why have Cypriots started riots?

Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy have all accepted austerity cuts in return for aid

PIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain -

PIGS have been in trouble for some time now.

The US is so much more powerful...there is no chance the US will fall like Cyprus...the home of Cypriots - we have no riots here.

@pig-------We have had riots here for less and if you don't think we're in trouble. I guess the Romans thought the also. lol

marywhatever

This is just a picture of what will happen here. What goes around, comes around.

There is no truth to that whatsoever...not even a tiny bit.

@culheath------- And our banks have so much money the tax payers didn't have to bail them out. Whats the difference between just taking out of your account or taxing you higher. We're how many TRILLIONS in debt with no way to pay it back.

They'll get if fixed, or the Russian Mafia will be taking over a small Mediterranean Island or Germany. And second, Why should Cyprus have their bank accounts stolen? They didn't steal them from any other country they bailed out. Maybe one day people will figure out that all banks are here for is to steal the resources and best lands for themselves. Riots and starvation for the rest of us. There is not one single use that a bank offers that is useful.

Finally the voice of the people have been heard... and now all of their money is gone too. I think I would have taken a 10 percent cut rather than a 100 percent cut that is probably going to happen now that the banks are insolvent. Time to deposit into the good ole matress bank and trust. always open and nearby.

That's right...the dummies would rather have 100% of nothing...their banks are insolvant...the money in them is an entry on a blank ledger...

And that is why we should all get out of banks. No more direct deposits. no debt card, no online banking. Screw em. They will do this to us soon enough if we don't watch out. Cash is king and real gold and silver is better. Bring the banks to their knees one person at a time.

And if they declare the banks insolvent My bet is that Germany would find itself in an oil shortage within 24 hours, as Russia cuts them off. It's still cold there and there would be a lot of very cold and very mad Germans.

You all are missing the point. Money is power. Take away the money and the people are powerless. In silence there is total submission to servitude.

I'm poor, why on earth would I give someone 10% of my money, because the rich mis-managed theirs? No more bank bailouts.

Money is NOT power. Trust me when I say if America faces Austerity, rich people will not be able to hide behind their money. Go ask the French if the rich kept their money after their heads were lopped off.

Jackson......I doubt it's the people who'll bring the banks to their knees. I more likely the other way around.

First article on MSN......Hackers attack S. Korea broadcasters and two Banks. Just try to figure out if the hacking was an inside job or not.....I doubt anyone could figure it out without someone bragging about it, and those people don't generally leave loose ends.

I disagree, I think this shows that there is a limit to the power of money. When a government spends well beyond their means they fall into an insurmountable debt that others realize they can't deal with and stop supporting. Then they threaten bankruptcy and beg for bailouts to avoid it. In this case the EU is looking for blood to bailout Cyprus, unfortunatly the citizens don't understand that they are being asked to bear the burdon of their government misguiding them (which they let/encouraged them to do).

I don't blame the people for being upset, just imagine a day when the US government says, "Hey, not everyone has a 401k so everyone that does must pay a one time 10% tax because you saved." or "Hey, not everyone can save money each month so everyone with savings in the bank must pay a one time 10% surcharge...." or "Hey, not everyone can own stock, property, etc. so to make it 'fair' those whom do must pay a one time 10% hit on what they have...." That wouldn't go over well here, but it's very likely that we'll end up being asked for it to shore up the books.

We should be watching "over there" and making some changes now to avoid this happening here....

Jackson......I doubt it's the people who'll bring the banks to their knees. I more likely the other way around.

First article on MSN......Hackers attack S. Korea broadcasters and two Banks. Just try to figure out if the hacking was an inside job or not.....I doubt anyone could figure it out without someone bragging about it, and those people don't generally leave loose ends.

I disagree, I think this shows that there is a limit to the power of money.  When a government spends well beyond their means they fall into an insurmountable debt that others realize they can't deal with and stop supporting.  Then they threaten bankruptcy and beg for bailouts to avoid it.  In this case the EU is looking for blood to bailout Cyprus, unfortunatly the citizens don't understand that they are being asked to bear the burdon of their government misguiding them (which they let/encouraged them to do). 

