sure if you include the defaults of some of Germany's regions in 18xx, lol. And the number of defaults make no difference in the debate about debt haircuts. What matters is what creditors can expect in exchange for haircuts.
Germany is the country that has never repaid its debts. It has no standing to lecture other nations
- Thread starter JamesL
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The loans to Greece are sunk money anyway, not a penny will be repaid. Better face up to it.
It is socialism that kills the golden goose. after world war II England and the UK went on divergent paths. the UK went to rationing and socialism. It eventually became the sick man of Europe. In Germany the currency was worth nothing. the currency of exchange was cigarettes. the shelves were empty and shortages were everywhere. an idiot American general wanted the Germans to introduce rationing and price controls. Adenauer, the German chancellor, overruled the General. so much for the American capitalist mentality. in a few months the shelves were full. this was the beginning of the German Wirtschaftswunder(economic miracle).
until about a year ago Germany did not have a minimum wage. there is something inherently attractive to politicians to mess with the free market. eventually the country pays for their hubris.
until about a year ago Germany did not have a minimum wage. there is something inherently attractive to politicians to mess with the free market. eventually the country pays for their hubris.
that may very well be and pose an issue to Germany and the rest of Europe for 1-2 years. Are you sure Greece will be impacted less after it gets booted out of Europe?
Lot's of hate in Europe towards hard working and successful citizens in Europe. Interesting times indeed. That Brits do not leave out a single opportunity to weigh in on issues that is none of their business is not a surprise but that suddenly Germany is made the scapegoat and public enemy no 1 is quite something. But I understand, as long as everyone could milk the cow they shut up, now when times are getting tough the Nazi and evil Kraut slogans are pulled out of the closet. By the way, hardly any German publicly admonishes others to repay or....Germans in fact do not even want to assume any leadership role whatsoever, they just want to go about their work and pay their share of the European debt pie and be left alone. But Germans get angry (and quite nasty if history is any guide) when being stung and squeezed beyond limits. Maybe a forceful seizure of physical assets in Greece might be a solution if the Helenians believe they can default AND remain in the club.
One thing I am willing, however, to bet my life on is this: If Greece starts to embrace China and/or Russia with open arms I am absolutely sure that not a single amount of loaned RMB or Rubel will be handed over unsecured and without physical collateral agreements in place. As soon as they default again Russians and China will simply seize vast amounts of physical property.
One thing I am willing, however, to bet my life on is this: If Greece starts to embrace China and/or Russia with open arms I am absolutely sure that not a single amount of loaned RMB or Rubel will be handed over unsecured and without physical collateral agreements in place. As soon as they default again Russians and China will simply seize vast amounts of physical property.
The question at hand is whether one is prepared to redistribute wealth within a monetary union in the first place. If not Greece shouldn't have been allowed to enter the Euro at all. Trying to force austerity on the Greeks isn't going to solve their problems, only technocrats could think up a solution like that. It's like telling a four year old that you expect her to play a Chopin etude flawlessly within a month.
have you been smoking crank for the past 15 years? Greece was a shithole, the paint literally dropped off the walls in Athens each noon when temperatures maxed out. Greece has been brought up to European standards for over 15 years, guess at whose expense?
Why did austerity work in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal? Why it can definitely not work in Greece? Your comparison is ridiculous: You mean your average Greek does not understand that debt incurred needs to be repaid? Then maybe we should really line them up and shoot them one by one. But seriously, are you trying to sell the dumbest excuse in all of Europe?
Why did austerity work in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal? Why it can definitely not work in Greece? Your comparison is ridiculous: You mean your average Greek does not understand that debt incurred needs to be repaid? Then maybe we should really line them up and shoot them one by one. But seriously, are you trying to sell the dumbest excuse in all of Europe?
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No you are dead wrong. In 1953 at a London conference all German pre-WWII debts and debts regarding postwar aid from the UK and the UK were cut by 90%. More importantly it was also decided that reparation payments were to be established at a peace-conference to be held after a future unification of Germany. This conference was never held, so Germany didn't pay one penny of reparation for the damage they inflicted upon the world in WWII. Please stop arguing that Germany repaid generously for its crimes.
The austerity measures destroyed the Greek economy, that's the bottom line. If you want to form a monetary union of regions with big differences in economic power there need to be wealth transfers. What do you not understand about this concept?
Lol, Voly is all wet from the last Greek events, he basically managed to encourage Genocide twice in few minutes.
I'm not sure why he removed to part about lazy people and entitlements, to which I largely agree.
Zdreg, indeed the UK is no longer a powerful colonial empire but it's still much stronger than the mediterranean former empires