Austerity

Chief Greek Statistician Threatened with Jail For Revealing True Size of Deficit

"At a time when the rest of the world was furious that Greece had artificially improved the country's budget statistics, Greek prosecutors are accusing Georgiou of doing the opposite. Prosecutors acted after a 15-month investigation into allegations made by a former ELSTAT board member. If found guilty, Georgiou faces five to 10 years in prison. Some argue that the technocrat Georgiou was serving his former superiors at the IMF and the European statistics agency Eurostat, which is led by a German. This theory holds that Greece was to be brought to its knees by imposing harsh austerity measures based on bloated deficit figures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChief Greek Statistician Threatened with Jail For Revealing True Size of Deficit

Greeks strip country for scrap cash

"Train lines, bridges, cables and even cemeteries have all been targeted for scrap to feed a market driven by China and India. Police now arrest an average of four metal thieves every day, compared to a few cases every month before the crisis started in late 2009. The profile of the metal thief is also changing, authorities say, from gypsies and immigrants living on the margins of society to mainstream Greeks who have fallen on hard times. Athens' nine-year-old light rail system has been a prime magnet for metal robbers, with at least five major disruptions reported in the past six months due to cable theft." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreeks strip country for scrap cash

Ireland votes to liquidate Anglo Irish Bank

"Anglo Irish Bank will be liquidated under the plan and its outstanding debt will be converted into a new long-term bond intended to spread the repayment over a longer period of time cutting the cost to the state. At present, the Irish government must pay €3.1bn (£2.7bn) every year to service the debt it took on to rescue the bank, equivalent to about 2pc of the country's GDP. The lender's collapse in 2008 forced the government to provide a guarantee for the debts of the country's entire banking system. Ireland was eventually forced to request an €67.5bn bailout from the EU and IMF as the costs of the banking rescue proved too much." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIreland votes to liquidate Anglo Irish Bank

Man trampled as hundreds of desperate Greeks scuffle for food

"A fruit and vegetable handout in Greece led to one man being trampled on Wednesday, calling attention to desperate conditions. Some 55 tons of produce was given away by farmers who were protesting high production costs. The chaos was sparked when food stalls ran out of fruits and vegetables, prompting dozens of people to rush to a nearby truck. It was an 'every man for himself' situation as the Greeks shoved their way to the front of the truck, competing for the food that was left. The 55 tons of food was completely gone in under two hours. A Reuters employee at the scene was hit on the head with cauliflower heads as he attempted to photograph the situation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan trampled as hundreds of desperate Greeks scuffle for food

Bad Economy Has Young Europeans at Home

"In 2011, more that 50 percent of the 25- to 34-year-olds in Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Malta still lived in their parents' homes. In Portugal, Italy, Hungary and Romania more than 40 percent of those in this age group remain in the nest (see graphic). These numbers are in stark contrast to those in the EU's most northerly member nations, with less than 5 percent of 24- to 34-year-olds in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. A similar phenomenon, dubbed the 'boomerang generation,' has been identified in the United States, where some 29 percent of Americans in the same age have had to return to their parents' home in recent years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBad Economy Has Young Europeans at Home

Well Educated Young Spaniards Move Back In With Parents

"Nationwide, more than half of people under 25 can't find jobs, while in Andalusia the figure is higher than 62 percent. Those who are a little older -- around 30 and well educated -- are seeing their lifelong dreams turn into failures. Many are forced to do what García and Vivar have done. The two grown men gave up their apartments and moved back into their parents' homes, because they were no longer making enough money. According to figures by the European Union statistics agency Eurostat, 37.8 percent of Spaniards under 35 are now living with their parents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWell Educated Young Spaniards Move Back In With Parents

Greek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

"Greece's finance minister was sent a bullet and a death threat from a group protesting home foreclosures, police officials said on Monday, in the latest incident to raise fears of growing political violence. The package was sent by a little-known group called 'Cretan Revolution', which warned the minister against any efforts to seize homes and evict homeowners, police sources said. The group sent similar letters to tax offices in Crete last week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

Italy’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

"Former premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Sunday to refund the money Italians have had to fork out for an unpopular property tax if his coalition wins this month’s elections. Speaking at a rally in Milan, Berlusconi vowed to scrap the levy and refund the taxes paid on primary residences in 2012 'as compensation for an erroneous decision by the state' — to the tune of some four billion euros ($5.5 billion). 'One should never touch the primary residence, which is the pillar on which families build,' he said, asserting that the reintroduction of the tax had caused property values to plummet 'by five to 20 percent', and had led to a drop in home sales and construction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

Italian tax dodgers uncovered by the Redditometro

"The Italian authorities have been accused of resorting to police state-style tactics with the introduction of a new weapon to hunt down the nation's many tax dodgers. The new procedure makes it possible to scrutinise any family's spending pattern, and compare this with what it says it earns. But some commentators have been outraged by this month's launch of what is called the Redditometro - the Income Meter. It has been described as unacceptably intrusive, the sort of thing that East Germany's secret police might have dreamt up." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItalian tax dodgers uncovered by the Redditometro

France ‘totally bankrupt’, says labour minister Michel Sapin

"'There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state,' Mr Sapin said. 'That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.' The comments came as President Hollande attempts to improve the image of the French economy after pledging to reduce the country’s deficit by cutting spending by €60bn (£51.5bn) over the next five years and increasing taxes by €20bn. Data from Banque de France showed earlier this month that a flight of capital has already left the country amid concerns that France’s Socialist leader intends to soak the rich and businesses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance ‘totally bankrupt’, says labour minister Michel Sapin