They will likely reject the latest bailout proposal, and that puts them where? Out of the Eurozone? If they do pull out, will chaos and confusion reign? Will they get crippling inflation?

A large part of this mess stems from the prosperity and enormous amount of foriegn money that poured into Greec between 2000-2007. Greece was doing well and the gov't spent money like a drunken sailor on an long awaited shoreleave. No it is demanded that they cut back, and they won't do it.

So what happens next??

It sounds like they're going to have company while going down. Check out this article on how Puerto Rico is on the verge of joining them. The difference is that the US taxpayers will likely be forced to bail out PR. PUERTO RICO It's another case of a government spending beyond it's means.

Greece is basically telling the rest of Europe that if they will not fund the extravagant Greek lifestyle, Greece it going to go join Russia. I say let them go join Russia. After a decade of Putin, they will be back.

My question is where does Putin get the cash to bail them out? The collapse of crude oil prices has hit Russia hard. Military action drains the $$.

Putin is no one you want to get into bed with.

we are not talking huge sums here. Just a couple of billion Euros will do the job right now. This is not an altruistic offer, it's pure propaganda.

Like watching our own future unfolding...

My hope is for that idiotic Euro zone and the Euro to go away. Let every country have their own currency again/

Puerto Rico's economy is in the toilet right now and a lot of their population is looking to relocate to the U.S. Their rate of disability is off the charts well.

The Greek govt likes to play chicken with the rest of Europe. They may find out real soon that's not going to work forever.

Your everyday Greek person hates the Athens govt, especially the islanders. For example, Crete is virtually self-sufficient, but has Athens shoved down their throats.

"The difference is that the US taxpayers will likely be forced to bail out PR. PUERTO RICO"

Our Federal Reserve bailed out Greece too! They loaned money to European banks who then loaned it to Greece..

Government simply allowing it's people to live beyond their means and not earn their keep. Socialism at it's finest.

Coming to a country near you.....

I'm sure glad our government is not doing that

This was an open secret when the EU formally enjoined with Greece in what, '06 or '07 timeframe abouts? - that they were essentially subsidizing the country to make it look like a decent "acquisition" on paper. Financially, looked foolish then as now. Geopolitically, I suppose it always comes back to the implications of the Russians moving in if we don't. 1. how likely is that, and 2. What the impact of that would be, would be interested to learn more about. Because as it stands, I don't follow how the EU figured to benefit from ties to Greece.

Greece like other socialist nations ran out of other peoples money to spend. 25% unemployment 50% tax rate and no hope for the next generation. Pretty soon they will like Venezuela and be standing in line with ration coupons for toilet paper. America is on the same track, in fact we have more public debt per capita than Greece

This situation interests me because in 3 weeks I'll be in Greece on vacation. We booked a tour months ago and it's too late to back out now. We are wondering if we'll have difficulty accessing money after hearing about ATM limiting funds and banks closed. We're going to take more Euros with us than we initially planned. Hopefully they are still accepting them then. It'll be an adventure, just not sure it'll be an enjoyable one.

I'm sure Euros will still work, but you might need to bring lots of cash because the banks might be closed. I was in Athens Greece last year for 3 days, it has been one of my favorite places to visit. If you like history you will have a blast. Cash gets you a discount in lots of places in Greece because they don't report it and pay taxes on it, so cash is good to have anyway I would probably throw in some mountain house meals in case you run into food service disruptions, but I wouldn't be afraid to visit if you plan ahead.

+1

Welfare, food stamps, free cel phones, free medical insurance ..... etc. and

Pay attention--
Greece is what Obama and his cronies want the US to become

well yeah. but most well-paid urbanites and suburbanites have no clue. such subjects weren't taught in gov't schools, so how could they possibly know? it's not their fault.]

if the Urth was about four (4) times it's current size, the existing human population distributed across various failed, and not yet failed countries might have a chance at sustainability.

if Greece does become a failed State, we will add them to the existing list of failed states. so what's the problem, exactly?

In two weeks you might be able to buy a Greel Island for the change lost under your sofa at home.

Don't know about Urth but if my planet (Earth) was 4 times larger, gravity would make everyone shorter, slower, and weaker since everything would be heavier.

Also, 55 grainers out of my .223 Ackley Improved would be slower, and drop 4x faster making those slow Prarie Dogs harder to hit. It would suck.

If everyone had to fight 4x the gravity from birth, wouldn't that make them stronger?

Greece is a total socialist mess. The EU demands a value added tax be imposed and pensions be cut which are crippling the government. The Greek government pays out 26% of their GDP in pensions every year. That is 26% of the GDP not the annual budget!!! That should give some idea of the amount spent on pensions that are insupportable.

We'd have denser bones and a stronger heart, but there are limits to what our skelatal muscles will adapt to. Stronger but proportionally not enough to fight the difference. It would be a World in which White men REALLY couldn't jump.

......and they're going to succeed beyond their wildest dreams..

Fuggi tall, they all just print money anyway.

"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?"

The EU will cave and continue to do so, until there is nothing left to keep the dominoes standing all over Europe.

I can hear the printing presses warming up now amidst the cries of "monetize the debt".

In short, they'll be forced to inflate their way out of the problem, making the money worth less so the debts are easier to repay. And it will happen here too. My guess is our next president will have to deal with raging inflation at some point during their first term.

They can't just print Euros, or they would have already.

The biggest problem with a Euro-based economy for tin-can socialist nations like Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the like is they have now lazy populations who are used to long vacations, short workdays and workweeks with low productivity.

Greece is the first domino. They can't survive standing indefinitely. Germany pretty much controls the Euro, and the Greeks and Germans hate each other.

Greece can't. The Germans control the printing presses.

If Greece wants to inflate their way out, they will have to drop out of the Euro.

Banks are closed. They will open on Thursday, but only to cash pension checks.

Current ATM withdrawals are limited to 60 Euro's per day.

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu...ceives-invitation-join-brics-bank-314514

We're gonna 'import' about ten million and put 'em on welfare and Obammycare!!