tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4102429195693595750.post435126179435068791..comments2024-03-22T05:15:17.042+02:00Comments on Sudden Debt: Greek Banking: Part IHellasioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564511281240682625noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4102429195693595750.post-89583807611920241202017-11-10T10:52:16.531+02:002017-11-10T10:52:16.531+02:00but particularly in nations that are ageing fast
...but particularly in nations that are ageing fast<br /><br />===============<br /><br />No. Demographics is not the issue. <br /><br />If the money had been invested [capitalism] then demographics would not be a problem. <br /><br />The money was redistributed [socialism] and there's a mess. <br /><br />The problem isn't demographics the problem is the redistribution. <br /><br />*** They don't - in a pay as you go system they are merely added to the government books<br /><br />Yes and no. They are added, as income. That's the revenue or income and expense statement. <br /><br />What's missing, and its the fraud, is balance sheet. The liabilities are and were omitted from the balance sheet. <br /><br />That's the key issue. If the liabilities were posted, people would have seen very early what happened to tax payer's equity. It was getting large very quickly. <br /><br />Lord Blaggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783119146180259097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4102429195693595750.post-37077686941654665912017-11-10T07:07:25.628+02:002017-11-10T07:07:25.628+02:00Lord Blagger,
Pensions are a real tough issue all...Lord Blagger,<br /><br />Pensions are a real tough issue all over the world, but particularly in nations that are ageing fast, eg Greece, Italy, etc.<br /><br />Most people think that pension contributions create some sort of separate savings account, a nest egg. They don't - in a pay as you go system they are merely added to the government books and spent just like any other revenue. Just think of them as another tax. As things stand now, contributions don't even cover current pension payments, so they are subsidized by other taxes. <br /><br />I will certainly agree with you that Greek governments, particularly in the 1980s, totally mismanaged pension contributions. <br />Hellasioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03564511281240682625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4102429195693595750.post-12036924072977036832017-11-09T20:50:48.371+02:002017-11-09T20:50:48.371+02:00The Greek state promised people a pension in retur...The Greek state promised people a pension in return for their contributions. <br /><br />They received the money and since it didn't have to be paid out for 30-40 years, like little kids they went on a spending spree, instead of investing it. <br /><br />At the end of the year they had to make a decision. Do they book what they owe on the accounts? Problem with that for the politicians, they would have to tell people they've blown the lot. <br /><br />So along comes a clever accountant who says, look copy over governments. Define pensions as 'welfare' and its future spending. That way you book it as a profit, but you have to hide the debts off the books. <br /><br />They did this until it blew up, and it screwed their own citizens. <br /><br />Until Greece puts in place a law that says government debt of any form, or guarantees is illegal, you are going to be screwed. Lord Blaggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783119146180259097noreply@blogger.com