The old adage, “Be careful what you wish for”, is sure playing out in Greece. Most of the populace hopped on the Socialist Bandwagon generations ago. Now they’ve ended up precisely where that bandwagon always takes one under socialist rule. Yet in this recent BBC Radio Documentary, young, “educated” Greeks seem shocked & surprised that endless corruption, nepotism, and endless incompetence rules the day and is at the very heart of why their dreams have been crushed and they’re going to spend the rest of their lives wasting away, unemployed. Unless they leave, that is, and admit that capitalism & free markets are the answers to their prayers.
How does one say “Who is John Galt” in greek?
“ποιος είναι ο John Galt?”
I looked it up.
John Galt isn’t, ever, a real person. He is the particular Will-to-Exist, the sense of a unique self-referenced freedom, focus and energy to act that is the nature of each individual life.
When the collective rejects this individual life-force and instead insists that it disappear because the only valid ‘will’ is that of the Collective, then, the system as a whole loses its capacity for innovation, adaptation and even, life.
That means that the only economic system that enables life, in its productive capacity to flourish, is capitalism. In the natural world, capitalism is called..natural’. It enables all species to exist, to adapt, to maintain their strength; it enables novel species to emerge and overall, capitalism is the basis of the natural dynamics of this planet.
What is also interesting is how Collectivism always sets up a two-tiered societal structure made up of an elite set of Rulers existing within nepotism and corruption, and, the powerless Ruled. Always happens. Then, the system turns on itself, becomes filled with corruption and disease, and implodes.
The world is finding out that the Iron Lady was right.
“The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out other peoples money.”
Or as Churchill said
“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”
Winston Churchill
The EU/German “free lunch” will be coming to a sad end for Greece. cheers
Robert, the word you want above is “populace”. That’s the noun. “Popolous” is an adjective.
Nicely written, other than that glitch.
“I am personally convinced – and I think the Greek people share this belief in a fundamental way –
that we can achieve fiscal consolidation more effectively
and we can restore competitiveness in a more fundamental and permanent way within the euro area than outside.”
Lucas Papademos
–
President Obama:
We can use algae to grow our own bio-fuels right here in America.
–
Yeah
That’s easy for them to say.
But my unicorn stock is dropping like a frigging rock..
Of course, all these entitlement folks from Greece will want to go somewhere that will let them continue ripping off the system. They’ll never admit that they were wrong and stay and attempt to fix things. Oh no! They believe they’re entitled and they’ll just go somewhere and try and suck it out of some other country. Immigration Canada BEWARE!!!!!
“Many people are employed in the ministry of development . . . ” — while the economy contracts by 7% — coincidence??
To me the most telling moment is around the 12:40 mark when a young man lamenting the fact there are no jobs then says; “The nearest unemployment office isn’t accessible to me by public transit anymore. I’ll have to get a taxi. Can you believe that? I’ll have to pay for a taxi even though I’m unemployed.” Hmm… So I guess we can strike ‘Cabbie’ off his resume.
Leftists are often unable to connect more than one dot to another. What is so obvious to a conservative minded person, is completely unthinkable to a leftist.
Alberta has a problem with that to some extent. People leave Ontario to come to Alberta for job opportunites and then vote Liberal without batting an eye.
They don’t see the connection.
Fully 20 years ago, my wife and I had dinner with our prosperous Greek neighbours at the time.
I still haven’t gotten over the sheer joy they had in telling us, approvingly, about the welfare rip-offs going on in Greece including instances of blind taxi drivers getting disability payments.
They thought it was FUNNY and clearly did not foresee the endgame playing out before our blood-shot eyes. Their teenage son, however, had a better understanding: on a vist there with his parents he had proclaimed it a third world country.
Gord @ 10:42am: Thank YOU!!!
I’d long spelled “populace” as “populous”. Now I know the difference … thanks to you!
The Greeks are not alone, since many Europeans and more and more North Americans still cling to the failing system of socialism/communism. I admit to finding it impossible to understand in light of all the evidence of it being a failure. There has never been a single successful example, and yet the love affair refuses to die.
The Socialist Nirvana has also been able to keep Greece’s massive illegal immigration problem from Arabic & African countries off the western public radar.
This has also played no small part in the economic demise of Greece, including much of the rioting and poverty in the streets.
http://www.economist.com/node/16847278
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2037433,00.html
The Elite Socialists have stopped calling it ‘Socialism’ because it has already failed too many times and so, has a bad name.
