Grecian Fire Sale Could Happen to U.S.

The Grecian good life does have consequences.  Sooner became later and the can ran out of road.  What happens now is the auctioning off of assets and possible artifacts of a peoples’ heritage.  Billionaires and celebrities are champing at the bit to own a slice of a Mediterranean archipelago.  Greece has a lot of islands and they’re up for grabs.

American business magnate, one of the world’s most successful investors, Warren Buffett has reportedly bought the Greek island of Agios Thomas for 15 mln euro, according to the website of the Greek newspaper Proto Thema and became yet another celebrity with his own piece of Greece.

The newspaper says the deal was made in partnership with Italian real estate magnate, millionaire Alessandro Proto.

The two men closed the deal for a reported 15 million euros last Thursday. The businessmen released a joint statement saying that they intended to invest in the island of Agios Thomas, also referred to as St. Thomas, located on the northwestern side of the island of Egina in the Saronic Gulf.

They plan to “build property in an effort to help the wider region develop.”

The island, 300 acres in size, was earlier available for sale over the internet at 15 mln euro.

If confirmed, this is yet another purchase of a Greek island by a foreign celebrity. Earlier this week Hollywood star Johnny Depp purchased an uninhabited Greek island of Stroggilo for 4.2 mln euro.

The United States isn’t immune to a possible fire sale of its assets.  The federal government has a $211 trillion debt.  China could demand forfeiture of federally owned lands.  Take a look at the following map.  We could lose almost the whole west.

China has a monopoly on the rare earths market.  This would be an additional boon for them.  Hell, it might help American citizens get a job, since the EPA and the Bureau of Land Management would no longer wield its regulatory abuses on us.  I can actually envision job seekers welcoming our Chinese overlords. 

  

Source:

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/the-firesale-begins-tsipras-agrees-to-sell-greek-assets_072015

http://www.infowars.com/warren-buffett-reportedly-buys-greek-island/

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/06/139027615/a-national-debt-of-14-trillion-try-211-trillion

http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2015/jul/17/glenn-hegar/glenn-hegar-says-texas-owns-its-public-lands-uncle/

World DebtorsTime to Pay the Ferryman

The collapse of the 2008 housing bubble will have nothing on the coming world debt implosion.  No one, except unknown isolated tribes in a South American rainforest, will escape the reverberations of this economic tsunami.

Governments and central banks have been whistling pass the graveyard for far too long.  The ferryman has been keeping a ledger and charging compound interest; soon, he’ll demand all debts be paid.

Charon is watching the Grecian debt dance and askance at over 24 other countries in similar circumstances with another 14 more on the verge.  Who’s going to pay their ferry?  Certainly not the United States, China or Japan; they’re got their own insurmountable debt mountain. 

The Economic Collapse blog has outlined the coming debt storm:

Of course the same thing could be said about the entire planet.  Yes, national governments and central banks have been attempting to kick the can down the road for as long as possible, but everyone knows that this is not going to end well.

And when things do really start falling apart, it will be unlike anything that we have ever seen before.  Just consider what Egon von Greyerz recently told King World News…

Eric, there are now more problem areas in the world, rather than stable situations. No major nation in the West can repay its debts. The same is true for Japan and most of the emerging markets. Europe is a failed experiment for socialism and deficit spending. China is a massive bubble, in terms of its stock markets, property markets and shadow banking system. Japan is also a basket case and the U.S. is the most indebted country in the world and has lived above its means for over 50 years.

So we will see twin $200 trillion debt and $1.5 quadrillion derivatives implosions. That will lead to the most historic wealth destruction ever in global stock, with bond and property markets declining at least 75 – 95 percent. World trade will also contract dramatically and we will see massive hardship across the globe

Source:

 http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-bankruptcy-of-the-planet-accelerates-24-nations-are-currently-facing-a-debt-crisis

The Democratic Party's Middle Class Grecian Formula

 The Democratic Party has a Grecian formula they hope will appeal to the middle class.  As you can expect, it’s all about free stuff.  Here is an excerpt from the New York Times:

The emerging Democratic agenda is meant to appeal to parents. The policies under discussion — paid family leave; universal preschool; an expanded earned-income tax credit and child tax credit; free community college and perhaps free four-year college in time — are intended both to alleviate the burdens on middle-class families and to expand educational opportunity for children. The result is a thematic platform addressing some of the biggest sources of anxiety about the future of the middle class.

