Greece is the word

Actually, for BP, "grease" is the word. Looks like they finally got the hole plugged up. Hope it holds.

What I wanted to blog about today is the country Greece. It is the "G" in the PIIGS of the Europe. These are the countries that have been identified as being close to the brink, financially, in the European Union. Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain. Greece was the first to tiptoe to the edge. Why? The Greek government was spending too much. When that happens, it becomes more and more difficult to repay loans that the government takes out - especially after their credit rating fell. (The credit rating is a measure of risk about the borrower and their ability to repay.) So now, Germany has put together a financial package (lots of money) to help Greece out. But here's the catch - Greece must adhere to Austerity Measures. The leader of Greece has just become one of the most unpopular people in his country because he has slashed government spending. Seems like nearly everyone was on the government payroll. So they are protesting in the streets and demanding to not be included in the Austerity Measures. When the next elections roll around, does anyone actually believe that the Austerity Measures party will win? The German population doesn't - and they're rightfully worried that they won't get their money back.

Question. If governments can "consume like there's no tomorrow" and buy off votes, why would the population vote in anyone else? What happens when other countries or other lenders stop lending and the nation goes bankrupt? Last one out is left holding the trillion Euros of debt. They will not repay the debt if my notions of human nature do not fail me.

I used to have a lot of respect for Jeffery Sachs. That has diminished somewhat based on his comments in the discussion below.

Some notable quotes:

"I would recommend you panic."

"Let's purge the system of the rottenness."

"Do you think in 3 years time, Greece is going to be able to repay its debt?" JS replies, "I think there is a reasonable chance.... Absolutely, there's a reasonable chance at that."

more intelligent comments that I could compose

In related thoughts: An Austerity Encounter: