HELPING PHYSICIANS ATTAIN FINANCIAL SECURITY
By Robert M. Doroghazi, M.D., F.A.C.C.
An Observation on Greece
I have wanted to write on the situation in Greece, because the issues of debt and austerity and budget cuts are basically the same everywhere, and how they play out could be a harbinger of how things will play out elsewhere.
This note is from a subscriber.
“My analysis is not a take on whether what is happening is “moral or ethical”, or anything more than an example of a group of people that have spent many years getting lazy and now won’t pay the bills when they come due.
The idea that the Greeks would riot instead of accepting that they have to pay taxes and work past 50 at first seems nuts, but if you think about this from the perspective of the rioters (the people who are rioting don’t get this; they are just lazy, entitled and mad), is a brilliant strategic move on their part. They know their government is weak. They know that riots make politicians kowtow to the mob. They know they don’t want to work or pay taxes.
So what is the best interest of the average Greek? It’s not to pay higher taxes or go back to work. It’s to riot and grind the country to a halt. They see the EU (European Union) pretending to be tough and lay down rules with the IMF, but this time last year, they bailed them out. So why should the rioters think any different this time, especially if everyone is chicken littling about how a Greek default will mean the sky is falling on the world economy.
If you know that, you are going to think that Europe will bail you out regardless of what they do because in the end they won’t have the stones to let us default, especially when our currencies are tied.
And you know what: I think they’re right. I don’t think the EU has the stones to let them default. Germany might, but Merkel has already shown herself to be unwilling to push around the other important members of the EU. The French will vote for the bailout, because they are the French and that’s what they do. The British will do the same, because they still have “the sun never sets on the Union Jack thing” going, and they still want to be the world’s policeman. The Germans, although they have the largest European economy, don’t want to be the ones to let the Greek’s fail, because of the previous history (though no one will talk about it) of “Big Bad Germany” pushing Europe around.
So maybe the people of Greece, in purely economic and self-interest terms; are doing the right thing by rioting and forcing the rest of Europe to bail them out”.
RMD comment: A pragmatic take on things. I suggest that you follow the events in Greece closely. As I will discuss in the next letter, an important cause of wipeouts is not learning the lessons of history.
RMD
Today’s Wall Street Journal. “Home prices slowed their pace of decline in April…But tens of thousands of foreclosures…are expected to leave markets bumping near their current level for the rest of the year.
Many housing markets face a long, flat spell with prices bouncing along a bottom, economists say”.
RMD comment: I again recommend you buy a home only if the situation is very compelling. If you are trying to sell real estate and someone makes a reasonable offer; take it. If you want to sell a piece of property and it is just sitting there with no action; then you need to lower the price.
I’m having some work done on the outside of my home. After I practiced my clarinet, one of the carpenters said “You play the classical clarinet (I played the clarinet solo from Verdi’s “The Force of Destiny”, and von Weber’s “Concertino”). My son is studying the baritone sax at the University (of Missouri, here in Columbia).
I immediately thought of a quote from John Adams.
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain”.
Site by Delta Systems powered by ExpressionEngine