"Excluding serving Greece’s debt, the 2012 budget is projected to have a primary surplus of $4.3 billion"
"Europe urges Greece to hasten pace of reforms" by Howard Schneider and Michael Birnbaum Washington Post / September 20, 2011
BERLIN - The issue is a key concern to US policy makers, who worry that a Greek or other government default in Europe could trigger bank failures, throw the region back into recession, and drag down the US economy in the process.
Yeah, right, blame the Greeks.
The head of the International Monetary Fund’s mission to Greece said yesterday that the country’s pace of reforms had been slowing, and he called for the government to pick up speed. Greece has promised to reduce the size of public payrolls and sell off inefficient state-owned enterprises, but it has failed to follow through as quickly as expected....
See: Greece Going Under
Greece has proposed painful measures to meet steep targets that it agreed to as a condition of receiving the bailout money, including deep pay cuts, furloughs and layoffs in the public sector, and higher taxes.
So far, many of the proposals have remained just that, although they have provoked violent opposition in the streets of Athens.
Meaning they are not protests the of which the corporate media approves.
--more--"
"Merkel: Germany wants 'strong Greece' in eurozone" by Geir Moulson and Juergen Baetz Associated Press / September 27, 2011
BERLIN—Stock markets soared around the world Tuesday amid hopes that Europe is finally finding a way out of its debt crisis. Greece passed an unpopular property tax and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to offer the struggling country "all necessary assistance."
It's unclear whether that will be enough to satisfy investors for long. Stocks improved following last week's turmoil as speculation grew that Greece's bailout creditors will look to impose bigger losses on Greece's private bondholders as well as recapitalize Europe's banks and expand the eurozone's rescue fund. So far, there's been no confirmation from Europe's capitals that such a comprehensive solution is being planned....
Greeks have been outraged by tax and other austerity measures, and unions have responded with strikes and protests....
Every day, but you would be hard-pressed to find more than a picture in the printed paper.
Greece's new property tax will be charged through electricity bills to make it easier for the state to collect, instead of going through Greece's unwieldy and inefficient tax system. Those who refuse to pay will risk having their power cut off.
All so BANKERS can have MORE, MORE, MORE!!!
The extra charge has deeply angered Greeks, who have already been through more than a year of sharp austerity measures, including salary and pension cuts and higher taxes.
State electricity company unionists have threatened not to collect the tax. Public transport workers walked off the job Tuesday for two days, and were to be joined by taxi drivers on Wednesday. Tax office and customs workers also were on strike.
Police briefly scuffled with protesters outside parliament shortly after Tuesday's vote there and used pepper spray to disperse one group of youths.
Hey, the cops in New York did that, too!
--more--"
I stand corrected on the coverage. They got a few paragraphs in the back end.
"Greece to miss deficit targets set by world lenders" by Demetris Nellas Associated Press / October 3, 2011
ATHENS - The Finance Ministry said the missed target was because of a deeper-than-expected recession. It implied the deficit could even exceed this level by the end of the year unless all new austerity measures were implemented....
Maybe true, but this smells like a set-up to get those austerity measures passed.
Of course, government would never lie to and loot you, right?
The announcement reflects the government’s frustration with tax collection, which they blame on tax inspectors’ lax performance, and its fear that citizens, angry at seeing their wages shrink and, at the same time, having to pay an increasing amount of one-off taxes, would refuse to pay.
Then BY ALL MEANS WITHHOLD that MONEY!
There are already widespread calls not to pay a property surcharge, to be included in the next batch of state electricity company bills, despite the fact that delinquent payers are threatened with having their houses disconnected from the grid....
It could be the best thing to ever happen to you.
Excluding serving Greece’s debt, the 2012 budget is projected to have a primary surplus of $4.3 billion....
That's why the Greeks are in the streets every day.
--more--"
Related: Man steals $1.35m from Greek bank
And how much have the banks stolen from you?
"Even with bailout, European crisis could take years to ease; Germany OKs $600m in aid to offset EU debt" September 30, 2011|By Graham Bowley and Liz Alderman, New York Times
It has happened time and again in recent months as Europe’s debt crisis has played out. Stocks stage a remarkably strong comeback on expectations that a solution has been found.
Then they quickly resume their decline as hopes dissipate, leaving investors puzzled and frazzled.
The problem, say close watchers of both the subprime financial crisis in 2008 and the European government debt crisis today, is that many investors think there is a quick and easy fix, if only government officials can come to an agreement and act decisively.
In reality, one might not exist. A best case in Europe is a bailout of troubled governments and their banks that keeps the financial system from experiencing a major shock and sending economies worldwide into recession.
But a bailout does not mean wiping out the huge debts that have taken years to accumulate. Too much debt could take many years to ease.
No, banks and investors would never do that.
If governments cannot agree on how to rescue Greece from its debilitating government debt, some fear the worst case could happen - a collapse of the financial system akin to 2008 that would ricochet around the world, dooming Europe but also the United States and emerging countries to a prolonged downturn, or worse.
Here we go again!
Just like the United States, Europe built up trillions in debts during the past decades.
What is different is that while in the United States more of the borrowing was done by consumers and businesses, in Europe it was mainly governments that piled on the debt.
Now, just as the US economy is held back by households whose mortgages are still underwater and it will not begin to spend again until they have run down their debts, Europe cannot begin to grow again until its countries learn to live within their means....
Maybe all that military spending should be cut, huh?
--more--"