Perhaps they will invent some new, sure fire way to achieve their long sought after Utopia – with a new name, of course.
How about ‘Authoritarian Capitalism’? Or ‘Political Entrepreneurism’?
Oh wait ..
[What is sometimes referred to as “authoritarian capitalism,” or fascism, is in fact a variety of statism, specifically socialism, the system of political economy in which the prerogatives of ownership over the means of production and distribution are vested in the state.]
aka ‘Mixed Economy’ – where the mixture gradually and insidiously becomes greater than 50% in favor of the state/public sector. Because of vested interests, more than 50% of the electorate will favor the state. Inevitably, this low-productivity, free lunch, high on the hog country will collapse. aka Greece.
In Canada – think Air Canada, the CBC, “renewable energy”. aka Political Entrepreneurism, Authoritarian Capitalism, Fascism.
http://mises.org/daily/5963/The-Vampire-Economy-and-the-Market
ron in kelowna March 24, 2012 12:44 PM
That is an exceptionally good piece. I read it the other day and reader-tipped it too.
Robert W:
I’m always afraid of correcting spelling for fear of seeming arrogant.
It speaks well of your character that you appreciate Gord’s correction; and well of Gord’s character for how deftly he handled it.
These young Greeks have begun to admit failure of the system only a very limited way, and the interviewer is solidly stuck in socialism too. Over and over again, they are searching for “services” that no longer exist. They have been taught since childhood that these services are “free”. So, when they take over an abandoned building and clean it up, they GIVE AWAY THE BENEFIT. They haven’t caught on yet that if they were to SELL the fruit of their labour, they would be free.
Back in the early ’80s when all was still well, more or less, we had a company love-in where the “coordinator” suggested that everything we believe in we had engraved on our pathetic little brains by the time we were five years old. The only way to escape a bad set of values was to get a “Big Whup Upside the Headbone”. He might have been right. If he was, the people of Greece, as well as every other socialist jurisdiction, have to not only give in to the inevitable, but would then have to produce a new generation that had anti-socialist values instilled in them.
The head-whuppin’ has started but it’s not complete yet. Stay tuned, children……..
“endless corruption, nepotism, and endless incompetence” sounds like Harper’s regime.
Tilden Katz >
Please provide proof.
@ Knight 99 at March 24, 2012 1:39 PM
Tilden gets confused easily. He was referring to the liberals and NDP.
OK. In-and-out scandal, Gazebos in Muskoka, vote-suppression robo-calls, Paradis greasing the skids for Rahim Jaffer, Vik Tays (there’s that spam filter again… can’t write his name on SDA) babysitter baby-momma getting a job with a senator, The ETS scandal ($400 million blown on a useless IT system, and a subsequent cover-up), the hiring of a whistle-blower watchdog who didn’t protect whistleblowers, and her subsequent pay-off of $600K…
Just for starters.
But, my dear Tilden, your list is sophistry-gossip.
I presume you are referring to the income trust taxation? That only became necessary because people were abusing the trusts. Don’t tell me you support this abuse!
The gazebo? I believe it cost 100,000. It does seem to be totally irrelevant to the G8 meeting, and thus, can be defined as tag-along-spending. But that’s not corruption. Nor can it be linked directly to Harper.
I don’t know what VT did – and smearing his name by making his divorce public is indeed an example of corruption, but it’s not the CPC’s corruption but that of the reporter and press.
I don’t know your other references. Remember, Harper doesn’t micromanage the federal govt and therefore, not everything that happens within the federal bureaucracy of a half million people, is within his control.
I know that you think that it is ALL managed, decided, plotted and planned by Harper, but alas – you are wrong.
Now, try again, and tell us about genuine ‘endless corruption, nepotism and endless incompetence’ under ‘Harper’s regime’. Link it to decisions made by Harper or his closest associates. Try again. Otherwise, you are preaching to yourself.
And Chretien was squeaky-clean, Tilden? Or were you just as ready to criticize the real corruption under his regime? Didn’t think so.
Here is what real corruption is like: Chretien got one of his long-time political staffers from his riding appointed to a Federal board for which said staffer was in no way qualified – you know a patronage job – so said staffer could get a free (i.e. taxpayer paid) move out west to join the staffer’s daughter and pick up some easy money to ease into retirement. And before you piffle it away as hearsay, I have first-hand knowledge of this one.
