German MPs suggest Greece sell its islands (and the Acropolis) to pay off its debt By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 12:41 PM on 05th March 2010 They've often been accused of hogging the sunloungers and taking over the beaches. Now, as if to confirm their rather boorish reputation when it comes to grabbing a place in the sun, the Germans have suggested they buy up entire Greek islands. Corfu has been suggested as one target, although a (slightly) more practical suggestion is one of the country's thousands of small and unpopulated islets. Selling an island would help Greece pay off its huge national debt, say German MPs. The suggestion by Marco Wanderwitz and Frank Schaeffler added fuel to the feuding between the countries over how Greece will tackle its deficit. 'The Greek state must sell stakes in companies and also assets such as unpopulated islands,' said Mr Schaeffler, a finance policy expert in the Free Democrats, the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition. Mr Wanderwitz added that Athens should provide 'collateral for any money it receives from the European Union to help it out of its debt crisis - in this case, certain Greek islands also come into question'. Their remarks led to a headline in the Bild national newspaper that read: 'We give you cash, you give us Corfu!' Even if the headline was tongue in cheek, it has hardly helped to ease the anger of Greeks infuriated by what they see as a threatening line from a nation which ravaged their country during the Second World War. Many have called for a boycott of German products - resulting in a fall in sales at German car dealerships, a supermarket chain and even a pet food distributor. Greece's deputy foreign minister, Dimitris Droutsas, told German TV: 'I've also heard the suggestion we should sell the Acropolis. Suggestions like this are not appropriate at this time.' Mrs Merkel will hold crisis talks with Greek prime minister George Papandreou today to discuss the situation. Greece has around 6,000 islands off its coast, of which 227 are inhabited. In 1996 it nearly went to war with Turkey in an ownership dispute over unpopulated Imia, an island which consists of just two rocky outcrops covering a few acres. Corfu, however, has almost 110,000 residents, including 10,000 Britons. The main Greek unions have called a three-hour work stoppage for today to object to austerity measures designed to stem the debt crisis
How Private Central Banks work is They get you in debt by printing money out of thin air and lending it to you. And when you can't pay, they ask for your property which is the only thing that has REAL value. They do this most successfully with poorer countries.
America needs to do something similar... sell off Federally owned lands to raise money to pay our bills. Perhaps THEN the message would get across... Goverment and social costs are REAL, and deficit spending is actually consuming the country's assets. (Of course, the ones whose assets are being consumed are generally not the ones receiving the "benefits" of deficits... but that's a different topic.)
sell it to whom, BANKERS ?? I am sick of you and your simplified OLDER GENERATION view on the problem You can't seem to understand that The FED and IMF have set up a system in US and other western countries that is designed to fail designed to fail so bankers get real wealth in exchange for paper wealth What ? You think Obama or Bush before him was running the country. Old fool, I can't wait for your generation to die so we can fix the problem and print interest free currency for use
Wasn't it Jefferson who suggested that we may end up as slaves to banks... on the very properties for which our ancestors shed blood?
Your rant in response isn't even on point. You're apparently too dense to understand... so I'm not listening to any more of your bilge... In addition, I served in the Vietnam War, have paid $MILLIONS in taxes (while you have likely been sucking from the teat of my taxes and service your entire life... you're probably in the 50% of Americans who pay zero federal income tax, right)... I never get a farkin' thing from the government..... and you're in a hurry for ME to die? Your ungrateful little snot!! ON IGNORE!
YOU ALWAYS BITCH BITCH BITCH and you never mention little old FED and little old IMF You are drunk on CNN pal.
I think you secretly hate The United States of America As a moderator you have an opportunity to expose what is happening in economy today. And all you do is bury it. Even though you live in US. You are originally rusky. I think you hate USA. Why did you come to US to live ? I am originally Croatian but I came here for better life and it pains me to watch bunch of Bankers destroy everything.
So here we go, Let today be the day of your education Grampa The reason you pay income tax, is because US owes Bankers everything. Every cent from income tax goes to pay interest on nation debt. Country lives off the Goods and Services tax. You paid income tax directly to Private Central Bankers and you are proud of it. You Old Timer, you need to go, your school was long time ago