Greece facing 'dramatic dilemma'

[Javaman]

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/07/markets/greece/index.htm?iid=HP_LN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Greek political leaders were meeting Wednesday to hammer out an agreement on austerity reforms as the nation scrambles to avoid a default.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the leaders of Greece's governing coalition are debating a draft of reforms aimed at cutting public spending, including layoffs, minimum wage reductions and pension reforms.

Greece needs to finalize the austerity program soon to pave the way for a second bailout of €130 billion from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. Without these funds, Greece could miss a €14.5 billion bond redemption in March.

If the leaders can agree to the austerity measures, Papademos is expected to call a cabinet meeting, followed by a vote in the Greek parliament.

more at linke...

[Nye Bevan]

1. Greece is like that deadbeat family member who is always looking for a handout,

keeps promising he's going to get a job and turn his life around, but never does.

Good analogy:

Let’s pretend for a moment that Greece is a human being. I’ll call him George.

George is a hairdresser and makes $40,000 per year. George has limited assets. He has zero savings, no precious metals, and is way underwater on his mortgage. His credit card debt is over $100,000, and his bare minimum living expenses are $45,000 annually, over 10% more than he makes. George’s credit is pitiful, and he cannot obtain any more new loans.

George’s neighbor Hans has a big family. All the kids work hard and contribute to the family savings. Hans sees George’s plight and decides the neighborhood has to stick together; he starts loaning George some money out of his family’s savings, and eventually begins to take on more and more of George’s personal debts.

Many of the other neighbors– Luciano, Seamus, and Juan– are in the same boat as George: drowning in debt with massive personal expenses and no hope to pay them back.

http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/how-to-explain-greece-to-a-complete-idiot-politician/

[badtoworse]

2. Very good analogy - nt