Greece - A New Hope

fanaskin

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You must be confusing the south for California and the Midwest. Nobody likes Okra up here.

http://wherefoodcomesfrom.com/Articl...6#.VMo192jF-Sq

It is shameful.. for all your Farmland.. South Carolina, the heart of the confederacy, for example has 1.43% of the population, yet only produces .69% of the food, and thats supposed to be its strength? Virginia produces .88% yet is 2.5% of the population, Louisiana is 1.57% of population yet produces .92% of the food. Tennessee has 2% of pop, yet produces only 1% of the nations food. Alabama is 1.5 pop with 1.3% of food. Kentucky is 1.4% of pop with 1.3% of food. Florida is 5% of the population yet produces only 2% of the food. Texas is 7% of the population, yet producing 6% of the food.

Cmon now.. lets not act like the South is some sort of bread basket. It seems to be the home to a great deal of poorly used land.

At least you are the leaders in Meth addicts.
most of those states all exported cash crops like tobacco not food crops , cotton is pretty much the basic crop needed for the industrial revolution.
 

Urlithani

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You must be confusing the south for California and the Midwest. Nobody likes Okra up here.

http://wherefoodcomesfrom.com/Articl...6#.VMo192jF-Sq

It is shameful.. for all your Farmland.. South Carolina, the heart of the confederacy, for example has 1.43% of the population, yet only produces .69% of the food, and thats supposed to be its strength? Virginia produces .88% yet is 2.5% of the population, Louisiana is 1.57% of population yet produces .92% of the food. Tennessee has 2% of pop, yet produces only 1% of the nations food. Alabama is 1.5 pop with 1.3% of food. Kentucky is 1.4% of pop with 1.3% of food. Florida is 5% of the population yet produces only 2% of the food. Texas is 7% of the population, yet producing 6% of the food.

Cmon now.. lets not act like the South is some sort of bread basket. It seems to be the home to a great deal of poorly used land.

At least you are the leaders in Meth addicts.
All the relevant parts of Florida aren't part of the south really. We pull our weight in tourism between Orlando and beaches. We also house your elderly that wish to die from causes other than freezing to death when the thermostat is set at 72.

Just wanted to defend part of my home state; can't deny the rest though.
smile.png
 

Asshat wormie

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The south produces nothing but poverty and meth. If the south was gone the bread basket would just produce more shit. Hell, my state, NY, produces more food than some of the shit holes down south. Fuck the south. Lincoln shouldnt have bothered.
 

Gadrel_sl

shitlord
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States in the South produce more than just agricultural products for consumption. Looking at their economic output solely on that basis is retarded. Southern states are highly productive when their GSP is compared to other states.List of U.S. states by GDPThe state with the lowest GSP is in the North, Vermont. Southern states rank fairly highly, with the top being Florida at number 4.
 

Asshat wormie

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States in the South produce more than just agricultural products for consumption. Looking at their economic output solely on that basis is retarded. Southern states are highly productive when their GSP is compared to other states.List of U.S. states by GDPThe state with the lowest GSP is in the North, Vermont. Southern states rank fairly highly, with the top being Florida at number 4.
All that production and yet the southern states are the poorest in the nation and draw the biggest welfare disbursements from the federal government. How sad for the south.

btw GSP is not a per capita adjusted number. States with more people have larger GDPs? Shocking!.
 

Asshat wormie

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They're our raw material export portion of the country.
Too bad they couldnt do anything with the raw goods they grew and had to ship it north to actually process them. Things would have worked out one way or another but we would not be stuck with the likes of Gadrel around.
 

Flight

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This from Tsipras/Syriza

Most of you, dear [German] readers, will have formed a preconception of what this article is about before you actually read it. I am imploring you not to succumb to such preconceptions. Prejudice was never a good guide, especially during periods when an economic crisis reinforces stereotypes and breeds biggotry, nationalism, even violence.

In 2010, the Greek state ceased to be able to service its debt. Unfortunately, European officials decided to pretend that this problem could be overcome by means of the largest loan in history on condition of fiscal austerity that would, with mathematical precision, shrink the national income from which both new and old loans must be paid. An insolvency problem was thus dealt with as if it were a case of illiquidity.
In other words, Europe adopted the tactics of the least reputable bankers who refuse to acknowledge bad loans, preferring to grant new ones to the insolvent entity so as to pretend that the original loan is performing while extending the bankruptcy into the future. Nothing more than common sense was required to see that the application of the 'extend and pretend' tactic would lead my country to a tragic state. That instead of Greece's stabilization, Europe was creating the circumstances for a self-reinforcing crisis that undermines the foundations of Europe itself.

My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money but because you gave us much, much more than you should have and our government accepted far, far more than it had a right to. Money that would, in any case, neither help the people of Greece (as it was being thrown into the black hole of an unsustainable debt) nor prevent the ballooning of Greek government debt, at great expense to the Greek and German taxpayer.