I don't blame the people for being upset, just imagine a day when the US government says, "Hey, not everyone has a 401k so everyone that does must pay a one time 10% tax because you saved." or "Hey, not everyone can save money each month so everyone with savings in the bank must pay a one time 10% surcharge...."  or "Hey, not everyone can own stock, property, etc. so to make it 'fair' those whom do must pay a one time 10% hit on what they have...."  That wouldn't go over well here, but it's very likely that we'll end up being asked for it to shore up the books. 

We should be watching "over there" and making some changes now to avoid this happening here....

culheath

marywhatever: "This is just a picture of what will happen here. What goes around, comes around."

There is no truth to that whatsoever...not even a tiny bit.

Yeah, this couldn't happen in the U.S. That is, if you don't count Governor Celeste closing all the Ohio S&L's in March of 1985.

Yeah, this couldn't happen in the U.S. That is, if you don't count Governor Celeste closing all the Ohio S&L's in March of 1985.

Same in RI in '91.

And BTW, has anyone ever actually seen a post by pigotry that was even remotely germane? What is she a 4year old atteention whore?

PIGOTRY, more of your ignorant comments I see. Do you ever give up?

Someone said silver and gold are worth money, what if the banks freeze all the money and there is no money to buy the silver and gold. What is it worth? Silver and Gold backed the dollar, no money no backing, what do you do carry bars, it's worth nothing to me. I have no money to pay you for your worthless silver and gold, want my food, you better have something to pay me with other that metal. I don't need a worthless metal bar. You want to eat don't you? I need gas! Go see if your metal bar will buy you gas, than you come talk to me, gas for food.

"Banks may not reopen", Is this such a bad thing? I mean people would have to learn to live within their means, if they wanted something they would have to save for it, prices of goods and services would have to come down to accommodate the fact that people could no longer take loans to buy stuff they don't really need, credit cards would become a thing of the past. I only see good coming from this. The Banksters have created a world in debt, and what I say is "in debt to who?". It is said that the "world" is in debt to the tune of $64 Trillion, but who is that debt owed to? Are not the bankers citizens of the very world they claim owes them money? Do they not benefit from the very roads and bridges and factories that money was "borrowed" to build? Does not the military men and equipment not also protect the very banks who charge us interest on money used to build a military? So how then do "they" figure "we" owe them anything? if anything they should owe us for building the infrastructure of the society the live in.

I say, screw the banks, throw the banksters in jail, they are the ones who gambled with our future....and lost, and now they want to take money from everyone else to pay for their criminal behavior. Hang them all and try something different, this system has proved to be an utter failure and run by thieves.

We don't have any riots here? You must not have been around all that long!

We used to have plenty of riots and major labor disturbances just 35 or 40 years ago.

Say, what has happened to Iceland since they decided not to bail-out their banks?

The way that I hear it Iceland is well on its way to a full recovery,

Which is more than anyone can say for the strategy of bailing-out fraudulent banksters!

So when I want to order something off Amazon, do I shave a few slices off my gold bar and toss it in an envelope? Do we want to close all the banks and keep my riches in my home? Do I then quit my job to stay home to guard it from every crackhead looking to score?

Sorry but banks have a purpose. While some have clearly lost sight of that in the rush to make their shareholders richer, banks give us a place where we can leave our funds, perhaps earn a little interest, and allow us the convenience of being able to pay our bills without having to risk sending cash to tempt every mailman out there. And unlike other countries, our money IS guaranteed in the event of a bank failure.

"Banks may not reopen", Is this such a bad thing? I mean people would have to learn to live within their means, if they wanted something they would have to save for it, prices of goods and services would have to come down to accommodate the fact that people could no longer take loans to buy stuff they don't really need, credit cards would become a thing of the past. I only see good coming from this.

