Greece the Mother of Democracy is wounded
thanks to the smart guys at financial institutions, in the US. The crisis is threatening to take down Europe's and possibly the world's economy.
Picture sharing enabled by Flickr's native sharing code, and allowed via Creative Commons license, in particular Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Roll over picture to see attribution of photographer (who has no connection to this blog or blogger).
Jim Hightower in his succinct but folksy way explains how Goldman Sachs ruined the Greek economy
In 2001, Goldman's financial alchemists formulated a scheme to allow the Greek government to hide the extent of its rising debt from the public and the European Community's budget overseers. Under this diabolical deal, Goldman funneled new capital from super-wealthy investors into the government's coffers.
Fine. Not so fine, though, is that, in exchange, Greek officials secretly agreed that the investors would get 20 years' worth of the annual revenue generated by such public assets as Greece's airports. For its part, Goldman pocketed $300 million in fees paid by the country's unwitting taxpayers. The financial giant dubbed its airport scheme "Aeolus," after the ancient Greek god of the wind -- and, sure enough, any long-term financial benefit for Greece was soon gone with the wind.
By hiding the fact that the government's future revenues had been consigned to secret investors, Goldman bankers made the country's balance sheet look much rosier than it was, allowing Greek officials to keep spending like there was no tomorrow.Other reports of note do mention that refusal to raise taxes was also a big part of the problem. By providing a semblance of prosperity without raising taxes on the wealthy (like W's cut taxes and spend program) the Greek government could mask the effects of it's bad management for years.
Hightower's report from May 2010 is at AlterNet : How the Monsters at Goldman Sachs Caused a Greek Tragedy
Picture from May 2010 riots:
Picture sharing enabled by Flickr's native sharing code, and allowed via Creative Commons license, in particular Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Roll over picture to see attribution of photographer (who has no connection to this blog or blogger).
Another Report, this from January explains more: Vampire Hedge Funds Are Sucking Greece Dry
An analyst at The Guardian writes: I fear for a social explosion: Greeks can't take any more punishment. The writer might be a little too impressed with the violence, but then again Greece does have a history of rebellion followed by military juntas and repression.
A video report from Democracy Now (below) with Richard Wolff shows how Europe's problems can hurt Americans even in our own nation.
New Report 2/15/12: Greece’s depression could prove worst in modern history
