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Regarding Greece, I have spoken with a few people about this. As many of you, I knew about the Greek debt issue months before it happened. They should probably let Greece go out of the EU, let it return to its own currency (so they can devalue it and/or go bankrupt and reorganize) and be done with it...I also realize that this may not be the most popular decision but it is the right one. Now if Spain needs $500B (much larger economy than Greece) we are in some deep trouble......again, but I really believe this is a terrible rumor - and on top of what we're seeing now, it's a massive manipulation to bring the market down. President Obama supports putting up as much $$ as needed to bail them out (not his fault - seeing as though the US represents 40% of the international monetary fund its no wonder a bailout pkg has been put together). My broker mentioned all of this to me last year sometime, the system in Greece is messed up, education is free & corruption is insane (black market) and civil servants are eligible for a pension sometimes as early as age 45. What a life.Tax evasion is a way of life and deep rooted in the historical lack of trust in the corrupt socialist government. I believe, as we do here in North America, that you should pay taxes or go to jail. It may seem insane that people are protesting... On the other hand all the citizens see is a corrupt government who has done them wrong, a strong currency (Euro) which spells more trouble for the general public in a recessionary environment and the inevitable raising of taxes in a country that is not accustomed to a normal tax system in the first place. When I said Greece should sell Corfu I was half joking, but really - it's a great idea. Corfu is beautiful and could be viewed as a strategic asset to Greece. It's their fault they're in this mess, no one else's. My broker told me about an article he read: Greek government officials when asked by the EU how much land the government owned and where it was they did not have a good answer..... They actually answered "We don't know exactly".....unbelievable!! Government officials line their pockets and the public finds a way to survive by having no choice but to participate in the same corrupt game; it is now so ingrained and has become a way of life for many many years. It will take huge and drastic measures in order to implement change in that country and for it to actually take effect on a wide scale. Greece actually booked 10 years of forward lottery revenue the year they applied to be a part of the EU and pretty much lied to the EU about the state of their balance sheet (as this was not re-occuring revenue and the very next year that revenue was not on the balance sheet.... obviously nor would it be for the next 9 years!!). Lottery revenue is something like 20% of Government revenue there....!! Talk about fudging the books.. Greece is sort of like Enron from that standpoint. So yes! I think the Eurozone should break up, if there is no power to devalue your currency then the EU, along with the other countries and IMF, has no choice but to bail them out. Even with that much of an aid package. The only reason the U.S. will come out of this crisis is because it has the ability to devalue its currency via huge injections of cash (pay back debt in the future with dollars that are worth less than they are today) of which will inevitably create inflation......when, who knows, but it will happen.
I look at it as a capitalist. It is my hope that the tax system will get restructured eventually but in the meantime there may be amazing properties selling for cheap. We may even go shopping for a property there in a couple of years.....even though it will take much longer than that to sort this mess out. It is my belief that most of Greece in 50 years will be owned by foreigners anyway."
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