Peter's Viewpoint

Interesting how a simple search on the Internet can bring an analysis of one of today’s most vivid problems that began sometime back in the 80’s.

Like a weapon with delayed timing, the financial markets of countries around the world are now seeing their economies collapse and are realizing that banks and bankers are to blame.

Once upon a time, banks were simple institutions that were created to safeguard and protect our hard earned money but as time went on investment firms grew from banks and they both collaborated to become the greedy insatiable monster that is causing economies of the world to fail.

Napoleon Bonaparte of France in 1815 once said, “When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes... Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.”

If you have not been following the world financial situation then you are going to be shocked at how much you will be paying soon for the combination of greed and corruption that started as unscrupulous investments being used by countries and companies world wide.

Like rolling a snowball down a hill and watching it gather speed and size, we now see the snowball uncontrollably uprooting of businesses and governments causing havoc.

The biggest failing is the moral responsibility that does not exist.  This is evident even after banks have received bail out money and continue their offering loans to participants that are unable to repay those loans.  These practices including that of bonus schemes to promote the same services that created the financial mess.

Countries and businesses involved in these schemes have borrowed beyond their means to repay and those involved are blatantly helped legally by the law after declaring their companies bankrupt.  As they have gone above the law, there is only one solution to at least punish those responsible, the segregation of individuals in any of the countries involved for the immediate confiscation of their bank accounts anywhere in the world.  This of course may require actions by countries upon those countries that provide hidden accounts under outdated and irrelevant bank secrecy laws but this can be used as the basis to eliminate these accounts and banks.

The punishment of these individuals should also be extended to prior years and to prior and current country heads of state until proven otherwise.

Who will pay for these so-called money management mistakes, the people of the world, you and I unless decisions are taken for immediate action.

If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem, there is no middle ground on these issues.

What was it that P. T. Barnum said, oh yea “There's a sucker born every minute!”.

What would Greece be like without the help from Greeks abroad?

The quick Greek response would probably be what foreigners would be like without the foundations that Greece has given them!

While the Greeks abroad work hard and develop their worthiness and status in the foreign countries where they reside, the Greeks in Greece now cry about having to undergo wage reductions to pay for the sins of their fathers.  It is unbelievable to hear the stories that display the lack of respect and humility that Greeks today seem to forget.

The fact that many of them have relatives who left the Greek homeland years ago to better themselves and their families, and sadly find that they have reached an age when they can visit the “old country” only to find that the old country still does not live up to the obligations without taking the charities of the Greeks abroad.

While many are still placing their bets that Greece will follow Iceland in bankruptcy, the government workers take their opportunity to strike on a daily basis, the younger generation complain about the prices of the cafeterias and threaten on a television to stay home, and the private sector unfairly takes a chance at trying to have the wage freeze applied to their employees.

Meanwhile Greece calls upon the councils of the Greeks abroad to ask for help as seen here.

ALEXANDRIA (ANA-MPA - N. Katsikas) The World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) on Sunday issued to call to all Greek expatriates, asking them to donate to its campaign 'Support Fund for Greece' that seeks to raise money to lower the country's high public debt.

Greece created it’s problem and yet shows no shame in asking patriots outside of the country to help solve it.

Isn’t it time that Greece eats some humble pie? The country already has gone bankrupt three (3) times, yes that’s right.  Refer to the newspaper TO BHMA within the last month if you don’t believe it.

By helping Greece, you will be providing psychologically and financial support that shows that what Greece has done over these years is correct.

If you are wondering why someone who lives in Greece is writing this, it is because I believe in the spirit of Greece as developed by the ancient Greeks.

Hey, there’s a great football game or fantastic movie on TV!

You probably heard that one before but did you ever think that it just happened to be a distraction from what might be happening behind the closed doors of your government.

Yes, just the way that cunning marketing changes your thoughts about buying a new product, governments use similar tactics to enact laws and take decisions that might otherwise be inundated by objecting citizens, until their true objectives are in motion or complete.

In Greece, Italy, and Spain, recent posts in newspapers and newscasts such as the “witch hunt” to place the blame for the current financial debacle, the assertion that Silvio Berlusconi maybe involved in the latest corruption scandal, and digging up the infamous crimes of Franco, are not only the latest news but can be a diversion from the focus on the problems of the country and the EU.  This happens in other countries as well just as recent events discuss the meeting of the Dalai Lama with President Obama and the threatening tone of China, while it either reduces or increases the focus on another agenda.

Do you think this is a conspiracy theory?  Just the way that George W. Bush created the term “weapons of mass destruction” that never actually existed, a new law or action might be happening that could take you be surprise.

While we enjoy the benefits that technologies like the Internet has brought us, we must also deal with the flood of information that can blind or misguide us.

Focuses combined with strategy are the key to preventing events from happening before they do.  Just as in business, the better your vision is to interpreting the overall situation, the better you will be able to effectively act and provide a clearer solution.

The salvation of the Greek economy has just been declared by the EU and along with it the demands.

