In 1922 Greek armies trying to conquer western Anatolia were routed by Turkey’s military leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Greeks were uprooted from Ionian coastal areas. After this debacle, Greek officers took three former prime ministers, a general and two other politicians who had led the Turkish-Greek War and shot them. Greeks cheered.
Many Greeks today must be wishing to see similar punishment inflicted on their politicians who were responsible for the nation’s bankruptcy and staggering $500 billion debt.
[ ... ]
Greece is using the same scare-tactics that the supposedly too-big-to-fail insolvent US banks employed in 2008: “if I go down, I’ll take everyone with me.”
In this case, it’s Europe’s big banks. Three big French banks, BNP, CréditAgricole, SociétéGénéral, hold large chunks of
Greece’s debt. If Greece defaults, goes the hue and cry, French, German, Swiss, and Belgian banks may crash.
Here we go again. Politicians have allowed the banking industry not only to grow larger than manufacturing, notably in the United States where the top five banks control 40% of all deposits, but to become so over-extended and risky they are a danger to itself and the public.
Bankers who invested in Greek debt or US subprime mortgages were greedy fools and should be fired, not rescued.
Many Greeks today must be wishing to see similar punishment inflicted on their politicians who were responsible for the nation’s bankruptcy and staggering $500 billion debt.
[ ... ]
Greece is using the same scare-tactics that the supposedly too-big-to-fail insolvent US banks employed in 2008: “if I go down, I’ll take everyone with me.”
In this case, it’s Europe’s big banks. Three big French banks, BNP, CréditAgricole, SociétéGénéral, hold large chunks of
Greece’s debt. If Greece defaults, goes the hue and cry, French, German, Swiss, and Belgian banks may crash.
Here we go again. Politicians have allowed the banking industry not only to grow larger than manufacturing, notably in the United States where the top five banks control 40% of all deposits, but to become so over-extended and risky they are a danger to itself and the public.
Bankers who invested in Greek debt or US subprime mortgages were greedy fools and should be fired, not rescued.
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