And you'd be the first to cry because only the wealthy could buy houses. Think before you type would you.

honestdebate--what many don't GET is that Cyprus, along with Greece, Italy, Ireland, and all the other countries are IN TROUBLE because for YEARS politicians have promised (and borrowed to provide)

"entitlements"

in order to get (buy!) VOTES.

And just as we in this country have fewer and fewer people contributing to social security right when we have a "boom'' in the number of fols DRAWING from it, eventually you RUN OUT of money.

ONE reason why Cyprus even thought about this 10% "tax" was because the voters have been adament about any cuts in entitlement spending.

Gold is a shiny rock.

When the last fish is caught, when the last stream polluted, when the air is unfit to breathe and the land can no longer grow crops, only then will man realize that he can't eat gold.

honestdebate--what many don't GET is that Cyprus, along with Greece, Italy, Ireland, and all the other countries are IN TROUBLE because for YEARS politicians have promised (and borrowed to provide)

MO, people like deprogrammer have learned everything they know from propaganda groups like unions, OWS and the democratic party.

He doesn't care about the reality, he only wants everyone to be at the same level, poor. He wants this because he is the victim, the banks are evil and should be destroyed. No one should ever be able to afford anything that he can't because he is incapable of managing his funds, and it is not fair for someone to have something he can't.

The selfish, all about me, entitlement mentality. It destroyed Cypress, it's run right through Europe, and it is going to destroy the US. And he will never hold his false sense of fairness and ideals accountable for any of it.

It could happen here, but we still have some time to come to grips with it. Our government is working around the clock on a plan...They're buying all the ammo they can get their hands on, all the drones they can buy...rummaging through the "cloud" to identify potential troublemakers, so they can be dealt with early on. Yes, we have a plan.

Sue Rarick: And if they declare the banks insolvent My bet is that Germany would find itself in an oil shortage within 24 hours, as Russia cuts them off. It's still cold there and there would be a lot of very cold and very mad Germans

So your answer is have people with freezing to DEATH if they don't give someone else their money?

Sounds like extortion to me!!! How left wing of you. But that is what the left does!

GIVE ME YOUR MONEY OR DIE. Now that I look at it, that is out and out robbery.

@guess: Spoken like a true Marxist...

"honestdebate", No I have learned everything I know by watching people like you who are brainwashed by rightwing propganda. The conservative movement lives by the teachings of Edward Bernays and Milton Friedman, everything they do is designed to brainwash easily manipulated fools like yourself into believing that the rich were chosen by god to lead. But the reality of the situation is the most of the conservative rich didn't get that way by dedication and hard work, they didn't get that way by designing a better widget, the only talent they have is conning other people out of their money. They got to where they are today because they are totally lacking in empathy for their fellow man, because they are more willing to stab competitors in the back, because they are more willing to throw families in the street, more willing to lay American workers off and ship their jobs to a communist country while they accuse the unionized workers of being communists. Most of the conservative elite are wealthy because the exploited and plundered resources that never belonged to them in the first place, because they bought off politicians in order to destroy true competition, because they lied, cheated and robbed their way to the top. They have what they have because they took it form others, not becuase they were smater or more talented, but rather because they were more ruthless.

I love that the Cypriots are saying " they want to drink our blood", what they don't understand is they want to drink German blood and the Germans don't want any part of it. The German answer is bleed to death if you don't want to donate a pint.

Sorry deprogrammer, I didn't read your pile of leftwing propaganda. All I know is you're the fool that said you don't want any banks. Everyone should only be able to buy what they can afford with cash. After saying this, you are no longer to pretend you are anything more than a brainwashed tool, sorry to have to be honest with you.

Call George Soros, he'll' know what to do ... oh, he 's behind this whole "crisis"?? never mind.

We're how many TRILLIONS in debt with no way to pay it back.

Do you have a mortgage? You have no way to pay it back right now, either, do you? If the bank come along and demanded you cough up $100,000 or $500,000 or whatever is left on the mortgage, would you be able to do that?

Well, the bank can't. There is a contract. You make certain payments and the loan continues. We have similar contracts with the people we borrow money from. And we ARE paying them back.