The question is whether those demands will only force Greece into a monetary penalty or will they include therapeutic additives to cure the main problem, the failure of a system that developed a corrupt lifestyle that became legacy tarnishing Greece.

It is hard to understand the thinking that foreigners living in Greece have when it comes to the bankruptcy of this nation, but some believe that the collapse of this country may actually benefit the country by demolishing a system of government that has been a disease while unfortunately punishing the good citizens.

The main problem of Greece derives from older governments using promises to gain votes and assuring the voters that they would receive their return for their investment of a vote through a guaranteed job with the government.  This incited corruption from the power vested by a feudal hiring system overflowing to commercial favoritism that refutes attempts for transparency because of the never ending circle that is encompassed by it.

If the EU fails to perform the necessary and proper auditing of Greece both monetarily and morally, then the outcome will be another fubar similar to that of the Greek people paying tax money to support the employees of the now defunct Olympic Airlines.

Unemployment in Greece was at an amazing 9.3% in the 3rd quarter of 2009.  I say amazing because like other statistics that were recently documented by ESYE the statistical department of finance in Greece were proven to be a menagerie of management failures especially when one considers that unemployment is increasing in a country of approximately 11m people.

I believe that the methods used to calculate Greek unemployment do not account for:

• small businesses that have closed due to the state of the economy do not receive unemployment
• those who have been unemployed for longer periods because they have simply abandoned searching for work in Greece
• and also because they have abandoned the assistance from the government unemployment services known as OAED due to the fact that unemployment payments are discontinued after a period of time.

The latest trends show that the Euro has lost roughly 9% of its value since December of 2009 and if the trend continues because of the other countries in the line of fire, then the devaluation of the Euro will be the last concern of Brussels.  Theoretical talks by those who feel that countries not pulling their weight should be pruned will prove to be the disintegration of the European Union.

Over the years that I have lived in the oldest country of Europe, I have seen the two major political parties that formed the government change like a European football match.

The people of Greece have been used like the ball being kicked from side to side and played by the governments for their vote through the promise of guaranteed jobs in the government sector.

The current fiscal fiasco is the result of these governments abusing power and promoting corruption upon the people with results that would be unbelievable if a story was written for a movie.  Now once again, the government of Greece seeks to be saved by its own people and maybe even that of the people of Europe.

It’s not like other European nations or America are without corruption but when a country that has been corrupt seeks salvation from its own people instead of saving itself, then correcting the system with the money from those people is a slap in the face to everyone in the nation.
Another obvious and extreme example of government failure is that of Haiti.

I think that the Greek government might want to consider the following quote by Thomas Jefferson as a starting place to redeem itself and restore the historical reputation and recognition that Greece had.

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

There are many possibilities to bankruptcy both positive and negative with just as many to being unproductive but nations should bear in mind that humanity does not tolerate ineffective recipients of generosity.

It is a very sad day at Davos and the Financial Times or ft.com when they must stoop so low that they have to create headline news stories to make a buck for themselves and anyone to the extent of toppling countries.

A small minded reporter strives to brand himself among the rich and brainless.  The reporter rudely chased the prime minister of a country through the passages of the world financial meeting trying to force a microscopic economic statement that will give the reporter the credits he needs to brand him as a “mover” or “shaker” but not glib enough to evoke any profitable essence.

If the financial times has reached this level of publishing, then what else have they published that may simply be considered as an inconclusive non-objective newscasts and possibly cause investors to loose more money than they gain by not reading or looking at the information of a major financial paper.

The defamation of a country is not about one person but an entire nation and during times of malignant economic crisis can be as devastating as launching a weapon of mass destruction.  Both the USA and Greece’s leaders entered their positions like Atlas carrying the weight of the world; they can only attempt to correct the inabilities of their predecessors because there is no book on “how to solve the world crisis”.

The Financial Times should consider the repercussions that their reporters may have before issuing bogus statements that are disorient stock investors.

The status quo may have just been changed as this was the first time that the rich and famous have been penalized according to their wealth.

An event in a court in Switzerland took place this week when the trial of a very well to do person was convicted of speeding.  Okay, people are convicted of speeding everyday so why was this so different?

The person caught speeding is an established millionaire.  The defendant’s record showed that the driver had broken the law repeatedly and therefore determined that the only way to effectively punish the driver was to assess a penalty according to the income.  The outcome was a fine equal to the amount of 290,000 US Dollars.

This brings another case to mind which concerns the attitude of the rich and famous, that of Paris Hilton.  What do I have against the rich and wealthy?  Nothing but I do despise bad influences and corruption especially when they affect young people creating the imagination that the rich and famous are above the law.
If the court does not want Paris Hilton to suffer staying in a jail cell, maybe they should consider fining her in the amount of say half a million dollars.  That might open her mind while providing additional funds for society.

Although laws are made to protect us and are supposed to be equal, the penalty for breaking the laws are not.  We have seen on more than one occasion that those who well off financially escape the punishment because they had the ability to hire the most expensive lawyers and probably affect the jurors if not the judge allowing them to avoid the final outcome of punishment that the less advantaged would incur.