Democrats have to do something to entice the middle class.  So far, their policies have been destructive.  The Affordable Care Act was supposed to reduce health care cost; instead, insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed.  Many lost their doctors and have to travel miles for a compliant hospital.

 

Barack Obama’s open border policy hasn’t helped either.  Illegal alien children have flooded local communities.  Schools and taxpayers are burdened with overflowing classrooms with pupils who don’t speak English.  These children have to be clothed, feed, and some cases need medical attention.  Diseases, once eradicated in the U.S., such as tuberculosis, measles and the whooping cough have made a comeback.  The once thought mythical bedbug has also reappeared with a vengeance.  Thanks Democrats.

     

Not only are Americans competing for space and limited funds in the classroom, illegal aliens have taken their work as well.  Democrats would have us believe third-worlders are doing the jobs Americans refuse to do.  That is a lie.  Illegals are in the trades.  These are skilled positions.  Are Democrats trying to tell us Americans no longer want to be plumbers, electricians, carpenters, welders or painters?  Don’t believe them.

The Democratic Party’s ideology is literally and figuratively bankrupt.  Their policies are designed to enslave people to federal government handouts.  If they succeed they’ll turn this country into a Grecian nightmare.

 

Source:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/upshot/the-parent-agenda-the-emerging-democratic-focus.html?smid=fb-share&abt=0002&abg=0&_r=0

Revenge of the Third World

The United States isn’t the only first-world nation inundated with unwanted immigrants.  The whole third-world is on the move.  Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Great Britain are flooded with people seeking to escape poverty, war and pestilence.  This massive amount of humanity has caused a problem.  What are they to do with all these people?

In France, migrants are rioting near Calais.  Most are from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  They are trying to get to Great Britain.  Here is a description of the chaos:

More than 51 east African migrants desperate to reach the “El Dorado” of the UK were injured in ethnic clashes early today in Calais over access to lorry parks, in the second night of rioting near the ferry terminal.

Charity workers say the authorities are “overwhelmed” by a recent increase in the numbers of migrants in Calais which now totals 1,300. The clashes involved Sudanese fighting Eritrean and Ethiopian migrants, with sticks, iron bars and stones. The violence prompted local authorities to send in riot police on Monday, but they failed to quell the battles which drew in 300 people overnight.

The massive amount of humanity has a detrimental effect on the indigenous population.  These third-worlders will fail to assimilate.  They’ll bring the same prejudices and beliefs that made their native countries hellholes.  Take a look at France.  Muslims, whose beliefs are antagonistic to Western civilization, continuously riot.  There are no-go zones in Paris and other cities.  These enclaves are a danger to national security.

As of now, twice as many British Muslims are fighting for ISIS than the British armed forces.  One day these so-called citizens will come “home.”  Does anyone believe the jihad stops at the British shores? Worse, they have passports that grant them access to the rest of the world.  Isn’t that lovely?    

There is some good news.  European youths are aware of their elders’ betrayal.  They are beginning to speak out against this EU suicide pact.

Source:  http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/european-union-illegal-immigration-rises-african-migrants-converge-italy-1450553

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21606301-more-horrific-deaths-mediterranean-tidal-wave

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ethnic-riots-in-calais-as-albanian-gangs-charge-african-migrants-for-access-to-port-area-9650338.html

http://guardianlv.com/2014/07/anti-semitic-riots-in-paris-again/

http://www.newsweek.com/twice-many-british-muslims-fighting-isis-armed-forces-265865

Nigel Farage: America is not Responsible for European Financial Crisis

U.S.S. Titanic on Collision Course With Grecian Iceberg

Here is a video that explains the dire circumstances the United States is in. After you watch this, you’ll understand why the Democrats in the Senate refuse to pass a budget. The federal government is out of control. Their spending and borrowing is a national disgrace.

The U.S.S. Titanic is on a collision course with a Grecian iceberg. And we too, will experience a societal breakdown.

What these politicians have done is criminal. And they’ll walk away unscathed while the rest of us are rummaging through trash cans.

H/T: NC Renegade

Will Washington Politicians Learn from Europe's Mistakes?

Will the politicians in Washington learn from the mistakes of the Europeans? It looks like they won't. If Obama's budget is any indication, we are heading down the Grecian road of bankruptcy, chaos, and anarchy.

The election of 2012 is crucial. If the Anointed One wins a second term, I'm afraid there is no turning back.

Goldman Sachs Corrupting Tentacles Extends to Italy and Greece

Goldman Sachs is well known for its corrupting influence at the highest levels of federal and state governments in the United States. Many of their numbers have infested the Federal Reserve, the office of Secretary of Treasury, or became governors of states. Now, they are taking over foreign governments. The Guardian reports the following:

Democratic accountability has become a secondary virtue, desirable but expendable. In Italy and Greece, the former Goldman Sachs bankers Mario Monti and Lucas Papademos, having been parachuted into highest political office, are set to raise retirement ages and cut state spending without having to canvass for a single vote. George Papandreou's attempt to hold a Greek referendum over a new bail-out package led to his ejection from office before the ballot date was even set. In Rome, Monti has not even bothered to include a single elected politician in a cabinet which must perform the most painful economic transformation in Italian postwar history.

The restlessness is already palpable. Whistles and jeers, from both right and left, greeted Monti as soon as he took his prime ministerial seat. Italians are bemused at the speed and nature of the "takeover", however much they delight in the fall of Silvio Berlusconi.

Goldman Sachs is a key player in this whole financial mess. God only knows how far their corruption extends. And I seriously doubt that it ends in Italy and Greece.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/20/eurozone-crisis-european-union-plans

Ohio Votes for Grecian Formula

The Buckeye state repudiated Governor Kasich and the republican’s fiscally responsible budget that curbed the bargaining power of public employee unions. Yesterday, Ohio voters bypassed the legislature and voted via referendum. The end result is a union victory and an $8 billion budget shortfall:

“The governor and his legislative friends really overreached,” said Lee Saunders, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “All of labor was together on this. I think it’s a model for fights across the country.”

Democrats also claimed victory, framing the results as a rebuke to Republican lawmakers across the country after the GOP swept statehouses across the country in 2010. Ohio Democrats were badly beaten in that election.

Our founding fathers admitted states into the union on condition that they are a republican form of government; not a democracy. It looks like the citizens of Ohio have opted for the Grecian formula: out of control unions; a sense of entitlement, and financial ruin.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ohio-votes-to-repeal-collecting-bargaining-on-issue-2-ballot-measure/2011/11/09/gIQAL48R6M_story.html

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/18/news/economy/union_protest/index.htm

The Sister Ideologies of the Wall Street Occupier's

The United States has 1300 cities who have sister city relationships around the world. Charlotte, North Carolina claims the following:

Arequipa, Perú (Ah-Reh-KEEP-Ah) Charlotte's first Sister City. Arequipa became our Sister City in 1962.
Krefeld, Germany (Kray-Feld) Krefeld became our Sister City in 1985.
Baoding, People's Republic of China (Bow-ding) Baoding became our Sister City in 1987.
Voronezh, Russia (Vah-ROH-nesh) Voronezh became our Sister City in 1991.
Limoges, France (Leem-OGE with a soft g) Limoges became our Sister City in 1992.
Wrocław, Poland (VROTS-wahv) Wrocław became our Sister City in 1993.
Kumasi, Ghana (Koo-MA-si) Kumasi became our Sister City in 1995.
Hadera, Israel (Ha-DER-a) Hadera will be our newest Sister City

Taking into consideration the spirit of this symbolic global partnership, I thought we should partner the ideologies of the Wall Street Occupiers with that of their international brethren. Here are some of the countries and their capitols who are commiserating with the OWS crowd:

Tehran, Iran
Athens, Greece
Havana, Cuba
Caracas, Venezuela
Tripoli, Libya
Cairo, Egypt

This isn’t the company I would want to keep.









Source: http://www.charlottecultureguide.com/organization.php?id=123
http://www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/cic/relationships/sistercities/Pages/default.aspx

New Debt Deal is a Big Sham

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) reveals his apprehensions about the debt bill in an interview on Fox News. It looks like the same old deceptive shenanigans are taking place, again.

The congressman is an advocate for a balanced budget amendment. But these D.C. creatures have already shown they have no regard for our Constitution. It looks like we are on the road to Greece.