We do need to grow the economy, yes, so that our debt becomes a smaller percentage of the GDP. The current debt-to-GDP is uncomfortably high. If Republicans weren't so focused on destroying the economy, we could actually do it.

Meanwhile back in reality:

Merkel, Bernanke, Geithner, the financial terrorist organization United Nations, and the IMF are all "squirming" in their seats to find a "reasonable" solution to the Cyprus financial problem.

"Light bulb" appears above their heads......demand United Nations member nations provide more funding to the IMF for another EuroPIIg bailout.

Or maybe they could get Goldman Sachs involved since they did such a good job in Greece.

Yep, the Progressive way of NOT DESTROYING OUR ECONOMY is to continue SPENDING. After all, the Progressives have to agree with Mr. "Drama" Obama and his Progressive surrogates....."We don't have a SPENDING PROBLEM".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I see "Mr. Ed Schultz II" is at it again....answering his/her own post.

Of course you didn't "honestdebate", you have been programmed to ignore all information that may awaken you from the trance-like state Fox Noise has you in. But it truly makes your screen name as pointless as your existence, how can you partake in "honest debate" if you are unwilling to even listen to your opponents point of view? But then of course you are not here to participate in "honest debate", are you? You come here, to the place you have been brainwashed into believing is a bastion of liberalism, simply to spew your rightwing propaganda in a lame attempt to sway public opinion, you come here for the express purpose of demonizing liberals and NBC because you have been brainwashed to believe we are your enemy and that NBC is part of some vast left wing conspiracy designed to indoctrinate you into our "commie, socialist, nazi, secular, atheistic, homosexual leftist cult" (did I miss any of your talking points?). But the truth is conservatism is it's own worst enemy, they are the ones who use propaganda to indoctrinate their sheep-like followers and in doing so have created a society of people so accustomed to believing lies that every con man who waves a flag and thumps a bible can drain their bank accounts and con them into sending their children off to fight wars for the profit of the few, wars that the very propaganda spewing mouthpieces of your movement never had the courage to fight. Your ilk calls Ted Nugent "a true American Patriot" because he spews hate for all things liberal even though he wore a dirty diaper for 2 weeks to avoid the draft of one of your for profit wars, or Rush Limbaugh who avoided it because of pimples on his ass, the list goes on and on and on.

If you were anything other than a paid troll you would not come to a place you claim to hate so badly, you would go to Fox's blog to spew your hate with the rest of the conservative zombies. It's funny that you claim NBC is part of this mythical "liberal media conspiracy" because the seem to allow you to post all your BS freely and without restriction, where as Fox deletes anything that doesn't fit their narrow conservative view of the world. To me that sounds more like NBC offers true freedom of speech, where as Fox is the media outlet that is conspiring to force the beliefs of it's puppet masters on everyone and censors any dissenting .

Another propaganda post depro? Do you really think anyone reads your gibberish? At least you learn to include a second paragraph this time.

Do away with banks, no one should ever be able to borrow money to buy things because deprogrammer is incapable of managing finances to pay the loan back.

Have you ever psted anything you didn't learn at an OWS rally?

deprogrammer: "close the banks and people should only be able to buy what they can afford" That's a prescription for the GOVERNMENT they should not be spending money they don't have. How stupid is the left wing morons? You really are out of touch with reality but those that do not have any skin in the game and living off the taxpayers largess usually are. Wait until you run out of OUR money and you're left starving on the street because the taxpayers are fed up supporting you irresponsible unaccountable welfare rats.

No one should be spending money they don't have!! I never live beyond my means, I buy what I need and leave the wants alone. I make well above the average income for Wyoming which is well above the average for the nation, yet I live frugally. And don't try and pretend like all conservatives live within their means because I live in a state filled with wingnuts just like you so I know for a fact that would be a lie. When the boom first hit all my coworkers thought it would last forever, with all the overtime they were pulling in well into the 6 figures so they went out and bought everything imaginable on credit, boat, RV's, atv's, snowmobiles, trucks, mcmansions and then when the bust came, as it always does in a trickle down economy, they lost everything while nothing changed for me other than my monthly take home pay. I am not saying all conservatives live beyond their means nor am I saying that all liberals live within their means, it is about 6 of 1 and half a dozen of the other.

