Beppe Grillo's Blog

Tremonti on the Parthenon

photo: reelaboration Financial Times
To know what our future will be like it’s enough to observe what’s happening in the shadow of the Parthenon, in Syntagma Square, where for days there’s been a confrontation between the police and the citizens of Greece. Papandreou, the Prime Minister of Greece, will next week re-emphasise his plan for “reforms” to get a new international loan. The reforms are the usual ones in the face of collapse. Auctioning off of national resources amounting to 50 billion euro by 2013 (the so-called “privatisations”), cutting public services, or “restructuring” with the reduction of 20% of state employees, about 150,000, in the next four years as well as the increase in direct and indirect taxes. The cost of living will go up and an increasing number of people will not be able to afford it. It’s probable that Papandreou, who in order to save himself is suggesting having a government of “national unity” (does this remind you of anything?) will soon have to resign. There would then be new elections with a probable victory of the Right as happened in Portugal and as, in all probability, will happen in Spain.
The multinationals have been reducing their presence in Greece for some time now, and some have already abandoned it. To reduce the risk they make sure they are paid by the State in cash, as happens in the pharmaceutical sector. In a year and a half, from the moment that the crisis was announced, Greek banks have lost 17% of their deposits, about 40 billion euro, because of transfers carried out by international companies. The Greek default will create a domino effect with unforeseen consequences even in the European banking system. The banks with the greatest exposure to the collapse of Greece are the French banks with 53 billion euro concentrated in Crédit Agricole, Sociétè Générale and BNP Paribas. But they are not the only ones. There’s also Germany with 34 billion, the UK with 13.1 billion and Portugal (the next on the list for default) with 10.2 billion.
In Italy the debt is moving towards 2,000 billion in 2012. The relative risk of our bonds is increasing and has gone above 200 points in relation to the German bund. Basically Tremorti has to pay more interest to sell our debt, our promissory notes and he is scraping the barrel with taxpayers (individuals and companies) by means of Equitalia. The Greek default could be the new “Lehman Brothers” with instead of the banks, the States together with the banks. No one wants to open Pandora’s box, but perhaps it has already been opened and no one has said anything.

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Comments

I can't recall a case where a minister of public employees, as happened in Berlusconi's government, insults one of his out-of-work employees as being "the worst part of Italy." Her sin? She merely sought an answer as to why, after fifteen years as part-time, she was not yet working full- time. Talk about contempt of an elected official for the people working for him, or for that matter, for the millions of people out of work. But last night, Michele Santoro, host of the ultra-popular talk show Annozero, placed the millions of unemployed young people, unemployed workers, FIOMM union members, students hopelessly looking for work, immigrants, ghettoized working poor, and poor, homeless forced to live in asbestos- clad housing, and equal-pay-for-equal-work women left, right and centre of his open air, four-hour-long show. "Work" was the theme of the show. A subject Prime Minister Berlusconi and the minister of finance Tremonti will do anything to avoid talking about. They would rather talk wild sexual orgies than deal with the devastating effects of unemployment. But last night "work" stood up like never before. Thirty thousand people filled the park to hear speakers denouncing the hardships generated by an obsolete economic system and a do-nothing government. Journalists like Marco Travaglio, comedians and cartoonists like Benigni, Crosta and Vauro, anti-mafia magistrates, show-woman Dandini, folk-singers and rock and roll bands and hard-hitting speakers inspired the audience and recharged their spirits knowing that yes, some people still care about them and after everything is said and done they are the best people in Italy trashed by a bankrupted government and inept ministers. Last night was also the rebirth of factory workers considered wiped out by the information highway and bankers and financial speculators triggers of this never-ending economic crisis. It was an awesome, stirring show organized by a masterful show-man who Italians and television are lucky to have: Michele Santoro.

Posted by: louis pacella | June 18, 2011 05:45 PM

As a matter of fact since Lehman they have been continuing the creation of money out of thin air...
http://mgiannini.blogspot.com/2010/03/money-creation-for-nothing-or-let.html.

Sovereign debts is a Ponzi scheme and the debt market is a market for Lemons as described by Nobel Prize Akerlof.
http://mgiannini.blogspot.com/2010/02/sovereign-debts-markets-for-lemons-and.html

Posted by: M.G. in Progress | June 18, 2011 07:07 AM