Indeed, even before a full year had gone by, from 2011 onwards, our predictions were confirmed. The combination of gigantic new loans and stringent government spending cuts that depressed incomes not only failed to rein the debt in but, also, punished the weakest of citizens turning people who had hitherto been living a measured, modest life into paupers and beggars, denying them above all else their dignity. The collapse of incomes pushed thousands of firms into bankruptcy boosting the oligopolistic power of surviving large firms. Thus, prices have been falling but more slowly than wages and salaries, pushing down overall demand for goods and services and crushing nominal incomes while debts continue their inexorable rise. In this setting, the deficit of hope accelerated uncontrollably and, before we knew it, the 'serpent's egg' hatched ? the result being neo-Nazis patrolling our neighbourhoods, spreading their message of hatred.
Despite the evident failure of the 'extend and pretend' logic, it is still being implemented to this day. The second Greek 'bailout', enacted in the Spring of 2012, added another huge loan on the weakened shoulders of the Greek taxpayers, "haircut" our social security funds, and financed a ruthless new cleptocracy.

Respected commentators have been referring of recent to Greece's stabilization, even of signs of growth. Alas, 'Greek-covery' is but a mirage which we must put to rest as soon as possible. The recent modest rise of real GDP, to the tune of 0.7%, signals not the end of recession (as has been proclaimed) but, rather, its continuation. Think about it: The same official sources report, for the same quarter, an inflation rate of -1.80%, i.e. deflation. Which means that the 0.7% rise in real GDP was due to a negative growth rate of nominal GDP! In other words, all that happened is that prices declined faster than nominal national income. Not exactly a cause for proclaiming the end of six years of recession!
Allow me to submit to you that this sorry attempt to recruit a new version of 'Greek statistics', in order to declare the ongoing Greek crisis over, is an insult to all Europeans who, at long last, deserve the truth about Greece and about Europe. So, let me be frank: Greece's debt is currently unsustainable and will never be serviced, especially while Greece is being subjected to continuous fiscal waterboarding. The insistence in these dead-end policies, and in the denial of simple arithmetic, costs the German taxpayer dearly while, at once, condemning to a proud European nation to permanent indignity. What is even worse: In this manner, before long the Germans turn against the Greeks, the Greeks against the Germans and, unsurprisingly, the European Ideal suffers catastrophic losses.

Germany, and in particular the hard-working German workers, have nothing to fear from a SYRIZA victory. The opposite holds. Our task is not to confront our partners. It is not to secure larger loans or, equivalently, the right to higher deficits. Our target is, rather, the country's stabilization, balanced budgets and, of course, the end of the grand squeeze of the weaker Greek taxpayers in the context of a loan agreement that is simply unenforceable. We are committed to end 'extend and pretend' logic not against German citizens but with a view to the mutual advantages for all Europeans.

Dear readers, I understand that, behind your 'demand' that our government fulfills all of its 'contractual obligations' hides the fear that, if you let us Greeks some breathing space, we shall return to our bad, old ways. I acknowledge this anxiety. However, let me say that it was not SYRIZA that incubated the cleptocracy which today pretends to strive for 'reforms', as long as these 'reforms' do not affect their ill-gotten privileges. We are ready and willing to introduce major reforms for which we are now seeking a mandate to implement from the Greek electorate, naturally in collaboration with our European partners.
Our task is to bring about a European New Deal within which our people can breathe, create and live in dignity.
A great opportunity for Europe is about to be born in Greece. An opportunity Europe can ill afford to miss.
 

Gadrel_sl

shitlord
465
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All that production and yet the southern states are the poorest in the nation and draw the biggest welfare disbursements from the federal government. How sad for the south.

btw GSP is not a per capita adjusted number. States with more people have larger GDPs? Shocking!.
Keep your federal welfare dollars, then. We don't want you paying our lazy poor to sit around doing nothing.
 

Asshat wormie

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Keep your federal welfare dollars, then. We don't want you paying our lazy poor to sit around doing nothing.
I wish I could. Sadly you mother fuckers are like cockroaches and would find a way to survive and will most likely cost us even more money. I'd just love for you worthless cunts to starve to death but sadly it would not happen.
 

Gadrel_sl

shitlord
465
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I wish I could. Sadly you mother fuckers are like cockroaches and would find a way to survive and will most likely cost us even more money. I'd just love for you worthless cunts to starve to death but sadly it would not happen.
Why, are we producing too much food? You're pathetic.
 

Asshat wormie

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Why, are we producing too much food? You're pathetic.
You wish. If the south was cut off, the few rich people there would not give the food away to the poor. They would sell it to the richer states while working most of your population into the ground. You shit heels would just riot, murder and steal increasing police and prison costs to the rest of us.
 

ohkcrlho

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Could you muricans stop with your north/south feud please? You have like 98% of the forum dedicated to you.
 

fanaskin

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Too bad they couldnt do anything with the raw goods they grew and had to ship it north to actually process them. Things would have worked out one way or another but we would not be stuck with the likes of Gadrel around.
yeah and too bad the industrial north didn't have the raw materials or climate it needed to produce certain key materials, it's almost like we need each other.

the eu seems to be trying to do similar things that the north did to the south, Germany is trying to monopolize industrial production at the expense of the other developing eu nations
 

Urlithani

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This from Tsipras/Syriza

Most of you, dear [German] readers, will have formed a preconception of what this article is about before you actually read it. I am imploring you not to succumb to such preconceptions. Prejudice was never a good guide, especially during periods when an economic crisis reinforces stereotypes and breeds biggotry, nationalism, even violence.

