The web of debt of the Pigs of Europe
(2:25)
Five Countries constitute the so-called
PIIGS of Europe, namely Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. "
We’re five little piglets, five little brothers and no one will ever tear us apart, tralalalala!!" Contagious pigs, carriers of swine plague. A plague called debt, with which they have infected Europe.
When one of the Pigs defaults, its creditors are also at risk of bankruptcy. The other European Countries must rescue the Pigs in order to save themselves. In terms of debt to European nations, Greece owes
236 billion Dollars, Portugal owes 286 billion, Ireland owes 867 billion, Spain owes 1,100 billion and Italy, the most contagious of all, owes 1,400 billion.
The Pigs are even indebted to each other. Greece owes Portugal 9.6 billion Dollars, which in turn owes Spain 58 billion, which in turn owes Ireland 14 billion. Public debt is like a game of smoke and mirrors in which everyone involved could be left holding the baby. If Greece were to fail, Europe could still survive because the effects of Greece’s debt with other European Countries are still manageable. However, if Spain or Italy were to fail, the Euro would cease to exist. The greater the level of public debt of one of the European Pigs, the faster the spread of the contagion and its destructive effects.
Via their public debt, the PIIGS have passed on part of their illness. They have lived well beyond their means, using the means of others. The contagion has already begun.
Italy, the European Country with the highest public debt, has three major creditors, which it can bring down whenever it wishes (this is the power of debt), namely Great Britain, to which we owe 77 billion Euro, Germany with 190 billion and France with 511 billion. Italy’s debt to France amounts to
20% of our GDP. In other words, Italy has ceded part of its National sovereignty to France (they party that holds your debt is your master, that is until such time as you fail completely). This explains the unseemly haste to import French nuclear power stations into Italy. It is what
Sarkozy wants! Italy’s debt to France is equivalent to no less than five nuclear power stations. Europe is held together by
interconnected debt..
The most important debt hub of all is Italy. Now, at the time of this Country’s 150th Anniversary, there is something to be proud of. No other Country can match Italy’s power to make Europe fail and perhaps we may still succeed! Pigs are born and, modestly speaking,
we were born a Pig.
Posted by Beppe Grillo at 06:34 AM in Economics
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It is an amazing situation. The hubris that has led us to this point, believing that we can somehow control debt and avoid the inevitable spiral. Today Greece-http://theendisalwaysnear.blogspot.com/2010/02/whos-afraid-of-big-bad-wolf.html - tomorrow the rest of the PIIGS, and don't worry David, America's day will come too. We've allowed the banks to take over and we have only ourselves to blame I'm afraid.
Posted by: nahummer | May 9, 2010 01:27 AM
yes, you are right peterfieldman. but what are we going to do about it? beppe grillo is doing his bit, but is it the answer?
Posted by: kay cee | May 8, 2010 07:38 PM
The IMF which has largely bailed-out Greece is coming out of the US taxpayers pockets you ungrateful PIIGS!
Posted by: David B. Monier-Williams | May 8, 2010 02:31 PM
The only "PIGS" are the bankers and the politicians
Posted by: Giovanni Dekaro | May 8, 2010 12:39 PM
If nation states controlled the situation and pulled together there would be less worry about working out a scheme to resolve the debt problem. But we have handed the keys of the safe to a greedy bunch of unscrupulous and irrational people in the financial sector who are not bound by borders. They sit facing computer screens, panic at the slightest fluctuation and manipulate the currency, stock and commodity markets, speculating on everything that moves without a care or thought that they are using money that belongs to millions of hard working people. The markets have taken over the world. It is extraordinary that a year after the markets brought the world to the brink of financial collapse and political leaders promised regulation, nothing has been done to tame the hedge funds and other speculators who control opaque funds from the safety of tax havens around the world to bring chaos and instability to the real economy
Posted by: peterfieldman | May 8, 2010 10:25 AM
On PIIGS I had written several posts on my blog.
Once upon a time there were three little pigs and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes. Before they left, their mother told them " Whatever you do , do it the best that you can because that's the way to get along in the world"
http://mgiannini.blogspot.com/2010/02/no-redress-when-eu-members-break-eu-own.html
Once upon a time there was a mother pig who had three little pigs.The three little pigs grew so big that their mother said to them, "You are too big to live here any longer. You must go and build houses for yourselves. But take care that the wolf does not catch you."
http://mgiannini.blogspot.com/2010/02/too-and-too-many-pigs-to-bail-and-to.html
Posted by: M.G. in Progress | May 8, 2010 07:10 AM