Are laws made to protect us? I have been driving since I was 16 and have seen laws created regarding the installation of seat belts and air bags and will probably see other new ideas installed in cars that have managed to save people.  Eventually these laws and inventions gave people the ideal that they can drive anyway they want and they won’t get hurt.

So based on this thinking, not wearing a seat belt means that yes you will be fined because the government wants everyone to be protected but at the same time, the seat belt and air bags are like giving drivers more of an excuse to talk on mobile phones without worrying too much about the consequence of a collision.

What would happen if the seat belt and air bag only for the driver were removed from vehicles? 

Now that’s another thought to be considered with fines analogous to income!

A link to the story about the driver in Switzerland.

These days’ people in Greece are somewhat oblivious as to the meaning of what happens when a country goes bankrupt but it is probably because there are no specifics.

If you search the Internet, you may find a few fragments of what could happen but nothing in detail even though a number of countries have already gone through the process including Greece in the past.  Yes, history does repeat itself but why are those that are historically oriented unaware or are they?

While Greece undergoes experimenting with a variety of change, Europe continues delegating laws without thought to the overall affect on the people of Europe.

One such law is that of equal automobile insurance for the protection of motorists and property.  The politicians in Brussels have inflicted higher costs to countries that are unequal in pay scales.

The controversy of income versus cost is an issue in Europe because northern Europe is economically more powerful than southern Europe historically as it was between the North and South in the USA.

As a comparison, the economics of living are much different in the USA.
People living in Florida do not have the same cost of living or salary income when compared to those in New York.  In Europe people are assuming that they will receive the salaries of those who are living in England or Germany because their country has become a member state.

The bases of these ideas are erroneous but the politicians in Brussels continue to exploit the lower priced food productions of the southern Europeans without much ado to their outcome.
Northern Europeans enjoy the privilege of a higher income that offsets their cost of living while the cost of living for southern Europeans is not analogous to their income.

When creating equality among the member states, people should consider the fact that they may utilize the resources of other countries whether they live there or are sight-seeing.  We need to have equality in services such as hospitals and insurances, transportation, electricity, water, communication, and any other facilities that are available in a national environment with the ability to pay for those expenses but a system that does not compromise the incomes of the poorer member states to accomplish it.

Europe needs to have equality and not only in a state wide protection but without penalizing member states for the costs otherwise they will have to consider the equalization of income.

It’s not everyday that we get to see islands being born, volcano’s erupting, or meteor’s crashing into planets, but there is one historical event on the horizon that may be the beginning of a new economic era.  That is the domino effect that may actually be caused by one of the last countries that anyone might suspect, Greece.

As the economies of the world swirl in a daze wondering whether or not things are getting better, two countries stand out like a comparison between a giant and a midget, the USA and Greece.  For decades now the USA experimented with the financial idea that they should spend more than the cash box held by borrowing based on world position but at the same time, other countries that follow the USA started doing the same thing without anyone giving it real thought.  So here we are, the governments owe the World Bank, the banks are in debt to the governments, people have over abused credit and owe the banks.
It’s like a merry-go-round that may just end by simply falling off its track.

Is anyone asking where or what will the World Bank be collecting and from whom in the end?

Will the World Bank be willing to forgive and forget all the loans it makes to every nation of the world?  Why not, it's only money!  Even if they could, it does not make it right.

Greece is the fuse that may cause the next world depression.  It has become the hottest topic especially to Europeans because Greece's problems are a reflection of the European state.  The fact that one of the least productive countries in Europe can topple the value of the Euro and begin a domino effect should be of grave concern because it proves that everything has been financially overstated and overvalued and is simply hot air coming out of the political muddle.

While President Obama and Prime Minister Papandreou are new hope for the people of their countries, they do not have the power to magically correct these long-term mistakes.

Greece is known as a country of sun and fun but apart from that, the limited natural resources do not make it copious to the repayment of debt.  This brings up the ultimate question, What happens when a country goes bankrupt?

Will the European’s be saving Greece by helping it keep afloat or are they actually trying to save themselves from having to explain why their countries maybe next in the rise and fall of the European Empire?

Once again we see find the giant sleeping.

We once laughed at the Russians when a small private plane landed in Red Square to be greeted by Russians amazed at how a plane flew past their superior defenses and yet America has managed to let it’s guard down again.
We did it at Pearl Harbor, it happened again on 9/11, and now to take the prize, the President and the First Lady of the USA are greeted by uninvited couple Michaele and Tareq Salahi.

Everyday people criticize America because as it was a world leader and has now become the epitome of failure depicting a rapidly deteriorating society that only looks forward to be able to buy, buy, buy, and spend money that it does not have anymore.

What will it take to awaken Americans?  Do the thoughts of another civil war in the USA or even worse igniting war around the world scare you?

Americans are living in a dream world failing to see reality and sadly the majority only see the status, popularity, and wealth that Mr. and Mrs. Salahi will achieve?

People wake up, the matrix was a movie but you appear to be living in it.