the civil servants ? They can promise the earth, but history has shown they will not deliver.
Exactly this.

Same here in Cyprus.

Life goes on for the public sector.

It's money for old rope.

Teacher = 2.5K Euro pm + free healthcare (It's private here for the great unwashed) + finish work at 1pm (they then go to their second job) + early retirement + nice pension and a swim in the Med in the afternoon.

The private sector get's caned, although our corp tax is half that of the UK.

Phil

XM5ER

5,087 posts

247 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
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Greek Pilot Flies F16 to Turkey to Withdraw Cash From Bank

Not sure if this slipped under the radar?

At the other end of the scale, I was trying to help out a Greek chap last week who was in Turkey trying to open a bank account so that he could take all of his money out of Greece now that the capital controls are coming off. Poor sod.

Derek Smith

45,514 posts

247 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
quotequote all
Transmitter Man said:
Derek Smith said:
The money we give out in overseas aid is one of our best investments. In essence, it is a bribe: buy our stuff or else we pull the plug. It doesn't always work, but that's normally because other countries pay more in aid. Yet many people, especially on these forums, want to stop it. I feel certain that there are similar people in Germany and if it starts to look as if they are throwing good money after bad - despite evidence to the contrary - then there will be pressure to cut and run.
Derek,

I'm not so sure, some of that aid money is siphoned off to put fuel in the despots' Mercedes and pay for the UK private school fees of the ministers kids.

Like many African & Asian countries the last thing the leaders are interested in is the welfare of the state or it's people.
I wasn't suggesting that the aid got to the people who need it. Perish the thought.

I hesitate to use the word bribe so I won't. So that limits what I can say to support the suggestion that aid aids us in the main.

If we really wanted to help, we'd give the money to, for instance, doctors without frontiers but they'd only waste it on the ill and we won't be able to sell the country guns and aircraft. Where's the sense in that?


Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

169 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
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We should stop being stupid and count defence spending and foreign campaign costs and the costs of immigrants, border control, EU bail outs and anything else possible in the 0.7% of GDP we are 'obliged' to spend.

NicD

3,281 posts

256 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
quotequote all
Mr GrimNasty said:
We should stop being stupid and count defence spending and foreign campaign costs and the costs of immigrants, border control, EU bail outs and anything else possible in the 0.7% of GDP we are 'obliged' to spend.
beer

dudleybloke

19,718 posts

185 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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Bit quiet in here today all things considered.

Blib

43,797 posts

196 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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I guess that most of this thread's regular posters met today's news with a resigned shrug.

jimmybobby

348 posts

105 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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Blib said:
I guess that most of this thread's regular posters met today's news with a resigned shrug.
Meh not like it was unexpected.

Digga

40,207 posts

282 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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jimmybobby said:
Blib said:
I guess that most of this thread's regular posters met today's news with a resigned shrug.
Meh not like it was unexpected.
No. The combined weight of austerity and capital controls is compressing the Greek economy in a brutal manner. To me, it really makes no sense.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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I wonder if they'll continue to be hammered today. One wonders where the floor is.

jimmybobby

348 posts

105 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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hornetrider said:
I wonder if they'll continue to be hammered today. One wonders where the floor is.
They will continue to be hammered until collapse as there is money to be made from it. In some cases to balance out losses incurred by the same people making the money now.

In the end the bailout will fail. Frankly the whole thing of "secretly" looking into bringing back the drachma was a very good idea and hopefully is not a plan thats evaporated. Get the bailout if they can and then slowly bring the drachma back in alongside the Euro and phase the euro out rather than default.