ET, you are too funny.
Apply the same standards to other parties and we’ll talk.
Stalin think… “If only Comrade Stalin knew, everything would be OK. There would be bread in the stores and the NKVD would bring grandma back.” Sorry, but Paul Martin was made to wear the sponsorship scandal and Jean Chretien had to wear the “billion dollar boondoggle” at HRC, and Dalton McGuinty will wear the ORNGE scandal.
As for Vik, we have every right to talk about a guy who preached about the “sanctity of marriage” during the same sex marriage debate cheating on his wife, knocking up his babysitter and setting her up with a tax-funded job with a senator. I suspect if this happened on the Liberals’ watch, Vik Tave’s real name would get through the SDA spam filter.
BTW, thanks for reminding me about Harper breaking the promise on income trusts. As for your lack of knowledge about the rest, it shows your ignorance, not mine.
Tilden- I’m referring to direct links between a leader and problems. Not something done by an employee. That includes Chretien’s well-known cronyism, his sponsorship scandal using the taxpayer money to fund his election, etc etc.
These were all directly linked to Chretien. Chretien resigned to fob off the sponsorship to Martin. Neat tactic.
Smitherman and McGuinty are directly responsible for hydro, health and Orange scandals.
Now, with regard to VT – that’s him. You were talking about Harper. And I repeat, Harper doesn’t micromanage the govt or people, and these issues you mention can’t be directly linked to him. So, to declare that VT’s divorce has anything to do with Harper is nonsense.
Again, give some real examples of the ‘endless corruption, nepotism and endless incompetence’ under ‘Harper’s regime’. Link them to Harper as causal. Try it – or- your words are pure self-referenced sophistry.
Hooey.
By that thin reed, every Liberal leader since Paul Martin would be off the hook for Sponsorship.
So, ET, is every Liberal leader since Paul Martin off the hook for sponsorship? Surely, if Comrade Fearless leader Harper is clear of anything he doesn’t actually personally authorize, then Paul Martin, poor Dion and Iggy never should have been taken to task on sponsorship. Isn’t it the “Harper Government?” And why is McGuinty culpable for ORNGE and Harper isn’t for the diverting $50 million of border protection money to Tony Clement’s riding? (You should see the “Tony Clement MP says Drive Safely” billboards on Highway 60 and Highway 11. They’re amazing.)
Tilden Katz >
You haven’t proved a thing. Not an ounce of evidence to back up your baseless smears.
The people of Canada have spoken, Harper has a majority government and the Liberal Party is a bad memory. Harper himself is haled globally as a brilliant economist and an invited guest keynote speaker across the Euro Zone.
Canadian are regaining their freedoms after decades of a Liberal left road to tyranny built on corruption and scandal. Harper has started with the 2 Billion dollar Long Gun registry along with current legislation to allow Canadians to rightfully protect themselves and their property from violent offenders.
So sorry that you lost, but we were long ago tired of letting the lunatics run the asylum. You can always pursue a life in China, Cuba, the Middle East to suggest a few if you wish to have a socialist utopia once you grow up.
Again, sorry for your loss kid the adults have now stepped in.
Tilden – you aren’t answering my question. I asked you to directly link decision-making by Harper to your claim of ‘endless corruption, nepotism and endless incompetence’ under ‘Harper’s regime’. You haven’t provided one example – much less ‘endless’.
No, the sponsorship was a direct action by Chretien, as the PM but really as the leader of the Liberal Party, to use taxpayer funds for the Liberal election campaign. It’s linked to the Liberal Party and therefore, every Liberal leader is connected to that scandal and should be focused on repaying the taxpayer.
As for the 50 million and Tony Clement, Baird, as the Minister responsible for the fund, provided what, to me, sounds like a reasonable explanation.
Now, one more time – answer my question. Specific examples and direct links; you used the words of ‘endless corruption, nepotism and endless incompetence’. Back it up.
The Greek crisis is not a product of “socialism,” it is the end result of chronic trade imbalances within the EMU. It wouldn’t matter how much or little the Greek government spent, or how left or right-wing its government and culture; this was doomed to happen without a fiscal transfer union to counter the drain of net financial assets from the Greek economy.
ET, you’e fabulous. What stellar, stellar logic.