As far as who sponges more off of society, well statistics prove that the blue states support the red states, Wyoming and Texas being the exception though Texas does take in more Federal money that it gives back. Here in Wyoming where we have mostly wingnuts (conservatives) I see them as the ones who are the welfare rats. There is an apartment complex behind the Harley store that is filled with leaches sucking the blood out of this nation as they sit there collecting welfare and unemployment while watching Fox Noise and blaming President Obama for all their troubles. The liberals I know in the area are all gainfully employed and doing well for themselves.

I will never run out of YOUR money dotties girl because I have my own money, I have worked everyday since I was 13 years old, my family owns acreage in three states, I have never taken unemployment (I am betting you can't make the claim) and have never needed government assistance for any aspect of my life. I am willing to bet that it is I who have supported your irresponsible, living beyond your means ass.

The issue that nobody seems to want to discuss is the back door sell-out of a countries natural resources.

"Even before the deal was rejected, Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris was already in Moscow working on an alternative plan to extend loans by using the island’s natural resources as a guarantee."

So is this what Washington has been doing to all American citizens??? You betcha!!! The give away to ranchers of federal land to run their cows, while getting the Fed to OK the mass killing of wolves. Allowing the oil, gas and mining industries to rape OUR lands (leaving behind Superfund sites) while shipping OUR resources out of this country. And please save me the BS about royalties they pay, it not even a drop of what they should be paying not just to the government, but to EVERY CITIZEN because after all WE THE PEOPLE are the real owners of America...or we used to be...

The great sell-off of America...And don't think this is just Obama, Bush started selling off small federal parks and other land holdings after 9/11 to help pay for his illegal wars.

Color......That isn't even close to what is going on in the US. First, they didn't give away land to ranchers. They allow ranchers to use the land. The US still keeps the land. They are lots of wolves so killing a few won't matter that much. I hardly call oil and gas mining "raping the land". I have seen too many of those areas after they have finished and you can hardly tell they were there. Nice little lakes with fish in them now.

Put:

Gee, that really doesn't fix well with the picture the left paints!!!

But the left is never big on the TRUTH

Well, the problem being that the voice of the people was heard for too long. They voted for whatever politician that told them were going to spend, spend, spend and take less taxes to boot.

I don't know about you but when you spend more than you make over time you get too deep for an easy way out.

...spend, spend, spend and take less taxes... Where have I heard that before? Oh right, the GOP "plan" - starting with Reagan. Look where it got us, no surprise that little Cyprus is in financial trouble.
German taxpayers are weary of the "PIGS" bailouts, who will bail out us? No one can afford that bill, so our politicians had best cut non-social spending and raise taxes until the deficit is more manageable.

It won't be entirely wiped out any time soon, we have to pay all that interest on the bonds floated out there. Build that granny flat onto the ol' homestead, you're gonna need it for Mom.

Happy:

Why do you LIE???? It is the LEFT that wants to spend spend and give money away!!

AKRandy--actually, NEITHER party is covered with glory on being spenders. The MAIN problem with Happy's post is that he thinks we should ONLY cut "non social spending''.

As a MEMBER in good standing of the '52 %ers (NOT the 47 %ers who don't PAY any income taxes, NOR the top 1%ers everyone seemingly love to hate, but a proud member of the lower middle class who DO pay income taxes but are not wealthy!) I'm TIRED of everyone thinking that the people who are 47%ers should NOT have to have any financial 'stake' in the success of this country, but should be able to 'reap the rewards' of the EARNERS of the country!

UNTIL those who do NOT pay any income taxes either DO, or are willing to take a cut in their benefits that is the equivalent of any tax increases on OTHER American citizens, then they should have NO say in how this country is run.

