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Greece Enters Twilight Zone As It Announces 90% Banker Bonus Tax Plans, Expectations For Sub 3% Deficit By 2013
Developing story as highlights from George Papandreou's speech become available. Some notable snippets include his desire to cut deficits below 3% of GDP by 2013 (good luck), a cut in debt sovereign starting in 2012, and, most notably, a limitation on banker bonuses in the form a 90% bonus tax.
More headlines: Greek PM says will privatise companies not essential to the state, will proceed with state asset sales
Goodbye Greece
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Set unrealistic budgetary goals. Check.
Scapegoat the bankers. Check.
Mission accomplished. Go to commercial.
It's called "kicking the can down the road". The privatization plan will satisfy the foreign creditors for now, but will ultimately screw the Greek public and the country. Just look at any Latin American country for an example.
Greece will be broke again in a decade, and when that happens nothing will save them.
A decade? Me thinks we found an optimist on ZH.
I'd also add 90% tax for dividends. Yes!
How about a 90% tax on governmental stupidity? That would balance the budget in about 5 minutes.
"Change you can pee on"
The idea is good. Don't see any easy way to implement it. Mmm?
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WIN
Just continue writing this kind of post. I will be your loyal reader. Thanks again.
education degree | fire science degree | law degree
They've gone stupid. I like to see the impossible details of these sound bites. Anyone who could possible believe this nonsense and invest in any of this crap as a fiduciary and loses money should be sued to oblivion.
Anybody holding Greek debt after this had better hope Germany is feeling generous.
Beware of Greeks bearing Gilts
Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work..
management degree | nursing degree
Greeced up bankers -- hope they know to speak greek....
Good job Greece....thats the way...no more money for nothing and the chicks for free...
Watch for the dollar to soar as world banksters transfer themselves to the US where they have guaranteed unlimited backstops and minimal taxation
Yes! Time to pound hyg to new highs!
"Greek PM says will privatise companies not essential to the state, will proceed with state asset sales"
I want to believe this isn't true... :sigh:
Ah, so he'll sell lots of civil servants, what a good idea. Although can they really be considred an asset, and do they have any value?
Ah, so he'll sell lots of civil servants, what a good idea. Although can they really be considered an asset, and do they have any value?
Of course privatization requires buyers.
What's a Greek company that the government doesn't want really worth?
State companies are often monopolies or quasi monopolies.
In addition they have generally been run for decades with a different mindset than private companies in that infrastructure was built to last generations rather then to make it only to the next bonus period.
So its easy for the private buyers. Price it based on its current low profitability, as soon as you take over slash cap ex spending and let the infrastructure run down. Point to run down infrastructure as a reason to raise fees (presuming there's a regulator to limit their exploitation of their monopoly position.)
Award yourself enormous bonuses and issue huge dividends.
When services start crumbling ask for government subsidies and raised fees to users.
They've done this over and over again and we see the water, electric, sewerage, rail, bus services, mail and many other services deteriorate as they suck out the money as private compensation and dividends that otherwise would have gone back in to the service.
I'm no socialist, but the problem with all these privatisations is that they've never introduced the competition that prevents it and instead have put in a regulator who is captured in no time, and often the service is a natural monopoly for which no real competition can be put in anyway. (Unless you think the private sector is going to rush to put in an alternative water and sewerage pipe to your house)
I like the first part of the plan (owning foreign monopolies and government subsidies). It's the second part; raising prices in a market that can't afford current prices and getting subsidies from a bankrupt government that seems a bit dodgy...
So.... the banksters will just forgo the bonuses. And raise their 'salaries' to match the previous bonus.
Is "intelligent politician" an oxymoron?
More likely the two words are mutually exclusive in the same universe. If the two ever did combine it could be the end of life as we know it!
Why not just structure the tax similarly to others, where the bank co pays the tax (not the bankster receiving it). That way shareholders take it; and nothing would change... heck, they could probably do a secondary stock issue just to pay the Banksters Bonus Tax, and have it happily oversubscribed.
baklava?
So you're suggesting they hold a bake sale and invite Europe?
It might work.
We'll see how Greek bonds do tomorrow, and Greek banks for
that matter. The banksters will simply announce payroll hikes for themselves. Whadda joke.
Greek stock market soon to hit new highs.
OT:
A kudos for Kitco (www.kitco.com).
I sold some glod to Kitco and delivered to their NYC (Inwood) collection location on Dec 1 (the prices were high approx 1200). Somone messed up and didnt inform that I had delivered. I kept following up with phone calls emails. Finally on Dec 9th I spoke to lady named Sileh who was extremely helpful, tracking down the delivery and keeping me updated as to what was happening.
By then the prices had dropped to 1130 (approx 5%). I thought would have to do a song and dance to get the Dec 1st prices. There was no fuss and transaction was completed at the Dec 1st prices.
So, a kudos and my recommendation of www.kitco.com for your glod transactions.
sbarrkum
I check kitco.com every day re gold and other PM prices. Nice to hear that they are trustworthy in doing business (even if there was a small glitch).
"Salaried workers will not pay for this situation: we will not proceed with wage freezes or cuts. We did not come to power to tear down the social state," - Papandreou at Friday's EU summit
"Greek PM says will privatise companies not essential to the state, will proceed with state asset sales"
Ok, so who wants to buy a bunch of loss-making enterprises crammed full of cronies earning Euro 100k pa plus fat benefits? Probably worth adding that all the connected parties will receive bonuses, and the bankers will earn juicy fees for the sales. Given what we know about Greek accounting habits, you need your head examined if you believe the books...
for some reason, I've read it as Green Peace.... I was confuzed for a bit there.
Original blog post last night with much more detail as well, here:
5 minutes 'til Midnight
Greek Governments Since 1963
63-65 George Papandreou
65-67 Chaos
67-74 Military Dictatorship
74-80 Konstantinos Karamanlis
80-81 George Rallis
81-89 Andreas Papandreou (son)
89-90 Chaos, 3 failed elections
90-93 Mitsotakis
93-96 Andreas Papandreou (son)…died
96-04 Konstantinos Simitis
04-09 Konstantinos Karamanlis (nephew)
From Oct 09 George Papandreou (grandson)
What is this... like Chaos every ~20 years?
chaos + quasi-family government.
How did these gyro makers ever get into the EU?
Bwah! As long as Greeks have Mykonos, they'll inflate their debt problems away:
I will always give a nice thrust look in to you from my bookmark feed.
www.launch-techs.com
OK, I'll do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1sf2CzEq0w
I'm fallin' down a spiral, destination unknownA double cross messenger, all alone
Can't get no connection, can't get through, where are you
Well the night weighs heavy on his guilty mind
This far from the border line
And when the hitman comes
He knows damn well he has been cheated
And he says
Help, I'm stepping into the Twilight Zone
The place is a mad-house, feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far
The prime minister kept on mentioning "Green Development", about 11 times at least in his speech. I smell Soros somewhere.
The prime minister kept on mentioning "Green Development", about 11 times at least in his speech. I smell Soros somewhere.
should have shot the bankers
I will always give a nice thrust look in to you from my bookmark feed.
www.micro-tronik.com
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