GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

That's socialist regulation.

I will still wake up and go to work tomorrow. Not at all worried the Euros in my wallet will be useless by the end of the day, year, or decade.

Neither is anyone I know professionally and otherwise. The 'Euro crisis' is a fun story in the English language news, but not even a watercooler topic at my place of business.

It will all be sorted out, Germany will pay, and the ECB will print. Simple.

oldfarthenry: GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

As someone whose economy had to be propped up with billions of taxpayer dollars from six future generations, I'd kinda NOT point any fingers.

That debt is just going to get rolled over again and again. The worry about taxing the next generation is way overblown. What matters now is not killing the recovery, which the Germans seem determined to do*.

*killing it, that is.

Mr. Coffee Nerves: Great. So you're telling me I sat too long on this Hitler's Brain I saved?

If times get really tough, you can snack on it and become Mr. Zombie Coffee Nerves.

/crimson lining

GAT_00: oldfarthenry: GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

As someone whose economy had to be propped up with billions of taxpayer dollars from six future generations, I'd kinda NOT point any fingers.

Yeah, but our currency isn't used by 20 different countries all with different levels of development, national debt and GDP and pretend that everyone is equal, something anyone with half a brain could tell you wouldn't work without some kind of basic safeguards.

Alabama and New York.

Totally different levels of development, GDP output, ect.

Brought to you by the people who rated Lehman Brothers AAA a month before it collapsed.

yawn

Thanks to new EU rules, Santa is requiring everyone to buy a pack of Greek olives for their friends and family this Christmas.

I really think that Greece (and the other countries) should be forced to sell assets (i.e. real property) to cover their defaulted debt.

I mean let's face it, Nike would buy the Parthenon. At the very least they could buy the naming rights. Getting cash moving again is how you get out of a recession, and the latest balance sheet I saw shows that Nike is sitting on 1.6 billion in cash. Greece has borrowed 110B euros from the IMF, and according to some articles I've read, needs 27B to get thru 2012. There's a drop in the bucket.

Boom. Blast away.

GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

They did design safeguards (look up the convergence criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact). It's just that they were inconsistently applied, basically toothless against France and Germany and sometimes ignored for political convenience.

Weaver95: actually, I kinda like greek olives. they go well with a glass of white wine and make for a spiffy appetizer/party munchies.

You'd better get busy then, you've got an entire country's economy to save!

krusader3z: GAT_00: oldfarthenry: GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

As someone whose economy had to be propped up with billions of taxpayer dollars from six future generations, I'd kinda NOT point any fingers.

Yeah, but our currency isn't used by 20 different countries all with different levels of development, national debt and GDP and pretend that everyone is equal, something anyone with half a brain could tell you wouldn't work without some kind of basic safeguards.

Alabama and New York.

Totally different levels of development, GDP output, ect.

Not that there isn't some shocking poverty in Mississippi, but compare Estonia's GDPPC of $13,939 to Mississippi's $24,062.

Romania's GDP per capita is $7,538 and they were moving towards joining the Eurozone. It's a way bigger difference than within the USA.

krusader3z: GAT_00: oldfarthenry: GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

As someone whose economy had to be propped up with billions of taxpayer dollars from six future generations, I'd kinda NOT point any fingers.

Yeah, but our currency isn't used by 20 different countries all with different levels of development, national debt and GDP and pretend that everyone is equal, something anyone with half a brain could tell you wouldn't work without some kind of basic safeguards.

Alabama and New York.

Totally different levels of development, GDP output, ect.

In the US, there's the federal government and the Federal Reserve Banks to act as a backstop to make sure the economy doesn't collapse. The Eurozone and the ECB can't do the same for their member countries because of various treaties.

It's also a lot easier for an Alabaman to move to New York or vice versa if the economy turns sour, than it is for a Greek to move to Germany, so the economies of the states are a lot more flexible than the economies of the Euro nations.

Arkanaut: In the US, there's the federal government and the Federal Reserve Banks to act as a backstop to make sure the economy doesn't collapse.

I should revise this statement -- they make sure the financial system keeps functioning. It's a mite harder to prop up the real economy.

krusader3z: I will still wake up and go to work tomorrow. Not at all worried the Euros in my wallet will be useless by the end of the day, year, or decade.

Neither is anyone I know professionally and otherwise. The 'Euro crisis' is a fun story in the English language news, but not even a watercooler topic at my place of business.

It will all be sorted out, Germany will pay, and the ECB will print. Simple.

Why should Germany pay for Greek fraudulent and irresponsible behavior?

Cyberluddite: Grand_Moff_Joseph: Have any investments? Any at all? Well, now may be a good time to take your chips and pay a visit to the cashier's window.

Unfortunately, cash isn't such a great investment right now either.

I cannot wait for the S&P downgrades to the EUzone and the resulting drop in the US treasuries rate to the point where we get a negative interest rate (lenders pay us to hold their money, inflation not included in calc).