Because, to quote Margaret Thatcher: Pretty soon you run out of OTHER people's money.

Happy & AKRandy,

as MOmaid said, both parties are deficit spenders. To fix our problems, the first thing we need to do is get everyone to start thinking on party lines and start thinking about the best solutions for our country. All that the "he said, she said" routine is doing is allowing the bad politicians to stay in office (in both parties).

@culheath----- The debt is completey manufatured by the Federal Reserve.

Also known as war through other means.

marywhatever

@culheath----- The debt is completey manufatured by the Federal Reserve.

You are thinking to locally...the economy is worldwide and international. Debt money has been around since Rome. It was a major way they controlled things...perpetual debt is the most effective weapon ever for managing conquered populations.

Mary.....The debt is not manufactured by the fed. It is created by our government spending too much.

Culhealth--Cyprus and Greece are what you get when you avoid austerity. Austerity isn't designed to grow and economy. It is designed to prevent it's collapse. Now no one is willing to give Cyprus or Greece any money. That is what happens when you let uncontrolled debt reign.

PutAmericaFirst

Culhealth--Cyprus and Greece are what you get when you avoid austerity. Austerity isn't designed to grow and economy. It is designed to prevent it's collapse. Now no one is willing to give Cyprus or Greece any money. That is what happens when you let uncontrolled debt reign.

I agree. Sure, austerity hurts in the short term, but we're seeing in Southern Europe what happens when governments spend too much over a few decades. The US isn't there yet, but if we keep on our current path we will be another Greece in 10ish years.

Conservatives on the other hand think about national economies in overly simplistic terms, comparing it to household budgets and run around with their hair on fire claiming some looming financial apocalypse is about to occur though they can't really explain why or even when.

Great example of what I said culheath

Culheath:

You just make this stuff up as you go along don't you?? Because it is all baloney

Culheath--so, if it is CONSERVATIVES who are running around with their 'hair on fire' proclaiming the 'looming apocalypse',

Then WHY was it the OBAMA administratin doing EXACTLY that in the weeks leading up to the Sequester?

Why also is it the Obama administration that is doing their damnedest to make sure the weak and powerless are the ones who suffer the greatest amount from those budget cuts?

It reminds me of the Ads that the nearly bankrupt Postal worker's Union is running claiming that it is ALL congress's fault that they cannot make any money, and that they will "have to shut" post offices and Stop Saturday delivery--when in actuality, after YEARS of the Postal Service Union demanding bigger and bigger benefits in their contracts while not 'escrowing enough' to PAY for those, then whining to Congress for a bail out of their pension fund, Congress finally REQUIRED them to adequately fund that.

And Postal Workers have been lobbying to shut Saturday delivery down for DECADES, not to save money, but so they can all get the weekend off, instead of only 70% of them doing so. The day they should LOGICALLY stop delivery is TUESDAY--the lightest mail day since most businesses don't mail out much on Saturday.

The post office could deliver to residences just twice per week. Few would notice.... or care. The PO needs to downsize tremendously.... or disappear.

All money is abstract. Neither currency, credit cards not gold ARE money itself...they are just symbolic valuations REPRESENTING money. Money is a verb, not a noun. Money is a giant and complex confidence game which relies on the movement of the valuations of goods and services.

@culheath i grant you your points, is there a solution you can think of

the radical center

@culheath i grant you your points, is there a solution you can think of

I can think of several...discarding the ones involving guillotines and cookbooks stressing the use of corpulent felines as main courses, we are left with the redistributive and tempering feedback mechanisms offered by Keynes and the like. Capitalism is fine as an economic engine as long as it is harnessed and not allowed to run away like an ever accelerating engine which eventually just blows up.

The problem we have at the moment is that the so called class war is over. The wealthy won and are essentially at the helm of the ship of state. I highly doubt that anything outside of actual revolution of some sort will be necessary to wrest control of the economy from them. The wealthy have always been sort of stupid that way.

The wealthy have always been sort of stupid that way

if they are that dumb then, how'd they end up with all the money?

I'd say that was a question for King Louis or Marie Antoinette?

culheath

Before it was perverted by governments, spending more than they take in, money was a noble idea... a noun... an objective std by which your best efforts are exchanged for someone else's best efforts... whenever someone suggests to remove the objectivity of it (get rid of the gold std, for instance) you can bet looting is the ulterior motive... the same for anyone that demonizes success and successful people... or says that money is the root of all evil.... they're all looters working a con angle... and debt always gets paid back, one way or another... in Cyprus' case, via loss of its resources to Russia... in our case, probably loss of the dollar as the international exchange currency... resulting in massive inflation....

Culheath - it isn't 1789 anymore, storming the castle with pitchforks and lit torches isn't going to work this time around. Do you honestly think rich people are sitting there, waiting for their mansions to be ransacked by angry mobs of poor people? They'll be long gone by the time people get angry enough, and we won't find vaults of gold and jewels waiting for us to "redistribute"...if there IS a revolution - and I would agree that one might be starting to become necessary - the people that are going to be hurt the most are us, the regular people.

Eric--Anyone who rails against the rich needs to watch the show 'Downton Abbey'. Several of the 'non rich' characters (including Matthew, the unwilling 'heir') are always slamming the wealthy and their lavish life style, (and somewhat rightfully!) right up until the rich are in financial trouble, and suddenly there is NO money for a replacement foot man or kitchen maid, (which means more work for the others), and everyone on the place starts to feel the pinch.

Like it or not, EVERY wealthy person who employs a nanny, a lawn service, a maid service, a secretary, a housekeeper, a chauffer, a pilot or whatever is providing jobs for UMPTY people who would NOT have those jobs if that person lost their money. And that is JUST in the home. That doesn't count the jobs provided in the work place by the wealthy.

so your education is based on a very bad tv show that can be compaired to honey boo boo? nice

You are not paying attention to being distracted. This is conquest through other means.

Actually, PIGS = Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. Ireland has made significant improvements over the last few years via austerity.

Ireland was in the original abbreviation. But now Italy has loomed larger in the debt crisis.

Actually, when Ireland was included, it was PIIGS...

Of course, it is a privilege of the privileged.

So it goes.

The rich can't fight anybody else but the poor. The other rich are too well armed.

more rewarding of the crooks and hurting the poor.

Actually, Thomas, it's not the mantra of just the EU:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/whiny_billionaires_in_need_of_sequestration_20130305/

"But whenever a politician dares to hold those 'fat cats' accountable, as Barack Obama once did, he or she is branded by apologists for the super rich as a socialist engaging in class warfare."

Hmmm looks like the crooks were the progressive politicians that promised more for the votes they bought than they could pay... then borrowed heavily to keep paying... now the bill is due...

All those "retired at 50 with pensions and health care" civil servants just might have to go back to work.... and the middle class just realized that the politicians don't just have their sights on the rich to keep the shell game going...

Thomas Jefferson--sorry, but NOT all the poor are 'worthy', nor did they ever do anything to get the money they are already getting.

I would feel a lot differently about the 'poor' being so worthy of lifelong aid if they could show that they themselves had done EVERYTHING possible to RISE up out of being poor (and the primary 'somethings' would be to stay in school or get training for an actual TRADE, plus NOT having babies they have no way to ever support.). There ARE 'worthy poor' who deserve support, (primarily the VERY elderly, and the handicapped) but there are ALSO a HUGE percentage of the poor who 'made that bed'. And then expect someone else to come in and change the sheets for free.

@ Pro Freedom-----And some people think we can pay it back. Get real. I wish my garden grew that fast.

Why on earth would you want t pay it back. The entire basis of the money system is debt. I'm only being half facetious here.

Well you might want to pay it back because the bigger the debt, the bigger the interest payment on the debt. The bigger that interest payment, the less you have to spend on other things... (unless you actually plan to default on those interest payments... national bankruptcy/suicide). Yes, this will be a simplification that you abhor culheath, but just like a family with so many credit cards maxed out that they can't pay the minimum payments on them, plus their house, food, utility bills too, we'll soon reach a point where the debt interest payment crowds out the other govt expenditures... at that point, the Obamabot deadbeat parasites just might have to go to work....

culheath--you MIGHT want to pay it back because if you DON'T, no one eventuallly will loan you any more!

Fed, there's nothing wrong with wealth as long as you have some sense of responsibility and morality to go with it. You like to talk about entitlement, well, the banks felt they were entitled to a bailout on the backs of the taxpayers, when they blew out the economy. When viewed from a point of right and wrong, the behavior of the 1% is cancerous to the whole system, and it's only a matter of time before it blows up in their faces. Exactly how that takes place remains to be seen, but in the end all the money in the world won't buy your survival.

Myself, I'm buying precious metals and holding them in a safe (NOT bank) place. When it hits the fan, at least that will have real value.

But what is the real value of precious metals? And how much Sh$t hitting the fan are we talking about here? Besides being pretty gold has limited value in a 3rd world country, you would think food and fuel would hold more value. I'm just speculating though so feel free to ignore me.

You're right... if the s*** really hits the fan, the items that will be worth the most are canned goods, bulk staples (rice, flour, beans, etc), fuel, generators, guns, ammunition, clean water sources, 4x4 vehicles, and medical supplies.

Hey, Lovemy - you gotta take your best shot. I agree on gold, I personally go more toward silver - a useful industrial metal with a constant demand, and more manageable - try bartering a one ounce gold coin ($1500 present money value) for a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk - a $35 one ounce silver coin is much more barterable. But anything of value - I wish I had invested in bullets, right now, I could have doubled or tripled my money! But something that has reliable value, can be traded OTHER than the official government offices - the ultimate cover for when the fit hits the shan!

Food and fuel - good for personal use for a short period, but how much food can you store before it either spoils or gets too bulky to manage? Ditto on fuel - good idea, but where do you store a couple thousand gallons without burning yourself down?

Food and fuel - good for personal use for a short period, but how much food can you store before it either spoils or gets too bulky to manage? Ditto on fuel - good idea, but where do you store a couple thousand gallons without burning yourself down?

True, I think if everything went wrong, I'd wanna own livestock... Bet I could make a killing on milk and eggs. Hmmm...

What do you mean "other people's" money?

Where do you think money comes from in the first place?

You sound like the old people who demonstrated against Obama with signs reading

"Tell the government to keep it's hands of my Medicare."

Cu,

It is a representation of the productivity of a given country or people, managed by a government or pseudo governmental agency. We cannot simply print our way out of this mess.

Some here are way too simple, or to caught in their ideology, to see things as they are...

keith-834246

cul,

It is a representation of the productivity of a given country or people, managed by a government or pseudo governmental agency. We cannot simply print our way out of this mess.

To some degree we can...but I understand your meaning.

The way out is not printing more representative symbols, but rather to redistribute the valuations of the increased productivity generated by the people that has been captured by the tiny percentage at the top.

And to return that wealth to the actual producers and re-balance the economy away from the financial sector which has grown disproportionately to the real economy. We can no more cut our way out than print our way out. We can however, spend our way out, especially since money is at an all time low in terms of borrowing costs. Whether corporations sitting on their trillions spend it by hiring and building plants and so on do it, or whether the government does it through infrastructure and so on is irrelevant. Money hoarded is money standing still is money removed from the economy.

Cyprus played the Socialism game to the finale... borrowing/taxing/spending itself into debt that it couldn't pay back to keep the wealth redistribution vote-buying machine going... free healthcare, lavish retirement benefits, cronyism... the usual goodies to stay in power... now the bill is due... so out-and-out looting is the "A" answer... selling off natural resources is the "B" plan... Spain and Greece, on the other hand have been given mandates to cut their spending...

There's not a banking crisis until the govt says it wants to loot the money in the banks... then people naturally want to get their money out... much like our 401Ks... when Libtards start talking about looting them to keep their vote buying scam going...