They're teargassing the people so that the markets can win

[TreasonousBastard]

16. Bullshit. They're teargassing the people because someone started throwing...

molotov cocktails.

Cry over the poor Greeks all you want, but know something about them first. It's a country about the size of Alabama with a GDP equivalent about twice the size of Alabama's but the per capita income and GDP is less than Alabama's. 78% of what there is of their economy is tourism, shipping, and government, and they import over twice what little they export. And what they export is mainly bauxite, cement, and some olives. Maybe a few shoes, too. And, apparently, diners in New Jersey.

Let me repeat something-- a whole country, full member of the EU, with economic activity just barely twice of what our poorest state has. With a huge wealth divide. Not nearly as bad as Haiti, but heading in that direction.

So, how did they become a contender for the poorest country in Western Europe? You can point at that 1% who just didn't give a shit about their country and made all their money in the shipping business never paying a nickel in taxes, and you can blame a government that was happy to just pay off the citizenry with noshow jobs and easy pensions instead of trying to build a real economy. You can also point a finger or two at the population itself, which was happy to let things go on that way forever until the checks started to bounce and the free rides stopped.

Now the Germans and the French, after stopping a thousand years of warfare, are finding their reward for running their countries honestly and becoming BFFs is to pay the Greeks' bills. And boy are they pissed.

But, hey, it's all the banks' fault. Why not?