Quote:
Originally Posted by Ignitionnet
On the flip side try telling the Greeks that more of the same will somehow work in the context of this, Damien.
Germany want to ram austerity down Greece's throat as they, voluntarily, did it to themselves and it kinda worked. Of course it worked because the Euro kept their exports relatively cheap and provided a ready made market in the rest of the Eurozone but let's not go into minor issues.
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Greeks overspent on employing people in non-jobs, on increasing salaries, on increasing pensions and entitlements. They didn't collect taxes, they made business difficult and expensive. How on earth was anything going to go right? That is ongoing spending. That is what has to be cut back. It would be easy if they had spent it on the household equivalent of several flash holidays a year. In that situation you can cut back on the holidays without having to cut back on other household spending. Is anybody going to invest there, whilst there is a government that might well take the business away from you?