U.S. Fiscal Policies are Grecian Like

Breaking News from Moneynews.com

Bank of England Governor: U.S. Faces Same Danger as Greece

The United States is facing the same fiscal problems as Greece, says Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England.

“Bear in mind King is usually one of the most guarded policymakers in both British and central banking circles. Not yesterday,” the U.K. Telegraph reported.

“It isn’t often one has the opportunity to get such a blunt and straightforward insight into the thoughts of one of the world’s leading economic players. Most of this stuff usually stays behind closed doors, so it’s worth taking note of.”

King’s “frank” comments were definitely not “pleasing” to President Barack Obama and to European leaders, the Telegraph reports.

“He also believes that European Union must become a federalized fiscal union — in other words with central power to tax and spend — if it is to survive. Just two of the nuggets from one of the most extraordinary press conferences,” the Telegraph reported.

King is not the only leading opinion-maker worried about the parlous fiscal state of the United States.

Nouriel Roubini, appearing on Fox News, notes that the fiscal crisis started in 2007 with too much debt in the private sector.

Now, the United States and Europe have socialized the debt. Trillion dollar deficits are not sustainable, however.

“What has happened in Greece could happen in the U.S. We could have serious problems," says Roubini, the former Clinton White House economist, and professor at New York University.

"We have the debt of the federal government. Many state and local governments are bankrupt. There are unfunded liabilities for social security. There are unfunded liabilities for state pensions

Los Angeles Boycotts Arizona

The city council of Los Angeles has voted to boycott Arizona because it passed a law that in essence would enforce existing federal immigration laws.

The city of angels has given the American people the finger by nullifying federal law; in effect granting amnesty to illegal aliens. Now, they have serious financial problems in part because they are a sanctuary city.

From the L. A. Times:

1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County (L. A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.

2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.

4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose
births were paid for by taxpayers.

5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.

6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.

7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from
south of the border.

8 Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.

9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.

10.. In L. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County.)

(All 10 of the above facts were published in the Los Angeles Times)

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a former SEIU organizer. He served with that organization for 15 years. Under his watch, Los Angeles could face bankruptcy between now and 2014.

You have to admit that these community organizers have a way of destroying prosperity.

I say we help Los Angeles on its way to a Grecian like economy by boycotting these irresponsible, anti-American bunch of morons.

Senator Predicts U.S. Could Have Grecian Like Debt Crisis

Breaking News from Moneynews.com

Sen. Gregg: U.S. May Follow Greece Into a Debt Crisis

By Frank McGuire

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., says the United States is in danger of being in the same dire situation as Greece in seven years if the nation doesn't slash its debt and control spending.

“We are on a path which will go to where Greece is, there's no question about that, if we don't adjust our present financial house,” Gregg says.

“If we continue to spend much more than we take in," he says. "We'll double our debt in five years and triple it in 10 years and essentially be where Greece is in about seven years,” he said Monday night on the Fox Business Network.

"So we know we are headed in that direction unless we do something about reducing the level of debt and reducing the level of our spending.”

The national debt of Greece is 113 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The current U.S. debt amounts to roughly 50 percent of the gross domestic product.

Asked when he expects that the U.S. debt situation will reach the crisis level that Greece is currently facing, Gregg said, “we're looking at maybe the outside 10 years, probably closer to seven years before we hit the wall, so to say.”

The Republican senator said that the signs of a crisis are already here – pointing to recent downgraded ratings of U.S. debt.

Asked how Americans will know that the crisis has hit, Gregg responded: “Well, when people stop buying our bonds.”

“Basically, when they tell us that they don't have any confidence in our debt being repaid and they force us to pay a much higher interest rate, something that is unsustainable,” he said.

“They essentially say to those of us in the United States, just trying to sell debt to finance our daily operations of government, we do not believe you can repay the debt or can repay it in a way to make us buy your debt at a reasonable price.”

SEIU's Grecian Formula

Here is the union thug who would lead us down the road to Greece. Andy Stern would be the one to light the torch and burn down our institutions and way of life.

As of now government workers make more than those of us in the private sector. And here is what happens when these government workers and union thugs don't get their way:




Buyer Beware!!

Goldman Sachs: The Men Behind The Curtain

Don’t pay attention to the men behind the curtain!

Greece is undergoing a financial meltdown, and Goldman Sachs was a key player in helping them mask their huge budget deficits. The financial institution received $300 million in fees for arranging a derivative transaction in 2001.

Upon entering the European Union, member countries agreed not to exceed budget deficits of 3% of GDP; Greece is at 13%. Many suspect other members have engaged in similar practices.

Goldman Sachs was a huge player in the U.S. banking crisis. When the federal government was dispensing cash through the TARP program, Sachs converted to a bank holding company so as to qualify for funding.

Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson called in former colleagues at Sachs to help manage the crisis:

Neel Kashkari – appointed to oversee $700 billion fund to buy toxic and bank assets
Steve Shafran – student loan problems, guarantee money market funds, etc…etc
Dan Jester – involved in the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Kendrick Wilson – worked with heads of banks to apprise them of treasury plans and gauge their response. He also worked with two other Sachs executives: Edward Frost and Robert Steele.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner did not work for Goldman Sachs, but had close ties with Bob Rubin who was co-chair at the famed firm. Geithner became president of the New York Federal Reserve. The New York Times wrote of the relationship:

Some people say that all of these Goldman ties to the New York Fed are simply too close for comfort. “It’s grotesque,” said Christopher Whalen, a managing partner at Institutional Risk Analytics and a critic of the Fed. “And it’s done without apology.”

Bob Rubin became treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and then senior counselor at Citigroup, which also received billions in bailouts.

Secretary Paulson appointed Edward M. Libby, Goldman Sachs director in 2003 to act as A.I.G.’s chairman of audit committee. Sachs had $20 billion in credit derivatives with A.I.G. who was the company’s largest trading partner. Market watch wrote the following:

Until it was fully extricated, Goldman always characterized its exposure to AIG as "immaterial," and that its $20 billion notional exposure to AIG was hedged. Turns out that it was -- through government bailouts that didn't exist when Goldman entered the contracts.

Even former New York Luv Guv Eliot Spitzer told journalist Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that he thinks something smells.
"The web between AIG and Goldman Sachs is something that should be pursued," Spitzer said. "Why did [those payments] happen, what questions were asked, why did we need to pay 100 cents on the dollar for those transactions if we had to pay anything, what would have happened to the financial system had it not been paid?"

Yes, it looks like Government Sachs has made out quite well. They have managed to make a profit, while their competitors went out of business or are greatly diminished. They are like the Colossus of Rhodes, whose stance strides over the financial harbors of the world. Hopefully, their foundation is more stable.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/business/19gold.html?pagewanted=4&_r=1
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-sachs-bailout-bonanza-lloyd
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/global/14debt.html?pagewanted=2&hp
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124762129423442667.html

California Should Get The Same Treatment As Greece

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the Stimulus Bill while calling the GOP a bunch of hypocrites. Many republican governors complained about the amount of federal spending, while at the same time accepting the money to shore up their budget deficits. Fair enough, but does Arnold have to prostitute himself to Washington D.C.?

Schwarzenegger made a dubious claim that the Stimulus Bill created 150,000 jobs in his state. Really? I would like to know what kind of jobs they are, and how long they last after the welfare checks stop coming.

Now, the Governator is back and he needs more money for California’s bloated budget:

"I don't see one state getting a carve-out," Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said after meeting with Schwarzenegger and the legislators. Boxer said her aides were exploring whether some of the roughly $50 billion in federal economic stimulus money the state is slated to receive this year for public works and other projects could be used to offset the state deficit.

"The key thing is we get more money for the state of California," Schwarzenegger told reporters. "Not a handout, but money we deserve.

Oh, but it is a hand out. And California is becoming another Greece.

Greece has serious financial problems. They need a bailout from the European Union in order to shore up their bloated budget. The Union finance ministers have given Greece one month to get their house in order, or they will lose control of their taxation and spending policies to a central council; in effect losing their sovereignty. Voting rights will be denied to them. Many Europeans would like to kick Greece out of the Union.

In order to comply with the mandates, Greece has to contend with their public unions. Drastic cuts have to be made, and many do not like it. A confederation of public and private unions, along with farmers, and the communist party have band together in massive strikes. They are clashing with police in downtown Athens.

