Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Perhaps, before the tax payers of other nations start footing the bill, the Greek 'government' could start cracking on on the massive tax evasion which seems to be endemic there:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...reou-austerity

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Have you seen a builder/plumber/sparky pay tax/Vat on anything in the UK? Cash in hand no?

And British Airspace has not given brown bags of cash (ok suitcases) to Saudis that could easily cover Portugal's debt?

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Well I'd be delighted if Gordon Brown would crack down on tax evaders here too. But what has that got to do with the Greeks and the action their government should be taking to reduce their massive debt?..

Re: Will we ever get a straight answer from Gordon Brown??
 

It's OK. The badger himself has ruled out the UK having to contribute.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Bus..._The_Continent

And seeing this government has never talked tough then changed their minds* we can all sleep soundly knowing our tax dollars go to bankers in the UK and not in Europe.

* Obviously not counting the Afghan hijackers, getting marched to cashpoints to pay fines etc. etc.

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Actually, nobody has made plans to handover any money at this time, they are just talking about it. It can therefore be argued that he is telling the 'truth' at this moment in time.:rolleyes:

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

But 'exceptional occurrences beyond its control' doesn't apply.

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Well the Greeks aren't too impressed with the EU's rescue plan:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8513430.stm

The EU's in between a rock and a hard place here isn't it? A fundamental design flaw's been exposed I think....

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Can you back that up? No, you can't.

We've got our own central bank and our own currency, both of of which are ours and which we control. They're ours, in other words. In the light of how poorly the ECB has responded to the economic crisis this now seems rather a good idea. On the other hand, the Greek problems are dragging the Euro down, which makes the pound less competitive. This is a bad thing, so perversely it's in our interests for Greece to get a good thumping bailout in order to steady the Euro at a higher rate v. the pound.

BTW the Eurozone is being dragged along by France. Everywhere else is basically in trouble still - the Germans only managed flat GDP last quarter and no one's got a plan to get them spending any money (Germans are historically large savers and are sitting on a lot of cash - the memory of hyperinflation is still strong, of course, so they're reluctant to fuel inflation by encouraging people to spend it, in much the same way as they're reluctant to bail Greece out. Unfortunately the best thing for the Euro would be to spend some of the big saver's money keeping the little guys afloat, otherwise you end up tearing the zone apart due to inflationary pressures in France threatening the necessary deflations in Greece etc.).

Basically Spain, Portugal and Greece are all suffering from the effects of paying people too much during the boom. Since they can't devalue their currency (since unlike the UK they don't run it) they have to deflate the economy by cutting spending, cutting incomes and increasing tax take. This is not fun and doesn't help them get out of recession *at all* - the only way to do that in a hurry is to invest public money in the economy.

In other words, all you Eurosceptics can have a jolly good laugh. Then thank Gordon Brown for opposing UK entry into the Euro.

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

It's a real pity that this one towering achievement will for all time be overshadowed by ... well ... just about everything else.

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Thank Gordon Brown?? Do me a favour! Brown was in favour of joining the Euro 'in principle':

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1432...principle.html

He was only concerned about economic conditions NOT the fundamental inflexibilities of EMU which are now being exposed for all but the politically blinkered to see.....

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

I don't think many people seriously believe that to be true. He was simply toeing the cabinet line with one foot, whilst kicking the whole thing into touch with the other: that same article makes a big thing about the five economic tests. Those tests were drawn up to be as vague as required; Brown could have claimed the British economy 'passed' them had he wanted to.

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

I agree entirely. My point was that Brown apparently didn't view the practicalities of the EMU 'straightjacket' as an issue to be worried about.

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

How comes we can hand out money left right and centre to others but when we need some help or a bit of support from other countries or the E,U, We get sweet FA?.
I`snt it true that we pay a hefty contribution to the E.U coffers?
What do we get back for it? Can anybody explain that to me please?:erm:

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

Some say it's the price we pay for all that 'cultural enrichment'.... :D

---------- Post added at 22:01 ---------- Previous post was at 20:37 ----------

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8516730.stm

Hmmm... the Greeks are still in the dark about their EU 'rescue'. This doesn't inspire much confidence in EU solidarity does it...

Re: Debt crisis hits Greece, Spain & Portugal
 

If my memory serves me correctly, the UK pays one of the highest yearly contributions to the EU. yet has always received far less in return, than any other country in the EU is the way of subsidies.... This was the reason that Maggy Thatcher was able to secure the yearly EU rebate and the veto/opt-out for the UK....

Such a shame that Tony Bliar gave away the rebate, and most of the opt-out powers for bugger all return. Yes, Tony Bliar was a consumate richard head.... I mean politician, with the UK's best interests at the forefront of his Poodle like little brain..... :rolleyes: