“Greece on Friday unleashed a fierce attack on its European Union partners,” reported the Financial Times. The outburst was occasioned by the country’s rapidly deteriorating fiscal situation. In a televised message to his cabinet, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou accused EU countries of sending “mixed messages about our country… that have created a psychology of looming collapse which could be self-fulfilling.”
This is a strange way of looking at the situation. For one thing, the “looming collapse” is not a psychological phenomenon, as the Greek prime minister tries to imply. It is a cold inescapable reality delineated by hard figures. Running budget deficits of nearly 13 percent GDP and carrying public debt of more than 110 percent, the Greek government has run the country into a fiscal hole.
Having assumed more obligations that it can make good on, Greece is for all practical purposes broke. If it does not get bailed out, the government will have to default and the country will go bankrupt. In other words, utter fiscal recklessness of Greek politicians has brought the nation to the brink. To blame it on others – as Papandreou tries to do – is as disingenuous as it is absurd. This, however, is politicians’ normal modus operandi: to charge others with the messes they make. They do not admit their own guilt even when the issue is as straightforward as overspending by the very government they themselves run.
But it was not only other countries that came in for blame. Papandreou also vented his wrath at the market, the favorite whipping boy of profligate politicians. In his remarks, the Greek prime minister complained that his country had become “a laboratory animal in the battle between Europe and the markets.” It is difficult to ascertain the precise meaning of his remark, but its tenor makes it clear that the markets are the bad guys. The implication cannot be missed: It was the markets that somehow managed to rip the nation off despite the noble efforts of the conscientious Greek government.
Speaking of those evil markets, Spain’s National Intelligence Centre recently began looking into the possibility of “speculative attacks” on Spain’s public debt. The investigation was opened after investors began demanding higher interest on Spanish government bonds in the wake of the Greek crisis. The country’s authorities promptly concluded that there may be a conspiracy afoot to bring down the Spanish government. Public Works Minister Jose Blanco hinted darkly at “somewhat murky maneuvers” on the part of the markets.
It has apparently not occurred to Spanish politicians that the rising bond yields may be somehow related to the fiscal morass they have created. With a soaring budget deficit of 11.4 percent GDP and a mounting public debt, investors demand higher interest to compensate for the risk of default. What Jose Blanco calls “somewhat murky maneuvers” is simply the natural reaction of creditors to the deteriorating balance sheet of the debt-issuing entity. But the Spanish authorities for some reason cannot see this basic axiom of finance at work here. Instead they authorize the country’s intelligence service to investigate the matter for signs of subversion. One would not be surprised if they eventually bring someone up on charges of market manipulation. Such is the instinctive thinking of all ruling elites. If something goes wrong, it is never their fault. The problem must be the work of insidious forces.
Our government is no exception. We have seen this dynamic during the bursting of the real state bubble and the subsequent unfolding of the financial and economic crises. One after another American politicians stood up to denounce the culprits which included the markets, bankers, capitalism, greed, derivatives, lenders, and much else besides. Even the late Ronald Reagan received his share of blame. In short, our politicians blamed everyone and everything except themselves. We should not be surprised if they send the CIA and the FBI to investigate the impending dollar collapse which their out-of-control spending will eventually bring about.
No matter how gross their corruption and mismanagement politicians never admit their wrongdoing. When the inevitable hour of reckoning arrives and the crisis hits, they lash out instead. More dangerously yet, politicians are especially adept at concealing the calamities they are in the process of creating. In the United States, for example, the federal government does not report its astronomical entitlement obligations on the nation’s balance sheet. In the corporate world this kind liability concealment constitutes a crime. In Greece, politicians masked their fiscal excesses with accounting tricks and complex currency transactions involving derivatives. Guess who they are now blaming for that? The bankers who helped them to execute the sales.
Fortunately there are still those who do not fall for this nonsense. Wolfgang Gerke, president of the Bavarian Center of Finance and honorary professor at the European School of Business, had this to say:
“Greece falsified deficit statistics, and that can’t be legal. Greece needs to be kicked out of the EU because otherwise there will be new copycats, and that could lead to the next catastrophe on financial markets.”
It is good to hear a sane voice for a change. Gerke’s approach should be applied rigorously at every level and in every country, be it in Europe or in America. Let us not tolerate the absurd excuses and specious accusations. The prodigal politicians responsible for the public debt crisis that is affecting much of the western world must pay the price. People should keep that in mind when the next election comes around.
Thank you Vasko, this is exactly what is happening here in the States. The likes of Barney Fwank and his ilke, who forced banks to lend like crazy to any warm body are the ones that are responsible for this latest mess. They did what ever they could to make it possible to lend to people who could not afford to have a house. In case you were about to jump on me for being partisan, I also blame the republicans. I love how they stood by and watched it happen. They should have been shouting from the roof tops that this was going to ruin the country. Thanks a lot guys. How much did Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, AIG, ….. pay you to shut up and stay on the side lines. This is one of the many reasons I have for not being able to vote republican, even though I am conservative, without by brain going tilt. I am sick and tired of the RINOs playing this game with our country. This job you have is not for you to ingratiate yourselves, it is to serve the interests of this great nation. If you guys want to denigrate the Tea Party and scoff at them and their ideals, fine, but you will be without a job and we will vote in a new set of PATRIOTS that care about this country.
SCARY……
Is this REALLY our AMERICA??????
Know the TRUTH about the Government Health Care Bill H.R.3200 – Key Points
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcBaSP31Be8
The highly destructive Cap and Trade. An inferior healthcare plan that no one wants and cannot afford to pay. The threat to jail and/or fine those who don't purchase the government enforced plan. Massive spending as if there is no tomorrow. Massive debt. The printing of paper money. There is no question that the total destruction of America's economy is planned. The results will be HORRIFYING. In the once wealthy and great nation of America, millions of Americans will become destitute, hungry and homeless with no money or resources to help them.
Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’
By Roger Runningen and Hans Nichols
May 14 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.
“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”
Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”…
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&a…
Obama admits the terrible financial destruction wrought against Americans. WHY THEN DOES OBAMA NOT IMMEDIATELY REVERSE THIS TRAGEDY?
A major investor states America is going to reach Zimbabwe hyperinflation.
http://economyincrisis.org/articles/show/2942
Billions of dollars urgently needed for America's defense is instead gifted to Islam. Nuclear Iran and nuclear North Korea both state they intend to destroy America. They are not idle threats. The same venomous hate for the U.S. is shared by other nations and Muslim terrorist organizations. The treasonous response of the U.S. government to America's increasing danger, is to drastically reduce our defenses facilitating America's annihilation.
See: Aloha, "Star Wars" By: Washington Times Editorial
Washington Times | Monday, June 29, 2009
http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTI…
U.S. BROKE, but BILLIONS for Muslim FAVORITES
DRUDGE REPORT
'WE'RE OUT OF MONEY'
May 23 2009
In a sobering holiday interview with C-SPAN, President Obama boldly told Americans: "We are out of money."
SCULLY: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?
OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashocs.htm
CREEPINGSHARIA.COM
Obama’s Supplemental Bill Passes, Gives Billions to Enemies?
By creeping
Barack Obama’s 2009 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Pandemic Flu was revised and “passed by the full committee”. Not sure what the next step is, but based on the summary, it gives billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to countries and entities that support sharia law and/or harbor, hide and support those who want to destroy the U.S. and our allies.
Read the summary from David Obey’s office that was quietly released last week with nary a word from any media.
• $3.6 billion, matching the request, to expand and improve capabilities of the Afghan security forces
• $400 million, as requested, to build the counterinsurgency capabilities of the Pakistani security forces
• Afghanistan: $1.52 billion, $86 million above the request
• West Bank and Gaza: $665 million in bilateral economic, humanitarian, and security assistance for the West Bank and Gaza
• Jordan: $250 million, $250 million above the request, including $100 million for economic and $150 million for security assistance
• Egypt: $360 million, $310 million above the request, including $50 million for economic assistance, $50 million for border security, and $260 million for security assistance
• Pakistan: $1.9 billion, $591 million above the request
• Iraq: $968 million, $336 million above the request
• Oversight: $20 million, $13 million above the request, to expand oversight capacity of the State Department, USAID, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan to review programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq
• Israel: $555 million of the $2.8 billion 2010 request for security assistance, $555 million above the supplemental request. (Note: that means Obama’s original request did not include any money for Israel in 2009)
• Lebanon: $74 million
• International Food Assistance: $500 million, $200 million above the request, for PL 480 international food assistance to alleviate suffering during the global economic crisis.
• Refugee Assistance: $343 million, $50 million above the request, …including humanitarian assistance for Gaza. Funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency programs in the West Bank and Gaza is limited to $119 million (Note: Gaza = Hamas)
• Disaster Assistance: $200 million to avert famines and provide life-saving assistance during natural disasters and for internally displaced people around the world, including Somalia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, the Middle East and South Asia
• Peacekeeping: $837 million for United Nations peacekeeping operations, including an expanded mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a new mission in Chad and the Central African Republic
• HIV/AIDS: $100 million, $100 million above the request, for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to address a funding shortfall for grants in key countries such as Haiti, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan. (Note: That means Obama’s original request didn’t include any money for AIDs)
• Africa: $151 million, $18 million above the request, for economic and security assistance for Kenya, Somalia, Southern Sudan, and Zimbabwe
• Mexico: $470 million, $404 million above the request, to address growing violence along the United States-Mexico border by supporting the Government of Mexico’s war against organized crime and drug-trafficking
• Georgia: $242 million to fulfill the United States commitment to the people of Georgia
• Global Financial Crisis: $300 million, $148 million below the request, to address the global financial crisis in developing countries
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation: $55 million, $34.5 million below the request, for the National Nuclear Security Administration to safeguard nuclear material in Russia and other sites world-wide
• Department of Justice: $17 million, matching the request, for counter-terrorism activities and to provide training and assistance for the Iraqi criminal justice system
Updates:
Mass media remains silent on this but the International News has now picked up the story
…and then there is Obama’s $108 billion IMF bailout scheme in addition to the Supplemental
Related:
To really add insult to injury, check our previous Creeping Sharia post – Obama asks Congress to allow U.S. funds to terrorist Hamas govt
The Obama administration has asked Congress to let aid to Palestinians continue if Hamas backers are included in a new unity government, observers say. The proposed change in U.S. law would be necessary because Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is designated as a terrorist organization and therefore cannot receive U.S. aid.
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/ob…
Whilst homeless shelters are filled to capacity and desperate jobless and homeless, NEGLECTED Americans are living in tent cities, billions are gifted to highly favored Muslims.
UK Justice Minister Shahid Malik, bragged that under his influence, OVER ONE BILLION POUNDS over the next three years will be given to Muslim countries (whilst Britain, like America has very severe financial problems; Brits are struggling to survive, and Middle Eastern Muslim countries are swimming in oil wealth).
The True face of Islam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZM2SA4QOXw&fe…
The Muslim minister in his speech related how Muslim MPs (Ministers of Parliament) are increasing and "at this rate, the whole Parliament will be Muslim…I am confident that inshallah, in the next 30 years or so we will see a Muslim Prime Minister in this country."
America got a Muslim President before Britain. Obama campaigned as a 'Christian', but slipped up, declaring: "My Muslim faith"
Obama: “My Muslim Faith”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw
The Independent Treasury Act of 1920 suspended the de jure (meaning "by right of legal establishment") Treasury Department of the United States government. Our Congress turned the treasury department over to a private corporation, which when seen in its true light, is a fascist monopolistic cartel, the Federal Reserve and their agents. The bulk of the ownership of the Federal Reserve System, a very well kept secret from the American Citizen, is held by these banking interests, and NONE is held by the United States Treasury:
Rothschild Bank of London
Rothschild Bank of Berlin
Warburg Bank of Hamburg
Warburg Bank of Amsterdam
Lazard Brothers of Paris
Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy
Chase Manhattan Bank of New York
Goldman, Sachs of New York
Lehman Brothers of New York
Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve is at the root of most of our present statutory regulations, "laws", in the control and regulation of virtually all aspects of human activity in the United States,
The economic collapse of Greece is the outlier of a larger imminent economic crisis about the hit the entire west, which it is due primarily to… aggressive welfare statism, and the twin pillars of extreme entitlement and abortion culture.
Greece is a moribund society, with a population growth rate somewhere in the 1.3 child-per-couple ledger statistic, which means it is not replacing its population, and will cease to exist entirely in another two generations. (Spain and Italy are almost as bad). They've been aborting away the next generation for sixty years in western Europe, and now their strands of kinship are dying out. The only thing that will "save" them is by allowing greater influxes of immigrant populations (which is why minarets are popping up in heretofore strange places like Amsterdam — Muslim cultures tend not to have such problems with fecundity).
Combine this with a entitlement mentality that allows people to retire at age 58, and lavishes cradle-to-grave social welfare programs on the entire population, and you can see that Greece will never be able to pay it obligations. Unlike the United States (which, at present, is barely replacing its population), it has no "Children and Grandchildren" upon whom they can pile their debt obligations.
This is the end result of modern statist Liberalism.
Of course, we will eventually do the same thing here–, it will just take three of four generations to do it. We've so crippled our generational confidence, where the large families of the 1950's and 1960's are so freakish today, we make television reality shows about them. We've been trained to look at human birth as a pox on the environment, when it is the only thing that leads to advanced lifestyles, when combined with private property ownership and mercantile capitalism.
And another thing: Many of the people that could afford a home in the halcyon days of the housing boom could likely still afford them if we hadn't listened to the extreme enviro-marxists, and had instead been aggressively developing our own domestic supplies of energy and crude oil. The "bubble" burst when gasoline hit $4.50 a gallon, and, this was the point at which people could not pay both the mortgage, and fill up the gas tank. If we had all the refined gasoline we needed (which we can easily have for at least the next 100 years with our own supplies and innovations), gasoline would have remained cheap, and the economy would still be humming along. Instead, we listened to the false prophets of environmental doom, and allowed these Lilliputians to hog-tie our economy.
Modern libertine extreme radical leftism will be the death of the west. But, that's the goal of these monsters since 1919, I guess.
Watch it. And weep for our great nation and people.
FALL Of The Republic – The Presidency Of Barack H Obama – The Full Movie HQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8LPNRI_6T8&fe…