In 2010, the Greek state ceased to be able to service its debt. Unfortunately, European officials decided to pretend that this problem could be overcome by means of the largest loan in history on condition of fiscal austerity that would, with mathematical precision, shrink the national income from which both new and old loans must be paid. An insolvency problem was thus dealt with as if it were a case of illiquidity.
In other words, Europe adopted the tactics of the least reputable bankers who refuse to acknowledge bad loans, preferring to grant new ones to the insolvent entity so as to pretend that the original loan is performing while extending the bankruptcy into the future. Nothing more than common sense was required to see that the application of the 'extend and pretend' tactic would lead my country to a tragic state. That instead of Greece's stabilization, Europe was creating the circumstances for a self-reinforcing crisis that undermines the foundations of Europe itself.

My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money but because you gave us much, much more than you should have and our government accepted far, far more than it had a right to. Money that would, in any case, neither help the people of Greece (as it was being thrown into the black hole of an unsustainable debt) nor prevent the ballooning of Greek government debt, at great expense to the Greek and German taxpayer.

Indeed, even before a full year had gone by, from 2011 onwards, our predictions were confirmed. The combination of gigantic new loans and stringent government spending cuts that depressed incomes not only failed to rein the debt in but, also, punished the weakest of citizens turning people who had hitherto been living a measured, modest life into paupers and beggars, denying them above all else their dignity. The collapse of incomes pushed thousands of firms into bankruptcy boosting the oligopolistic power of surviving large firms. Thus, prices have been falling but more slowly than wages and salaries, pushing down overall demand for goods and services and crushing nominal incomes while debts continue their inexorable rise. In this setting, the deficit of hope accelerated uncontrollably and, before we knew it, the 'serpent's egg' hatched - the result being neo-Nazis patrolling our neighbourhoods, spreading their message of hatred.
Despite the evident failure of the 'extend and pretend' logic, it is still being implemented to this day. The second Greek 'bailout', enacted in the Spring of 2012, added another huge loan on the weakened shoulders of the Greek taxpayers, "haircut" our social security funds, and financed a ruthless new cleptocracy.

Respected commentators have been referring of recent to Greece's stabilization, even of signs of growth. Alas, 'Greek-covery' is but a mirage which we must put to rest as soon as possible. The recent modest rise of real GDP, to the tune of 0.7%, signals not the end of recession (as has been proclaimed) but, rather, its continuation. Think about it: The same official sources report, for the same quarter, an inflation rate of -1.80%, i.e. deflation. Which means that the 0.7% rise in real GDP was due to a negative growth rate of nominal GDP! In other words, all that happened is that prices declined faster than nominal national income. Not exactly a cause for proclaiming the end of six years of recession!
Allow me to submit to you that this sorry attempt to recruit a new version of 'Greek statistics', in order to declare the ongoing Greek crisis over, is an insult to all Europeans who, at long last, deserve the truth about Greece and about Europe. So, let me be frank: Greece's debt is currently unsustainable and will never be serviced, especially while Greece is being subjected to continuous fiscal waterboarding. The insistence in these dead-end policies, and in the denial of simple arithmetic, costs the German taxpayer dearly while, at once, condemning to a proud European nation to permanent indignity. What is even worse: In this manner, before long the Germans turn against the Greeks, the Greeks against the Germans and, unsurprisingly, the European Ideal suffers catastrophic losses.

Germany, and in particular the hard-working German workers, have nothing to fear from a SYRIZA victory. The opposite holds. Our task is not to confront our partners. It is not to secure larger loans or, equivalently, the right to higher deficits. Our target is, rather, the country's stabilization, balanced budgets and, of course, the end of the grand squeeze of the weaker Greek taxpayers in the context of a loan agreement that is simply unenforceable. We are committed to end 'extend and pretend' logic not against German citizens but with a view to the mutual advantages for all Europeans.

Dear readers, I understand that, behind your 'demand' that our government fulfills all of its 'contractual obligations' hides the fear that, if you let us Greeks some breathing space, we shall return to our bad, old ways. I acknowledge this anxiety. However, let me say that it was not SYRIZA that incubated the cleptocracy which today pretends to strive for 'reforms', as long as these 'reforms' do not affect their ill-gotten privileges. We are ready and willing to introduce major reforms for which we are now seeking a mandate to implement from the Greek electorate, naturally in collaboration with our European partners.
Our task is to bring about a European New Deal within which our people can breathe, create and live in dignity.
A great opportunity for Europe is about to be born in Greece. An opportunity Europe can ill afford to miss.
So serious question from someone with basic economic knowledge and only a bit of understanding on Greece's situation: How should they fix it? I'm having a hard time seeing any sort of reform or change without some tough transitional years to go through.
 

Kuro

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Start a war that the 60% unemployed youth population can go die in.