I’m going to look up “cognitive dissonance” in the encyclopedia just to see what you look like.
My examples of “endless corruption, nepotism and endless incompetence” by the Harper Government are already posted.
Your reading comprehension and self-delusion problems are of no concern to me.
BTW, Ben Wolf, I think you’re half-right. But tax avoidance is a huge problem in Greece. Much of the country has effectively been on a tax strike for years.
@Tilden Katz,
You’re correct Greece has a tax avoidance problem. But the irony is that collecting more in taxes would have accelerated the crisis.
Think about it this way: There are a set amount of euros in the Greek economy. It can get more euros in one of three ways: foreign capital investment (not reliable) private borrowing (expands money supply as credit is extended, contracts as credit is paid back)which is ultimately limited by the private sector’s ability to service the ever-growing debt, or by government spending more than it collects in taxes (deficits.).
As Greece doesn’t have the right to print euros, spending enough money into the economy to counter the euros lost to the trade imbalance meant the Greek government had to borrow. Money collected by taxation also drains net financial assets (money) from the money supply. The more Greece collects in taxes, the faster the drain. There was literally nothing Greece could do to prevent the crisis: if it hadn’t borrowed its private sector would have become financially poorer every year, which would have depressed its tax revenues, which would have reinforced an economic downturn.
Makes sense. Really, what is the Greek economy? Some tourism, a very little bit of industry and agriculture. The Eurozone has a huge inequality of resources and industrial plant. Germany’s education and technology system could survive the pounding of the second world war and communism and still rebuild. Greece has never been on its feet, it lost much of its trading system to the Turks in 1921, took a pounding in World War II, has been through a military junta that — without socialism or welfare-statism — ran the country to bankruptcy, and it has not had the stability and capital needed to develop anything that makes money. Nor is it about to, no matter how many bail-outs.
John Galt isn’t, ever, a real person. He is the particular Will-to-Exist, the sense of a unique self-referenced freedom, focus and energy to act that is the nature of each individual life.
When the collective rejects this individual life-force and instead insists that it disappear because the only valid ‘will’ is that of the Collective, then, the system as a whole loses its capacity for innovation, adaptation and even, life.
That means that the only economic system that enables life, in its productive capacity to flourish, is capitalism. In the natural world, capitalism is called..natural’. It enables all species to exist, to adapt, to maintain their strength; it enables novel species to emerge and overall, capitalism is the basis of the natural dynamics of this planet.
What is also interesting is how Collectivism always sets up a two-tiered societal structure made up of an elite set of Rulers existing within nepotism and corruption, and, the powerless Ruled. Always happens. Then, the system turns on itself, becomes filled with corruption and disease, and implodes.
Oh shit… now what do I do…I’m not a real person…
Seriously though, “truer words were never spoken”.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”
Rita Mae Brown, Sudden Death 1983 Pg. 68.
I wondered how Ontario liberal supporters would continue to run their mouths after eight years of mcguinty brought the province into a objectively documented financial crisis. And now I know. They’re going to yell about Harper, and hope nobody notices the misdirection. (I assume Katz is a student or a public sector unionist.)
But nobody in this province can escape the incompetent idiocy of the dullard twins, Dwight and Duncan, particularly as they show no signs of doing anything serious about it. Although they have talked about cancelling some planned hospitals located in non-liberal ridings.
I’ll conclude with a few examples: Ornge, EHealth, a billion dollars wasted to shut down a gas generating station in order to win a by election, subsidized power shipped to other jurisdictions. Billions flushed and we’re still on the hook.
Get no argument from me. If you’re looking for a fight over McGuinty, you’ll have to go elsewhere. I’m not a Dipper, I don’t belong to a union. I am a disgruntled fiscal conservative and social liberal who comes here and sees how everyone has abandoned the Reform Party and now speaks in talking points no matter how much the Harper government looks and acts like a Liberal government. I believe in a reformed and mucked-out Senate, much smaller and more efficient government, a free and open press, a professional and neutral bureaucracy, North American energy self-sufficiency and a true meritocracy where education is not trashed by luddites. What I despise here is the inconsistency: things that were so wrong when Liberals did them are OK because it’s “our” side doing it.
