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You must say that Germany and China are awfully similar. Germany treats Europe, like China is treating the rest of the World. Huge trade-surplus, undervalued currency, etc.
I don't think I must say that at all. Trade surplus, I'll give you that - but in just about every political particular, they're as far apart as cam be thought. And is the Euro really undervalued in your opinion?
Greece's public transit system is more costly than paying for a private taxi for every citizen in Athens to commute to their job. I'm sure that has something to do with it also.
Location: In a Galaxy far, far away called Germany
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It doesn't help that the average Greek retires and lives off of their government when they turn 53. You can tax the snot out of your people (and double on the rich) and you still won't be able to sustain that nonsense. They have become spoiled by living a lie and now that they have awakened from their "Club-Med", they are having to come to grips with the reality that their "system" was never going to work. Germany is not what is wrong with the EU.
Without knowing the specifics of the plan, I will say that "far-reaching “structural reforms” in Greece and other highly indebted European Union countries" is a fact of life of this point. They obviously need significant reform.
Having done a lot of work in several European countries, it is my experience that they have a long way to go between where they are now and sweatshop status. One employee had to be off one week of each month for her menstrual cycle. Another filed a complaint of harrassment on day 3 of the job calling a QA process harassment. This person remained employed and not working for 6 months while this was sorted out. Another person missed 9 months of work due to mental health needs because of a dispute with someone from their personal life and was paid and had to have a job held for them the entire time.
Hmmm.... interesting. Germany, the China of Europe.
Evidently many European countries are under the mistaken impression that they are somehow entitled to the good life. They are about to be quickly disabused of that notion.
In a global environment you either compete or shrivel up.
Perhaps if the Greeks themselves had shown more willingness to tighten their belts and pay taxes due to the state, voters across Europe might not now be feeling such anger towards them.
This Greater German Reich has been created by the bankers without a shot being fired. There are past due for a minor colonial revolt by the peripheral states being economically exploited by the Empire. The German bankers lent money to support sales from the core. They should not expect these to be paid back in cash as they were paid by the colonies buying German manufactured goods.
Their choice they don't have to pay but then international capital markets will be closed to them. I'd love to see Greece try and finance their generous social programs with depreciated drachmas and domestic financing should make for entertaining times.
Germany isn't the culprit, the rest of Europe relinquished their responsibility to whoever picks it up off the ground where it was carelessly dropped.
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