Greece the Warning Bell

Anyone who is interested in learning a little bit about socialist economics should keep abreast of what is happening in Greece. This Country like many in Europe have lived well beyond their means by allowing their government to spend monies they didn't have and then borrow to meet their financial obligations. Their bloated government payrolls and the extravagant entitlement programs have driven them to the edge of bankruptcy. As part of the European Economic Union they are now obliged to lower their debt levels or face the collapse of their economy. No one will lend them any money if they don't take immediate actions to address the problems. In order to do this they now have to cut government jobs and reduce spending in all levels of government which is upsetting people all over the Country. The folks want the Government to stand by the commitments they made to them that 1) their jobs were untouchable and 2) their benefits would never end. There are riots in the street as well as many other examples of civil unrest because of the results spurred on by the Socialist style management of the Country's economy. High taxes and the redistribution of wealth has driven the businesses and entrepreneurs out of the Country and with them go much of the revenue that supported the government largesse. In the year 2000 they dumped a lot of their debt through a deal with one of the large Wall St banks that helped their current situation but also put them in a position where many of their revenue streams (such as speeding ticket revenue, highway tolls etc.) would be paid to the Wall St bank long into the future. The problem of course with letting Greece default is the fact that the EEU holds much of the debt paper and if Greece goes down the domino effect will begin. Think now about the USA and Canada who are also living beyond their means and the similarities between Greece and them. Canada, of course, is much smaller than the USA but the same rules apply in that if these deficits continue we will all face the same result. China has begun to sell off some of its USA debt holdings which is a sign that they are beginning to question the financial management of the Obama White House. Trillions of dollars of debt is an unsustainable amount for the USA and yet they continue to spend like drunken sailors. At some point the economy will have to suffer and it appears that California will be the first to reap the results of their financial mismanagement. Let's hope the unions and the folks that drove them into this position don't turn on the government and riot just as the Greek people are doing. We must swallow and accept some cuts and hard times if we in the Americas are to get our house in order. My advice is to get your personal fiscal house in order, your root cellar filled and then hunker down and get ready to live through some tough times. It must get worse before it gets better , BUT it will get better if we stick with sound conservative fiscal policies.