California has the same kind of problems as Greece. They have a powerful public union that sucks the life blood out of taxpayers. They are governed by corrupt politicians who don’t know how to stop taxing and spending; and the state is infested with a bunch of communist who rule the roost. Is it any wonder that they have insurmountable budget deficits?

I believe we should treat California just like the European Union is treating Greece. If they require any bailouts; their representatives in congress should be frog marched out of the Capitol and sent home. You will not have any voting rights until you get your act together. And when the general election comes time to vote a president into office they would be excluded from the process.

Actually this should apply to any state that receives bailouts.

source:http://www.mercurynews.com/california-budget/ci_14232126
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/thousands-of-greeks-go-on-strike-2010-02-24

Greece Loses E.U. Voting Rights

This is what needs to happen if California gets a bailout.


As reported by the U.K. Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/7252288/Greece-loses-EU-voting-power-in-blow-to-sovereignty.html

The council of EU finance ministers said Athens must comply with austerity demands by March 16 or lose control over its own tax and spend policies altogether. It if fails to do so, the EU will itself impose cuts under the draconian Article 126.9 of the Lisbon Treaty in what would amount to economic suzerainty.

While the symbolic move to suspend Greece of its voting rights at one meeting makes no practical difference, it marks a constitutional watershed and represents a crushing loss of sovereignty.

"We certainly won't let them off the hook," said Austria's finance minister, Josef Proll, echoing views shared by colleagues in Northern Europe. Some German officials have called for Greece to be denied a vote in all EU matter until it emerges from "receivership".

The EU has still refused to reveal details of how it might help Greece raise €30bn (£26bn) from global debt markets by the end of June. Investors are unsure whether this is part of Kabuki play of "constructive ambiguity" to pressure Greece and keep markets guessing, or reflects the deep reluctance by Germany to be drawn deeper in an EU fiscal union. Greek bonds sold off as ten-year yields jumped to 6.42pc, but the euro rallied to $1.3765 against the dollar as broader issues resurfaced in currency markets.

Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup, hinted that ministers have already agreed on a support mechanism, should it be necessary. It will most likely involve by bilateral aid by eurozone states. He said proposals for an IMF bailout - backed by Britain - were "absurd" and would shatter the credibility of monetary union.

Many Germans disagree, including Otmar Issing, once the backbone of the European Central Bank. He said an EU rescue for Greece would be fatal, arguing that unflinching rigour is the only way to hold monetary union together without political union.

Tuesday's EU verdict amounted to a thumbs down on Greece's earlier austerity efforts, viewed as too reliant on one-off measures and too light on spending cuts. Greece must reduce its deficit from 12.7pc of GDP to 3pc in three years. Greek customs officials expressed their anger by kicking off a three-day strike, the first of many stoppages set to culminate in a general strike next week.

However, premier George Papandreou has won support from key political parties and a majority of the people. Greece may yet surprise critics by mustering its Spartan Spirit.

Lessons To Learn From Greece

Greece’s financial woes should be a lesson to everyone. Instead of heeding the warnings of a meltdown in the European Union, the politicians in the United States are on an unprecedented spending spree. Government at the federal, state, and local levels expanded an astonishing 66% in just one year.

Greece has to make austere cuts in their budgets and the public sector employees are raising holy hell. Farmers who want more in subsidies have also joined the strikers.

The communist party once banned is now on the rise. They are capitalizing on the plight of government workers:

"It's a war against workers and we will answer with war, with constant struggles until this policy is overturned," Christos Katsiotis, a representative of a communist-party affiliated union, told the Associated Press.

Services are suspended such as non-essential health care as reported by the Guardian:

Non-urgent hospital appointments have been cancelled, and schools across Greece will remain closed. Air traffic control staff are also taking part in the dispute, meaning flights in and out of the country will be heavily disrupted. Greece's largest airline, Aegean, has suspended all its services, while British Airways has cancelled three scheduled flights from Heathrow to Athens.

Yeah we really want government health care when this can happen.

Without a responsible fiscal policy, Greece could get kicked out of the European Union. A Poll shows that 67% of Germans are against bailing them out.

This should be a lesson to all of the Keynesians on Capitol Hill. If you think China is going to put up with all your profligate spending and keep on buying our debt; you had better pay attention to what is happening over in Greece.

source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61D0ZC20100214

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/10/greek-workers-strike-eu-bailout