I feel unfair for Greek people, while

Diver

US owes much more debts and has been unable to repay for a long time, but US does not need any austerity plan and still can lift debt ceiling unlimitedly.

olderfrog

come on, how many missiles does Greek has?

Cobra

olderfrog 发表于 2011-6-28 22:41
come on, how many missiles does Greek has?

源济

olderfrog 发表于 2011-6-28 21:41
come on, how many missiles does Greek has?

cc2265

abcStock

你还替一班懒猪说话。。。

vancouverea

那倒不是了 我觉得楼主主要想说不公平，其实哪里有公平这么一说啊？

ypm968

ATHENS—Debt-strapped Greece is about to hold an epic yard sale.

For the taking: four wide-body Airbus jets, a state lottery, a state horse-racing concession and sports book, stakes in a casino, several ports, a national post office, two water companies, a nickel miner and smelter, a munitions maker, electricity and gas monopolies, a telecommunications operator, shares in a half dozen banks, hundreds of miles of roads, a defunct airport, old Olympic venues and thousands of acres of land, including magnificent stretches of Greece's famed coast.

ypm968

It is evening in Dublin, where a banker and a young Irishman are having an argument at the Porterhouse Pub. The Irishman stacks beverage cases by day, but now he has a stack of paperback books in front of him. The title of one of the books is "Marx Today." "Tell me something," says the banker, a man in his early 40s, wearing a gray suit with cufflinks, as he points to the books, "what exactly do you Irish expect to get from this shit, from Marx, from the theories of the 19th century?"

"At least these theories didn't get us into the shit."

The banker chews on that for a moment. Then he sticks out his hand. "My name is Johan," he says. "I'm a Dutchman, and I'm pissed off."

"My name's Karl, and I'm an Irishman," Karl says amiably, "and I'm pissed off, too."

Karl Gill, a bearded redhead with a round face and a round belly, was born in Dublin, the fourth of four children. His mother was a seamstress and is now a housewife. His father, who used to work for a telephone company, is now the janitor at a school called the Scoil Lorcáin. Karl still lives with his parents in a tiny row house in the town of Dún Laoghaire, only a few kilometers away. Getting his own apartment would be an impossibility. He is 21, but he seems older and more mature. He studied sociology and political science at the university, and for the past three years has been a member of the Socialist Workers Party. He is something of a leftist rising star. He hopes to be voted into the Dublin City Council and later into Ireland's parliament.

Benefiting from the Boom

"Why, Johan," he asks, "are you so pissed off at the Irish?"

"Because I think it's unfair that countries that keep their finances in order, like the Netherlands, should pony up for others that live beyond their means. The protests and the outrage on the left, these are just smoke screens to cover up unrealistic demands. Why should a Dutch worker pay for a Greek protester, someone who doesn't produce anything, who contributes nothing to Europe?"

"Good point," says Gill. "But you mustn't forget that it wasn't the countries that were living beyond their means and benefiting from the boom, but always individual classes within society…"

"Oh come on, classes?"

"Okay, then individual groups. While other groups did not benefit, or hardly at all, and certainly had no power to make decisions. And in Ireland those who are not responsible for this mess are supposed to pay the bill? Do you think that's fair? I don't. That's why I'm fighting back."

"What about the Spanish mothers?" the Dutchman asks. He sounds irritated.
"What do you mean?"

"The Spanish mothers! I recently read about this in a study or an article. They would rather send their kids to a football school, where they learn to dribble, because they have dreams of their sons becoming strikers, instead of encouraging them to learn something worthwhile -- a trade, or math or languages. Instead, it's football! That's supposed to be Europe? Are we supposed to prevail in the world market by watching each other play football? And we're supposed to pay for that?"

"So it's a cultural problem?"
"Absolutely," says the Dutchman.

They toss sentences back and forth at each other like actors in a revolutionary drama.

Saddled with Debt

"Look at me, for example, Johan. I'm a student. Just because I happen to be Irish, I'm supposed to be responsible for some of the government's debt, and suddenly I'm saddled with thousands and thousands of euros in debts? What about the retirees whose pensions have been cut? What about the students who don't have rich parents? We are supposed to tighten our belts for a party to which we were never invited."

"You have to start somewhere," says the Dutchman.

"That's true." Karl uses his fingers to list his points. "We have to start by reforming the tax system. The big companies that were lured here with low tax rates need to pay more now. By the way, what's your profession, Johan?"

"Banker, uh, consultant," says the Dutchman.
"Where do you work?"
"I'd rather not say."
"Oh." Karl reaches for his glass and empties it.
"I have to get going," says Johan.

CoolMax

olderfrog 发表于 2011-6-28 22:41
come on, how many missiles does Greek has?