It's not Greece being bailed out - it's the banks

[barryqwalsh]

Regardless of whether Athens and its creditors reach a compromise this week, one thing is certain. The Greek people will endure years more of hardship. But the private sector banks that lent the cash and helped hide the debt for years, will walk away unscathed.

Global banks have risen beyond the scope of national electoral oversight. They have become sacrosanct, particularly since Lehman Brothers hit the wall in 2008, turning global finance into a chaotic maelstrom that threatened the future of Western democracy.

It s not Greece being bailed out - it s the banks - The Drum Australian Broadcasting Corporation

 

[martybegan]

So the banks lent all that money to nobody?

 

[Silent Warrior]

So if the banks had not loaned Greece the money would your post be about how banks refusal to loan was causing Greece's problems? It's always easier to blame the banks rather than the failed politics that actually cause the problem. Those darn bankers, how dare they live in the real world.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

So if the banks had not loaned Greece the money would your post be about how banks refusal to loan was causing Greece's problems? It's always easier to blame the banks rather than the failed politics that actually cause the problem. Those darn bankers, how dare they live in the real world.

It seems to me that in both the US housing collapse an now in Greece, accounting is a large part of the problem. They are supposed to make things transparent but have done anything but.

 

[Silent Warrior]

I think those are two different problems. While lawyers keep making contract and mortgage documents more complex than necessary and impossible for the regular consumer to understand, congress continues to try and make home ownership easier in order to buy votes. Transparentcy is there, but not understood by the consumer. Greece is also trying to give everything to the average citizen to keep certain politicions in power, but lacks the funds to do so. Hence their blame the bankers attitude. Our government did the same thing during our banking crises to deflect the public from recognizing it was failed politcal policies that actually caused the problem.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

it was failed politcal policies that actually caused the problem.

yes but failed political policies would become apparent very very quickly with good accounting.

 

[Toro]

Most of the debt is held by government agencies.

 

[Toro]

Regardless of whether Athens and its creditors reach a compromise this week, one thing is certain. The Greek people will endure years more of hardship. But the private sector banks that lent the cash and helped hide the debt for years, will walk away unscathed.

Global banks have risen beyond the scope of national electoral oversight. They have become sacrosanct, particularly since Lehman Brothers hit the wall in 2008, turning global finance into a chaotic maelstrom that threatened the future of Western democracy.

It s not Greece being bailed out - it s the banks - The Drum Australian Broadcasting Corporation

That's merely a leftist rant that has nothing to do with what's going on in Greece.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Global banks have risen beyond the scope of national electoral oversight. They have become sacrosanct, particularly since Lehman Brothers hit the wall in 2008, turning global finance into a chaotic maelstrom that threatened the future of Western democracy.

you mean like RBS and UBS?? or do you have no idea whatsoever about what you are talking about.

 

[Silent Warrior]

it was failed politcal policies that actually caused the problem.

yes but failed political policies would become apparent very very quickly with good accounting.

True, but the problem there is not one of accounting failure, but one of refusing to believe what the accounting has told them. I believe the accounting was there, but those in power refused to believe that the austerity measures indicated by that accounting were really necessary. To recognize such would be political suicide and staying in office is usually more important to politicians than anything else. Once you have promised the world to your constituents you can't go back and take that world away without negative personal consequences.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

it was failed politcal policies that actually caused the problem.

yes but failed political policies would become apparent very very quickly with good accounting.

True, but the problem there is not one of accounting failure, but one of refusing to believe what the accounting has told them. I believe the accounting was there, but those in power refused to believe that the austerity measures indicated by that accounting were really necessary. To recognize such would be political suicide and staying in office is usually more important to politicians than anything else. Once you have promised the world to your constituents you can't go back and take that world away without negative personal consequences.

Yes but there were all kinds of accounting gimmicks like off balance sheet items
mark to market accounting, etc . Fanny lied to SEC about quality of mortgages and got sued. Accounting profession is supposed to be independent and whistle blowers.

When accountants didn't do that at Enron they went bankrupt. After that CEO's were supposed to go to jail for bad accounting according to Sarbanes Oxley.

 

[Silent Warrior]

it was failed politcal policies that actually caused the problem.

yes but failed political policies would become apparent very very quickly with good accounting.

True, but the problem there is not one of accounting failure, but one of refusing to believe what the accounting has told them. I believe the accounting was there, but those in power refused to believe that the austerity measures indicated by that accounting were really necessary. To recognize such would be political suicide and staying in office is usually more important to politicians than anything else. Once you have promised the world to your constituents you can't go back and take that world away without negative personal consequences.

Yes but there were all kinds of accounting gimmicks like off balance sheet items
mark to market accounting, etc . Fanny lied to SEC about quality of mortgages and got sued. Accounting profession is supposed to be independent and whistle blowers.

When accountants didn't do that at Enron they went bankrupt. After that CEO's were supposed to go to jail for bad accounting according to Sarbanes Oxley.

Actually I was referring to the Greek situation as the title of the thread indicated. The US situation in some ways was similar, but also different in many ways. There is plenty of blame to go to go around here.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

it was failed politcal policies that actually caused the problem.

yes but failed political policies would become apparent very very quickly with good accounting.

True, but the problem there is not one of accounting failure, but one of refusing to believe what the accounting has told them. I believe the accounting was there, but those in power refused to believe that the austerity measures indicated by that accounting were really necessary. To recognize such would be political suicide and staying in office is usually more important to politicians than anything else. Once you have promised the world to your constituents you can't go back and take that world away without negative personal consequences.

Yes but there were all kinds of accounting gimmicks like off balance sheet items
mark to market accounting, etc . Fanny lied to SEC about quality of mortgages and got sued. Accounting profession is supposed to be independent and whistle blowers.

When accountants didn't do that at Enron they went bankrupt. After that CEO's were supposed to go to jail for bad accounting according to Sarbanes Oxley.

Actually I was referring to the Greek situation as the title of the thread indicated. The US situation in some ways was similar, but also different in many ways. There is plenty of blame to go to go around here.

Well in both cases people, businesses, and govts were making stupid loans. They were assuming mortgages, banks, and govt's were solvent when good accounting would have shown very clearly that they were not.

 

[usmcstinger]

Greece is a perfect example how European Socialism "The Nanny State" can destroy an economy. This is exactly where POTUS has taken us. Hillary will keep us there!

 

[oldfart]

After that CEO's were supposed to go to jail for bad accounting according to Sarbanes Oxley.

We warehouse the Sarbanes Oxley records between the unicorns and the winning lottery tickets on aisle 4 in the back.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

After that CEO's were supposed to go to jail for bad accounting according to Sarbanes Oxley.

We warehouse the Sarbanes Oxley records between the unicorns and the winning lottery tickets on aisle 4 in the back.

After that CEO's were supposed to go to jail for bad accounting according to Sarbanes Oxley. It was the case of a perfect regulation being 100% ignored. If that can happen why do liberals believe regulations are so magical?