The Island of the Blind: The audacious scam that epitomized Greece

[Mockingbird]

The Island of the Blind: The audacious scam that epitomized Greece

[FloatingFatMan]

This is a great example of why I have zero sympathy for anyone in Greece. They pee'd in their own porridge, so they can suffer for it.  Next time, stop being so damned corrupt and pay your damned taxes.

[123456789A]

I knew there was some shady stuff going on there.

[Torolol]

Why EU still haven't kick the Greece out of the union?

[FloatingFatMan]

Why EU still haven't kick the Greece out of the union?

 

Because they're terrified it'd lead to a cascade of other unhappy countries leaving; which it probably would.

 

The Greeks should never have been allowed into the Eurozone (that's the currency, not the political union). They lied from the start and cooked their books. They have a long history of doing exactly the same thing, and the Eurozone KNEW it from day one, but they were so desperate to get more nations into the single currency that they took a risk and now it's backfired.

 

The Euro is and was always going to be, a complete disaster. I'm glad the UK had no part of it.  I'm all for political closeness with the rest of Europe, but when it comes to setting the UK's fiscal policies, I don't want that happening in Brussels.

[Gabe84]

It's just like Italy only difference's that we didn't manipulate our balances.

[ramesees]

Why EU still haven't kick the Greece out of the union?

 

For the same reason the Irish "NO" vote in the Lisbon treaty was ignored and sent back for a retry.

 

I expect the Irish could have voted "no" 100 times and it still wouldnt be respected.

[George P Global Moderator]

Oh come on, because everyone steals is the case right?   Greeces issues aren't as one sided as "the people steal and don't pay taxes" that's as BS as it gets.  Stealing, lying and cheating the government goes on all over the world, from China to the US and everything inbetween, those are often minor cases and not what cause countries to build up billion and even trillion dollar debts. 

 

The whole scam here is the Euro itself, the way it's set up, the rules in places governing budgets and deficits and so on that crapped everything up.  It's no surprise that the southern countries are the ones in a mess, the ones that had the hardest time trying to meet these euro regulations and thus had to borrow more to do so.   There's blame to be had on both sides, it's not one side only.   Unless you guys think this whole world financial crisis and subprime loan mess started in Greece and spread to the rest of the world?  

[FloatingFatMan]

Oh come on, because everyone steals is the case right?   Greeces issues aren't as one sided as "the people steal and don't pay taxes" that's as BS as it gets.  Stealing, lying and cheating the government goes on all over the world, from China to the US and everything inbetween, those are often minor cases and not what cause countries to build up billion and even trillion dollar debts. 

 

Greek tax dodging isn't the sole cause no. Another would be voting in populist leaders who promised much, but didn't have the wherewithal to pay for it.  You cannot have a generous benefits system when tax dodging and benefit fraud is as endemic as Greece. No other western country's people duck their responsibilities as much as Greeks do, and now they're reaping the rewards.

The whole scam here is the Euro itself, the way it's set up, the rules in places governing budgets and deficits and so on that crapped everything up.  It's no surprise that the southern countries are the ones in a mess, the ones that had the hardest time trying to meet these euro regulations and thus had to borrow more to do so.   There's blame to be had on both sides, it's not one side only.   Unless you guys think this whole world financial crisis and subprime loan mess started in Greece and spread to the rest of the world?  

 

No one else lied and committed fraud to get in. They knew the rules, and decided to break them, just like most Greek laws.

 

If they couldn't meet the regs honestly, they shouldn't have tried.

[George P Global Moderator]

Greek tax dodging isn't the sole cause no. Another would be voting in populist leaders who promised much, but didn't have the wherewithal to pay for it.  You cannot have a generous benefits system when tax dodging and benefit fraud is as endemic as Greece. No other western country's people duck their responsibilities as much as Greeks do, and now they're reaping the rewards.

 

No one else lied and committed fraud to get in. They knew the rules, and decided to break them, just like most Greek laws.

 

If they couldn't meet the regs honestly, they shouldn't have tried.

 

 

Everyone votes for leaders who promise much and few end up delivering on those promises as well, that's not saying anything, it happens everywhere.   Tax dodging isn't the sole cause of this mess, not the least, to think so and to blame the people for most of the problems is false. Tax dodging and benefits fraud happens everywhere, there are loopholes and ways to get around laws in any country, and they all have debts.   

 

The vast majority of people here don't duck their responsibilities, it happens but it's not the many that do so, that's pure fud.  You're looking at isolated cases and making that out to be everyone. 

 

I agree with fudging the books, that's shady government at work, then again corruption can be found everywhere, mismanagement can be found everywhere.  The only reason the UK isn't in a bigger mess itself, mind you, is because you stuck to your own currency.  Otherwise you'd be in a mess as well had you taken up with this euro monstrosity.  

 

Since the issues are mismanagement and fudged numbers, which you yourself admit everyone in the EU knew about before hand but turned a blind eye to, then I ask you, why did they keep, for 10+ years, lending, and lending, and lending more out without a care in the world?   I guess it was all well and good as long as the bankers and banks made their money, but when the bubble busted we're just going to blame the citizens for everything.  That's further from the truth as you can get. 

[DocM]

The nanny state syndrome. The more you give people the more they want, and chicanery becomes a means to the end for those not or marginally qualified for the gravy train.

[Mockingbird]

The nanny state syndrome. The more you give people the more they want, and chicanery becomes a means to the end for those not or marginally qualified for the gravy train.

 

Nozick's libertarian state is much "better".

 

Blind and can't feed yourself? Die from starvation.