The PIIGS Must Face The Facts - America's Next Margaret Thatcher once said that “the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” Right now the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are learning that the hard way. Greece, on the verge of total economic collapse, has received a $1 trillion bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. America, as the biggest contributor to the IMF, gave 17% of those funds (China, in comparison, gave 3%). Yes, the same America who's military budget exceeds that of the World combined and who can't even take care of our homeless and budget problems is the largest contributor to helping Greece. Greece the country where a hairdresser qualifies for full social security pension benefits at age 50. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the architects of the bailout, admits that with the bailout “we have done nothing more than to buy time until we have brought order to these competitive differences and to the budget deficits of individual Euro countries.” Things have gotten so bad that even the so called "liberal media" has started to call it to our attention. The Washington Post warns that “one false move in Europe could set off a global chain reaction.” Though Greece and Portugal are usually the focus of the conversation, the debt crisis is bigger than them. Spain, in a similar debt crisis, recently had their credit rating downgraded by Standard & Poor. They too had a realestate bubble and now have 19% unemployment. A failing Spain, whose economy dwarfs that of Greece and Portugal, would be a much bigger problem. According to Angelos Pangratis, head of the European Union delegation to the United States, “if what happened in Greece were to happen in a large country, it could fundamentally mark our times.” Royal Bank of Scotland analyst Jacques Cailloux warned that Europe faces “the biggest coordination failure in modern history.” Your Thoughts? Read On, & Weigh In Now ... |