Arkanaut: oldfarthenry: GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

As someone whose economy had to be propped up with billions of taxpayer dollars from six future generations, I'd kinda NOT point any fingers.

That debt is just going to get rolled over again and again. The worry about taxing the next generation is way overblown. What matters now is not killing the recovery, which the Germans seem determined to do*.

*killing it, that is.

Silly Germans, don't want to enslave themselves and their descendants to pay the debts of a bunch of profligate twits.

Germans KNOW how to fark up Europe.

GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

Don't you ever get tired of your own knee-jerk falsehoods? I do.

There were safeguards. One of them was a rule which stated the maximum budget deficit a country can run. Greece broke the rule but lied and said it was doing just fine, thanks for asking.

Safeguards don't help when no one watches the watchmen.

Weaver95: JohnAnnArbor: Why should Germany pay for Greek fraudulent and irresponsible behavior?

Because if Germany ignores the problem then the euro might implode, and their economy goes boom just the same.

if one goes down, they all go down. welcome to the eurozone!

Greece should be forced back on the drachma, whether they like it or not. Then the rest should wash their hands of them.

There's a reason the drachma, lira and peseta were jokes as currencies.

JohnAnnArbor: Why should Germany pay for Greek fraudulent and irresponsible behavior?

The EU is just a hair more organized than the US was under the Articles of Confederation, you'd think with those better schools someone would have looked to US history and seen what a happens to a weak confederation.

CrotchBeard: I really think that Greece (and the other countries) should be forced to sell assets (i.e. real property) to cover their defaulted debt.

I mean let's face it, Nike would buy the Parthenon. At the very least they could buy the naming rights. Getting cash moving again is how you get out of a recession, and the latest balance sheet I saw shows that Nike is sitting on 1.6 billion in cash. Greece has borrowed 110B euros from the IMF, and according to some articles I've read, needs 27B to get thru 2012. There's a drop in the bucket.

Boom. Blast away.

It would be worth 1000% more if you made the British Museum give back all the missing parts.

Shared sacrifice and all



/ but seriously, they already are selling national assets
// nothing that has that much historical significance should be sold
/// pretty sure it's actually considered an act of war to go after unesco w.h. sites anyways

Leader O'Cola: CrotchBeard: I really think that Greece (and the other countries) should be forced to sell assets (i.e. real property) to cover their defaulted debt.

I mean let's face it, Nike would buy the Parthenon. At the very least they could buy the naming rights. Getting cash moving again is how you get out of a recession, and the latest balance sheet I saw shows that Nike is sitting on 1.6 billion in cash. Greece has borrowed 110B euros from the IMF, and according to some articles I've read, needs 27B to get thru 2012. There's a drop in the bucket.

Boom. Blast away.

It would be worth 1000% more if you made the British Museum give back all the missing parts.

Shared sacrifice and all



/ but seriously, they already are selling national assets
// nothing that has that much historical significance should be sold
/// pretty sure it's actually considered an act of war to go after unesco w.h. sites anyways
//// can't tell if you were trying to be really meta-ironic with your sponsor choice

forgot the 4th slashy. FTFM

Only question is why they're only doing it NOW when it's way too farking late! What's the point of a credit rating agency that only provides useful information AFTER it's already common knowledge?

Good news for tourists who want to travel Europe on the cheap?

Leader O'Cola: /// pretty sure it's actually considered an act of war to go after unesco w.h. sites anyways

Yeah, we can't let future generations destroy all those important "World Heritage" sites, like coal mines in the middle of nowhere.

This credit rating stuff is a load of BS. When one agency downgraded the US credit rating this year it didn't affect the interest rates on treasury bonds. japan has a lower credit rating than the US but Japanese government bonds pay a lower interest rate. Countries like greece and Italy already pay huge amounts to borrow. That's a problem. Germany's inability to sell bonds last month isa concern and that was before any threat of a lower credit rating. In the end, credit rating be damned as long as bonds are sold at a low rate and often the 2 are not connected.

GAT_00: jvl: GAT_00: Good job Europe. Way to fail to design any safeguards into your currency system.

Don't you ever get tired of your own knee-jerk falsehoods? I do.

There were safeguards. One of them was a rule which stated the maximum budget deficit a country can run. Greece broke the rule but lied and said it was doing just fine, thanks for asking.

Safeguards don't help when no one watches the watchmen.

So, it wasn't really a safeguard then is what you're saying.

In the US, a second set of books is all it takes to defeat the IRS and Auditors. (Hello Enron!)

What Magic Process of Safeguardization do you propose which could have defeated the obfuscation of the Greek Government?

GaryPDX: Weaver95: GaryPDX: Let it fall. We'll survive.

Blood for the blood god.
skulls for the skull throne.

It's better than going down with their ship. Sometimes you just have to stay in the life boat while some drown. Then we fish out the bodies and carry on.

/metaphorically speaking

It's not so much that you're frequently wrong as it is the tone-deaf way you express it.