How To Explain Greece To A Complete Idiot / Politician

[Zorrofan]

http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/how-to-explain-greece-to-a-complete-idiot-politician/

 

This kind of says it all......

 

"Let’s pretend for a moment that Greece is a human being. I’ll call him George.

 

George is a hairdresser and makes $40,000 per year. George has limited assets. He has zero savings, no precious metals, and is way underwater on his mortgage. His credit card debt is over $100,000, and his bare minimum living expenses are $45,000 annually, over 10% more than he makes. George’s credit is pitiful, and he cannot obtain any more new loans.

 

George’s neighbor Hans has a big family. All the kids work hard and contribute to the family savings. Hans sees George’s plight and decides the neighborhood has to stick together; he starts loaning George some money out of his family’s savings, and eventually begins to take on more and more of George’s personal debts.

 

Many of the other neighbors– Luciano, Seamus, and Juan– are in the same boat as George: drowning in debt with massive personal expenses and no hope to pay them back.

 

Everyone is looking to Hans for help.  He’s the responsible one in the neighborhood. Now, Hans doesn’t want them all to go bust because he knows it would be bad for the neighborhood property values… but Hans’s children are balking at the prospect of working hard on their newspaper routes just so that George can keep his plasma screen TV.

 

Very soon, George is going to run out of options and will have to have a difficult conversation with his credit card companies. In the real world, there is no other choice.

 

In the pretend world of politics, however, European leaders have been able to convince everyone that it’s all under control. Never mind that the whole situation has completely fractured capital markets; traditional valuation metrics have taken a back seat to rumors of secret meetings and loud talk of bailout plans.

 

Think about it: Dexia passed summer bank stress tests with flying colors. A couple of months later it’s going bust. How can markets function without confidence in balance sheet accuracy? Or whether a government will even be around tomorrow? This is kind of a problem when sovereign debt is the cornerstone of the financial system…

 

And yet, stock markets worldwide surged today on the news of a European ‘pledge’ to help banks."

 

Anyone really think it is over yet??  There is a reason Prem is so worried.....

 

cheers

Zorro

 

 

[Myth465]

I am just hoping that the plan is a real plan. Either Billions of dollars of unlimited support or a big F you to Greece with money going to the banks. France and Germany have been chewed out by every Major country in the world. I am sure that has to mean something. As Buffett said the can is going to go off the road if kicked hard enough. My equity values have been battered and I can take a few more paper losses, I just hope there is a run on French and German institution if my stuff goes down...

 

Nice story by the way.

[meiroy]

 

 

Hmm nice story indeed, perhaps it should be added to it that one of the reasons Hans has a surplus of money, is because at least some of it came from George.  In fact Hans has been encouraging George to spend his money so it could be channeled to himself. Hans of course does not acknowledge the source of his wealth,  and now pretends as if he is doing a favor to George by taking over his debts and assets.

 

[Myth465]

 

 

Hmm nice story indeed, perhaps it should be added to it that one of the reasons Hans has a surplus of money, is because at least some of it came from George.  In fact Hans has been encouraging George to spend his money so it could be channeled to himself. Hans of course does not acknowledge the source of his wealth,  and now pretends as if he is doing a favor to George by taking over his debts and assets.

 

Even better addition.

[goldendad]

Depending on the numbers and time period referenced, Greece amounts to something like 1-3% of Germany's trade surplus.  At 13% of Greece's exports, Germany is Greece's largest export customer.  At 1-2% of Germany's exports, Greece is not in the top 15 of Germany's export customers.

 

Hans is not George's problem.  George is George's problem.  And George needs Hans a lot more than Hans needs George.

 

Also BTW George lives alone (11MM pop) and Hans has seven other people in his house (82MM pop).

[oec2000]

Can someone explain why it is taking George, the hairdresser, so long to get the haircut that everyone knows that he so badly needs? ;D

[meiroy]

 

Hans is not George's problem.  George is George's problem.  And George needs Hans a lot more than Hans needs George.

 

Also BTW George lives alone (11MM pop) and Hans has seven other people in his house (82MM pop).

 

Wow, so it seems Hans is this noble Knight who accepted and took George into his home out of the pure kindness of his heart.  It is also well known in Hanshood, that in the welcome ceremony to his home, Hans has turned a blind eye to George's lack of pants, crazy party hat, a hamster that was stuck in his nose and various illegal behavior, and so forth, completely due to altruistic motives. Not only that, but he took in several more of George's kind, all while knowing very well that he was selling them some green stuff for medicinal purposes while not really having a doctor's prescription.  What a man!  (read: ph-lease!)