forestgunk's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/88673/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/175585-what-will-the-u-s-economy-look-like-in-10-years-look-to-greece?source=feed#comment-781429 781429

On Nov 28 11:10 PM idx1 wrote:

> Having grown up and lived in Greece until recently, I would like
> to take this opportunity and share with you that the public sentiment
> is one of outrage and dispair... You may already be aware of this
> considering all the rioting that took place last year. The election
> has recently given some hope, but patience is running thin.
>
> I very much doubt that greece will manage to balance its economy
> from the inside. Instability along with complex and constantly changing
> laws for setting up a company deter foreign capital from investing
> there.
> Another point inherently different from the US, is that there are
> so many people working for the government as civil servants. What
> makes things worse is that all these people never have to worry about
> losing their jobs - the most secure permanant job one can have is
> that of a civil servant, employed by the country on a public post
> (think teachers, doctors, local authorities, Tax authorities, urban
> planning officers etc). Permanant, till retirement, forget performance
> reviews... This 'I will have my job' mentallity no matter what has
> created one of the most counterproductive and corrupt civil services
> around... And as always fish stinks from the head, the top dogs
> (politicians, to regional politicians and any position with some
> sort of power) are involved in corrupted transactions of one form
> or another - Last year there was a slew of political scandals www.greeknewsonline.co...
> - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
> just to name a couple of them
>
> Further to this, the political parties have been squandering the
> money always on a 4 year horizon... How would repaying debt ever
> look good, people 'wouldnt understand' the value of such a proposition...
> Political images are better built when they create jobs to service
> the burocracy of the goverment in the form of even more people to
> join the legions of the corrupt counter productive civil service
> workforsce.
>
> As a chery on the icing spending on social policies as if it were
> a country with no debt on its balance sheets will also look good
> - I guess this second one may look familiar to the way america seems
> to be conducting politics at this point...
>
> I believe the problem for Greece is deeper than just financial. It
> is also one of morals and legislation...
> Likewise the US also faces a challenge other than balancing its sheets
> which is a task on its own.. Again one of morals and legislation
> but with a different focus, America needs to address the shift of
> internal wealth to the few financial elite that is backed by policies
> that facilitate this shift (looking at Mr Alan, Mr Ben, Fed, dark
> pools, high currency trading, high risk awarded with big fat bonuses)
>
>
> To sum this one up, is recovery imminent for Greece? I dont think
> so... Not unless there is a major shift in mentality, a political
> cleanup, simplification of laws that would attract investors and
> a strict eye on finances. Easy right? Not
>
> How about America? I guess the Fed believes it has the capacity to
> devalue the USD out of this mess... I can only hope for an alternate
> approach to be taken, with my simplistic thinking it would be, fix
> balance sheet by cutting down on imports and introducing more policies
> that will shift wealth back to the average american... What happened
> to the american dream, does it still live?]]> Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:56:54 -0500

On Nov 28 11:10 PM idx1 wrote:

> Having grown up and lived in Greece until recently, I would like
> to take this opportunity and share with you that the public sentiment
> is one of outrage and dispair... You may already be aware of this
> considering all the rioting that took place last year. The election
> has recently given some hope, but patience is running thin.
>
> I very much doubt that greece will manage to balance its economy
> from the inside. Instability along with complex and constantly changing
> laws for setting up a company deter foreign capital from investing
> there.
> Another point inherently different from the US, is that there are
> so many people working for the government as civil servants. What
> makes things worse is that all these people never have to worry about
> losing their jobs - the most secure permanant job one can have is
> that of a civil servant, employed by the country on a public post
> (think teachers, doctors, local authorities, Tax authorities, urban
> planning officers etc). Permanant, till retirement, forget performance
> reviews... This 'I will have my job' mentallity no matter what has
> created one of the most counterproductive and corrupt civil services
> around... And as always fish stinks from the head, the top dogs
> (politicians, to regional politicians and any position with some
> sort of power) are involved in corrupted transactions of one form
> or another - Last year there was a slew of political scandals www.greeknewsonline.co...
> - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
> just to name a couple of them
>
> Further to this, the political parties have been squandering the
> money always on a 4 year horizon... How would repaying debt ever
> look good, people 'wouldnt understand' the value of such a proposition...
> Political images are better built when they create jobs to service
> the burocracy of the goverment in the form of even more people to
> join the legions of the corrupt counter productive civil service
> workforsce.
>
> As a chery on the icing spending on social policies as if it were
> a country with no debt on its balance sheets will also look good
> - I guess this second one may look familiar to the way america seems
> to be conducting politics at this point...
>
> I believe the problem for Greece is deeper than just financial. It
> is also one of morals and legislation...
> Likewise the US also faces a challenge other than balancing its sheets
> which is a task on its own.. Again one of morals and legislation
> but with a different focus, America needs to address the shift of
> internal wealth to the few financial elite that is backed by policies
> that facilitate this shift (looking at Mr Alan, Mr Ben, Fed, dark
> pools, high currency trading, high risk awarded with big fat bonuses)
>
>
> To sum this one up, is recovery imminent for Greece? I dont think
> so... Not unless there is a major shift in mentality, a political
> cleanup, simplification of laws that would attract investors and
> a strict eye on finances. Easy right? Not
>
> How about America? I guess the Fed believes it has the capacity to
> devalue the USD out of this mess... I can only hope for an alternate
> approach to be taken, with my simplistic thinking it would be, fix
> balance sheet by cutting down on imports and introducing more policies
> that will shift wealth back to the average american... What happened
> to the american dream, does it still live?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80647-nationalizing-oil-well-intentioned-but-wrong?source=feed#comment-182494 182494
Well it not the ECONOMY, "Its ENERGY, Stupid!" and Americans have finally realized their gasoline highs are costing them an arm and a leg, not to mention their jobs, savings, and livlihoods..

The formula is simple: ENERGY=ECONOMY! No Energy...No Economy...No Employment...No Earnings...

As stupid as "W" appears, he understands this and he and his BIG OIL buddies are making hay with a cut, slash, and run exit strategy, that will in all probability lead to a massive, dare I say it... DEPRESSION!!! ]]> Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:48:38 -0400
Well it not the ECONOMY, "Its ENERGY, Stupid!" and Americans have finally realized their gasoline highs are costing them an arm and a leg, not to mention their jobs, savings, and livlihoods..

The formula is simple: ENERGY=ECONOMY! No Energy...No Economy...No Employment...No Earnings...

As stupid as "W" appears, he understands this and he and his BIG OIL buddies are making hay with a cut, slash, and run exit strategy, that will in all probability lead to a massive, dare I say it... DEPRESSION!!! ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/66795-ben-stein-watch-in-defense-of-exxon-mobil?source=feed#comment-121452 121452 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:23:57 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/65706-the-good-the-not-so-bad-and-the-ugly-commodites-etfs?source=feed#comment-118292 118292 Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:11:39 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/65694-time-for-an-oil-change-think-american-alternative-energy?source=feed#comment-118277 118277 Sounds to me you have the George "W" disease...STUPIDGREED! ]]> Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:46:50 -0500 Sounds to me you have the George "W" disease...STUPIDGREED! ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/39813-crude-oil-and-gasoline-the-illusion-of-equality?source=feed#comment-90141 90141 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 10:52:06 -0400