Just curious which is more important to the US? Is Greece, Spain, or Italy, or even all three more important to the US economy than the total financial mess that is California, or a combination of finances in a few other US states? I think the old comparison is that California has roughly the equivalent to be the 8th largest GDP in the world. WHere do Greece, Spain ,and Italy fall? My arguement would be we need to dig our heads out of our butts here for the same reasons in those countries, but that our own country is really more important at this time, and the fixes should be done now. We have tremendous obligations at the state level to employees that are the same as in these countries, and we are being driven to the brink of complete financial ruin. Where do these unions come out ahead if these states eventually go bankrupt? Don't think it could happen? I don't see the country as a whole willing to bail out an individual state anymore like has happened in the past. Quite a few people who have worked in the "real world" are not happy with the lavish benefits and pay in the public sector. Polititians are losing that base of public employee union voters and are going to have to answer to the larger public, who are approaching zero tolerance for extravagance in the public sector, and the past history of politicos catering to themselves even more so, and enriching their own group. Just looking for comments. Not looking for beligerent knucklehead comments, but would like to read informed thoughts. I ask again, do we not need to take care of our own problems, now before we jump into small countries around the world?
In the big picture, even Guam and the Mariannas Islands are more important to the US than Greece is. Much more. And they are also much closer to what Greece is than any state. Much more.
I have heard again the amount of debt, and compared to various states here it is laughable. I would say quit buying mindless news stories and understand the numbers and realize in what bad shape economically our states are in compared to an entire country. The average US citizen needs to get a clue, and figure out where we have gone and make corrections in our internal policies and spend more time here in ploicy terms. I don't promote an isolation policy, as I think that is stupid, but a look at the numbers would say we need to fix our house, or houses first, and then get onto what are simply news stories. I'd be much more worried if China, India, South Korea, or the like were going broke than Greece, Spain, Italy. At the same time I don't think you ignore them completely, but not a main focus.
". I'd be much more worried if China, India, South Korea, or the like were going broke than Greece, Spain, Italy. At the same time I don't think you ignore them completely, but not a main focus. [/B][/QUOTE]" these countries may be a tipping point for a worldwide depression. more worried or less worried are irrelevant terms.
Greece, Spain, or Italy cannot print their way out of their depressions and they are slaves now to Germans who control the press. That was the idea anyway. Control the moth*ph*kers through a common currency, drove them to their knees and then buy them cheap. It is only because of coward politicians that these countries are not out of the euro. Germany is making too many enemies. Too many enemies means that you lose at some point. Germany is drivign Europe to its final demise. California's problem is debt only.
You don't seem to understand that the story isn't big because Greece is bankrupt but because they are part of a single currency which is used by the vast majority in Europe. Whole Europe in a depression will influence the US way more than any economic(emphasis) crisis in Guam or in another US state (I don't necessarily mean California or New York here).
Germany with other northern Europeans were the ones keeping Greece and Spain afloat before, they should've gone back to a more primitive life many years ago.
What do you mean "aflot"? Are you a history idiot? Greece had a mere 1 billion public debt when it joined the EU. They were given incentives to stop doing agriculture and de-industrialize in favor of German companies. The same happened in other European countries. Nobody stood up in those countries to challenge the evil plan. They ended up importing everything from northen Europeans. The combined public debt of northen europe far exceeds the debt of south europe while they have no resources, no energy, no agriculture, basically only industrial goods. You are German from what I gather and you are trying to push your country's agenda. But you cannot fool the outside world. Your agenda is causing harm to Europe and to US. The memories of Jews getting fried in ovens and Greek villages getting burned and pregnant women being raped and their fetuses extracted with knives are still alive. Germany it seems has not changed since the monstrosities it caused. Some Germans have changed but the majority opinion is that of hate for the rest of Europe except their friends in the North who populated the SS brigades.
"They were given incentives to stop doing agriculture and de-industrialize in favor of German companies." you are rewriting history. greeks were given money for agricultural output based upon the amount supposedly produced. they stole 100s of billions from northern european counties by inflating their output statistics. what specific northern counties, who populated the ss brigates, are you talking about?
California's pension fund earned just 1% last year. Their crisis is going to get worse in the near future. Their leaders knew years ago that they had a hidden crisis even in good times, that they could never pay all their liabilities to the retirees... California is what in relation to the rest of the US though... sort of an agricultural extension of Mexico with some Universities sprinkled around, what? The rest of the US won't necessarily have to pay to bail California out? Could anybody bail them out at the rate they are going?