An Idiot’s Guide to the Greek Debt Crisis

[Timothy]

Historically, our economy drove the worlds economy!  With the inception of the Euro, Europe thought that they could challenge that thinking.  Greece, Italy and a few other failed experiments have proven that to be a false claim. 

For all I care, Greece, Italy and any number of countries can go to hell.  I could care less!....

[Magoo541]

If Europe spirals out of control into default, the U.S. exports to Europe, will crash.

I thought the US had no exports, we don't make anything anymore because all of our manufacturing has moved to China?

Actually I know better, in fact I work for a company that exports stuff to Europe every year, we just sent a line via airtrans over to Ireland last month, glad I didn't foot that bill.

The trouble started when the lesser countries in Europe couldn't print money after taking the Euro as their currency.  The US won't default anytime soon because the fox is printing hens as needed, BUT this won't work forever because inflation will eventually rear its head.  I was but a wee little child in the late '70s and stagflation was running rampant but I remember my dad bouncing around jobs that ranged from close to home to the next county and even state just to pay the bills.
THANK GOD FOR RONALDUS MAXIMUS!

[tombogan03884]

The European debt problem has been building since WWI.
The huge losses on the battlefield left the entire population feeling they were "owed" a debt by their Nation's.
This dissatisfaction was used by the communist international to spread subversion, and unrest through out the continent, Spartacists in Germany, Communist uprisings in Austria,Italy, France, and Spain, and the growth of communist and socialist groups in the UK.
In order to end the continued violence that national Govt's no longer had the stomach to fight, they applied the same appeasement tactics that would work so well with Hitler by granting more benefits.
But none of them had any money, they were all hugely in debt already due to war expenses, so they shuffled things and remained on the verge of solvency. Some countries, like England never did recover. The only European country that truly recovered was Germany and that was not until the late 50's.
The trend has continued to the present day, Socialist labor unions start raising hell because they can gain advantage by telling the workers some one owes them something and the Govt's appease them with more bennies, more hand outs and shorter hours. Greece , Italy and France have been the most obvious examples but they have all followed the same pattern, they have been spending more than they have been earning and now they are running out of everybody else's money.
But the communist Unions would rather have the countries collapse than give up a bit of their inflated wages or actually do a full weeks work because chaos benefits the totalitarian ( socialist) parties .
And the stupid Democrats think it's wonderful and want to be just like them.