"Strange, you'd think he didn't want to."
Posted on 02/16/2012 9:28:25 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Officials from the EU and the International Monetary Fund made two grave errors when they swooped into Greece in mid-2010 and dictated the now hated "Memorandum".
"Strange, you'd think he didn't want to."
The regime of drastic cuts has tipped the economy into a violent downward spiral. They thought that private industry would muddle through as the state went through the austerity mincer. What the EU-IMF "Troika" did not fully understand is how many firms were really part of the state in disguise.
"The Greek government outsources everything," said one official with close knowledge of the events.
Faced with the guillotine, the state first slashed procurement contracts and then stopped paying its bills altogether. The government is now €7bn (£5.8bn) in arrears to private companies, including €3bn in unpaid VAT refunds for exporters. It is why business has borne the brunt of the fiscal squeeze, suffering 450,000 job losses, and why Greece's unemployment has soared to 21pc.
At the same time the banking system seized up. More than €60bn of deposits were withdrawn. By November, no Greek bank could issue a letter of credit accepted anywhere in the world, with calamitous implications for trade – and for exporters trying to meet Troika demands for export-led recovery. "Greece became a leper, and is now stuck in Catch-22," said one official.
Hellenic Petroleum was unable to import basic fuel. The reason why Greece's reliance on oil imports from Iran jumped from 15pc to 70pc in a two-week period in November was because Tehran agreed to take on the credit risk.
"They need to find some way to unblock this or the Greek economy is going to suffocate from lack of oxygen: we are reaching the limits," said Dimitris Daskalopoulos, head of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises. The
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
What, the EU’s really the bad guy here? Who’s surprised?
The Troika is not working.
No, they’re working for themselves. Which is actually what was expected . . .
Indeed.
So if Greece collapses... it screws Iran. Yes!
Golly, Greece really is like California!
“government is now €7bn (£5.8bn) in arrears to private companies”
Stiff workers to pay freeloading banksters.
Greece essentially talked the game but couldn’t play it.It is their loss and Europe’s gain.
Now including lunch box inspectors, an idea straight from UK. In fact that's where Michele got all her bogus collectivist nutrition ideas.
yitbos
I believe your "banksters" have already taken a 70% write-down on the Greek bonds.
Greece has been “playing” their same old game for eons. They lied to the EU just to get accepted and then they wonder why the hammer is coming down.
"Borrower will always be servant to the lender"
Bankers now directing Greece, just print more money and throw it in that general direction. Locals have more time to burn down things since there are no jobs available. Looks like VAT was just enough to suck up any extra available cash to put Greece in the red since they were borderline already. BTW, a Letter of Credit (LC) guarantees whoever is delivering the goods, gets paid. If one contemplating issuing a LC doesn't want the risks of say, maybe, Iran going to war during shipment of oil or Greece defaults before the oil arrives at its destination besides insurance issues and product quality guarantees, you can see where one might not sign a LC because of possible losses at this time esp. when the US doesn't want Iran making money.
Yep. It’s amazing how many, even here, are in denial about that simple truth.
Scary NY Slimes article on Greece.
Some of these faults are now apparent in the USA, such as the MSM being the propaganda arm of the current regime.
So it’s OK with you for governments, such as the state of Illinois, to refuse to pay private companies for services rendered?
Excuse me. But where in hell did I even suggest such an outcome?
If you somehow misdirected this comment to me, I'll accept your apology.
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