right on. It is lazy intellectualism to say 'Greeks are lazy' and end the thinking process there. As if they are any different than people anywhere else in the world.
Why dont they just fecking riot, I am talking all out RIOT, not that pussy footing around that they do
I'm in a Haagen Daz cafe right now, it's morning - 9:40 am. Looks like there must have been overnight delivieries of gas to the island. Across the street there's a gas station - and it's extremely busy. Cars and motorcycles a few blocks long. A policeman is directing traffic due to the jam. Just stepped outside the cafe and see that the cop is directing traffic because the gas station across the street just ran out of gas again. They put up a sign - "closed". This just happened minutes ago. The mood is still business as usual - people are pretty adaptive. Haven't spoken to many tourists here - most of my friends are visiting in the upcoming weeks. Business is definitley slow. The month of August will be the most telling as it is traditionally peak tourist month on this island. I'll be visiting some friends today and I'll ask around what they have heard and seen. From an economic viewpoint - I think Greece is experiencing a debt deflation. Money from tourism should be offsetting the cuts in government spending. But if the tourist season is week - I expect a severe contraction in the money supply with obvious consequences. People have to keep in mind that austerity shrinks an economy that was propped up by government spending. And many local businesses are being re-assessed higher taxes just when their revenues are dropping fast. It's a double wammy. (Obama, are you listening?) I have an aunt and business at her hotel has dropped, yet her taxes have more than doubled. There are businesses that are closing and others that are "under the gavel" that is, the government has assessed taxes they can no longer afford and are up for auction. I have a cousin that is losing his auto shop. But many greeks sit on piles of cash - they'll have to start tapping into savings I think. Others that have the money are snapping up businesses on the cheap - a significant transfer of wealth is occuring. I also heard of a couple other municipalities that have sent workers home. In Greece, the hospitals and police are funded by the national government so they remain in good shape - whereas local services are funded by municipalities . I've read elsewhere that in California government workers are on furlough - so the same things is happening here. I'll be in Greece for quite some time - at least until the end of the year. As I find out more, I'll post. It's an unfortunate, yet interesting example of economic contraction due to debt deflation. Most here that I have spoken to don't understand that credit is money - that we have a global debt based system. But I think that view or misconception is pretty universal. But what to do? Whereas the US can print, other countries are tied to austerity with the subsequent effects of credit contraction. But even printing, i.e. continued debt creation is not a long term viable plan when the problem in the first place is the debt. I think the countries experiencing debt/money contraction are an example of what lies ahead for many other western countries. The debt destruction spreads unevenly, and manifests itself differently depending on culture, society, business environment, etc...
As long as Tzatziki, Moussaka, Souvlakis and Roast Lamb are served in Greece, I don´t care about any strike
Thanks for the info, Misthos. I I may ask you... If you had to chose both based on your recent observations in Greece as on your experiencing of the inflationary weakening of US economic strength troughout this decade up untill 2008... Do you have a preference on moral grounds on what could be the lesser of 2 evils? Cheers.
I used to be a truck driver. Truck drivers are seen as second class citizens. Even with the chaos on the brink, they still are seen as second class citizens. People have no appreciation for truck drivers.
there is a continous misconception that inflation is a cure for economic mismanagement and excesses. continued avoidance of pain will leave to disaster down the road in the form of very high rates of inflation. people have forgotten what happened in brazil and argentina when money was printed as if there is no tomorrow. the cure is lower taxes and a shrinking of the government sector ie cutting government wages or furloughing government workers.
Seems people and government don't get it... "Debt ALWAYS gets accounted for... by someone". 1. Live below your income and pay down the balance. (How much fun is THAT?) 2. Print currency to dilute the impact of repayment... but that leads to high/hyper inflation and currency debasement... plus wealth destruction of the citizenry. 3. Default. SOMEBODY IS ALWAYS GOING TO SUFFER when it comes to settling up on debt. (Is it "suffering" to live below your means and pay off you debts... you know, like MOST CITIZENS?) America has $13 Trillion of outstanding Federal debt. How are we going to settle on that? Who is going to take it in the shorts? And, when? What will be the impact on the USA and on us citizens when the settle-up comes? Obama's RECKLESS SPENDING is bringing forward the day of reckoning, you know.