I was in Greece in September , it is a third world country. More surprising is the state of the place considering the size of the civil service. Completely run down excepting a few of the new Olympic projects, endless graffiti even up to the second story over the whole downtown. A civil service that obviously doesnt care.
for example the Parthenon is being rebuilt and its barely noticable even though its been undergoing restoration since 1984, the building only took 13 years to erect originally.
Cal, I’ve never been to Greece but have been to Mexico extensively. If you’ve been to Mexico too, I’d be more than curious to here your appraisal of the two countries. Most specifically, which would you say is “more” of a 3rd World Nation?
“young, “educated” Greeks seem shocked & surprised that endless corruption, nepotism, and endless incompetence rules the day and is at the very heart of why their dreams have been crushed and they’re going to spend the rest of their lives wasting away, unemployed. Unless they leave, that is, and admit that capitalism & free markets are the answers to their prayers.”
Greece, Ontario – Potato, PotAto same crap differnt pile.
All the little lefty welfare grads from Maguintyville will be going west to get jobs and will never syumble upon the the reason for their economic refugee trek.
Robert W. (Vancouver) >
I’ve been to plenty of Third World countries and have been to Mexico but not Greece.
Third World perspectives by westerners can be relative. Every country in the world has a wealthy ruling class and a “have not” class. It really it boils down to numbers on each side of the coin and the amount of services you can expect as a visitor or working resident.
India and China are some of the best examples, where as a westerner with money you have everything you need as you would have at home and then some. Yet out on your own street people literally die overnight sleeping on the street, with little access to clean drinking water much less food & shelter. They number in the hundreds of thousands across India and areas of China.
Parts of the ghettoized US today are impoverished with open sewers and malnutrition, but the numbers are considered very small relative to the population.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-11-10/poverty-economy-food-stamps/51157932/1
I think of many places I’ve lived in or travelled too with shanty towns mixed closely with unbelievable luxury, Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia, India to name a few. You can be looking out at the beautiful ocean from your 5 star hotel room and simultaneously glance down at a mother and her starving kids sleeping on the sidewalk below your window (I have the pictures). The streets outside of your gated community or hotel complex literally open sewers and garbage dumps with people scratching out an existence.
This goes on everywhere around the world, but is far less pronounced in the west. I believe its changing fast for us as we globalize and bring in the third world, but it will remain unchanged forever in the actual “Third World”.
Occam, only the losers head out west, where, I’m sure, they fit right in. There are still 13 million people, most of them doing just fine, living in Ontario, which still has the highest per capita GDP in the country.
Australia, at least, is correcting their mistakes…only at the State level so far, but the federal party is going to get it even worse…
MASSACRE! Australian Left records worst election result since Federation
Posted on March 24, 2012 by Editor | 5 Comments
Queensland has decisively rejected Labor, reducing them to a political rump which may not even achieve party status (10 or more seats in the new parliament). While State issues have strong influence in State elections this is a severe repudiation of Labor and its National policies – notably the despised carbon tax and the assault on State revenues through an additional profits tax on mining States’ main exports of coal and iron ore (mainly afflicting Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia).
Watch for Federal Labor to blink and delay the proposed carbon tax until the next election (which they will inevitably lose short several industrial-grade miracles).
Politicians globally are likely to take this bloodbath as a warning – voters will not tolerate enormous and entirely pointless energy taxes imposed to “address” a problem which does not exist.
This is the beginning of the political demise of global warming, carbon constraint and energy rationing. Moreover voters have severely thrashed the anti-development Greens and obstructive environmentalism.
The people have spoken. It’s development all the way.
Yes, Occam, the West is indeed the emerging economic strength of Canada.
Latest statistics (2009) from Statistics Canada show that the median income in Ontario is 69,790 while in Alberta it’s 83,640. And Alberta has the highest per capita GDP in Canada. Followed by Saskatchewan, then Nfld, then Ontario.
The West is also the political strength of Canada, with its focus on freedom, individual self-reliance and small, limited government.
Tilden Katz >
“..only the losers head out west,..”
Yes, please remember that. You are far better off in Europia.
@ Tilden Katz
As long as you have this problem in Ontario, you are sunk.
http://quixoteslaststand.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/untitled2.png
Just look what Trudeau’s form of Socialism has done to Canada. The rape of Alberta for Dollars to prop the union ridden social services behemoth up. It too is coming to an end. Helpfully some real Conservatives will make the landing more easy.
Our day is coming soon unless we drop kick the Government bureaucracy & fast.