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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (148437)	1/30/2015 12:44:47 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149319

Good for them. If I was in charge in Greece, I would do a few things immediately. I'd threaten to leave the EU, but not actually do it, because the Euro is weakening and that is good for Greek tourism. I'd renegotiate all sovereign debt and play hardball. I would demand a 90% reduction or I'd go into default...and I'd back it up with a few strategic defaults just to let them know I was serious. I wouldn't balance the budget immediately, but I would create a credible plan over the next 5 years to bring the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP to below the Greek GDP growth rate. I'd also spend more money on tax enforcement. That whole country is a quagmire of tax cheats. I'd take a hard look at how to put people back to work. I'd create serious tax incentives for foreigners who want to invest in Greece or its industries. I'd find ways to bring jobs to Greece by luring companies to Greece for all sorts of work, like call centers and other transportable but lucrative industries. I'd send a delegation to Texas to see how Governor Perry did it and I'd replicate that in Greece. There are so many ways to get Greece back on its feet. I agree with most of what you suggest. Notable exception........checking out how TX does it. Not a good model. TX's oil boom has generated a great deal of that state's success and masked the negatives in the state. When oil doesn't boom, TX slows down very quickly [see the 1980s]. The other way TX generates job growth is through poaching companies from other states. Unfortunately, most of those cos are slow growth and while they bring jobs to the state, they don't do much other wise [see JCP and Toyota] once they get there. The model for Greece needs to be based on educating its work force for the new industries of the 21st century. I don't think shipping and tourism sustain the country well enough.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (148437)	1/30/2015 6:07:26 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 149319

Greek economy in numbers Average wage is €600 (£450: $690) a month Unemployment is at 25%, with youth unemployment almost 50% Economy has shrunk by 25% since the start of the eurozone crisis Country's debt is 175% of GDP Borrowed €240bn (£188bn) from the EU, the ECB and the IMF

To: RetiredNow who wrote (148437)	2/4/2015 9:45:21 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149319

Jack Welch: Fed would be 'insane' to hike rates Matthew J. Belvedere \| @Matt_Belvedere 11 Mins AgoCNBC.com PLAY VIDEO Former General Electric chief Jack Welch told CNBC on Wednesday the Federal Reserve would be "crazy" to increase interest rates in the near future. "It would be insane," he said in a " Squawk Box" interview. "Your exports would fall off the table even more. The dollar would strengthen. It does nothing at all for the U.S. economy," he continued. "We've [also] got oil problems in the U.S." Welch's comments echo last week's plea from CaterpillarChairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman to the Fed "not to raise interest rates sooner than they have to," because the economy is not ready yet. Read More Caterpillar CEO: Lower oil hits earnings, outlook After their meeting last week, central bank policymakers signaled that they haven't ruled out a rate hike this year, though they did pledge continued patience in their deliberations. Many economists have been expecting the Fed to start increasing rates from their near-zero levels in the second half of the year. Welch said the Fed should not be taking away accommodation when many of the world's central banks are easing—including the European Central Bank, which announced last month a $1.2 trillion bond purchase plan. The ECB move has added to further weakness in the euro against the dollar, which has soared more than 15 percent against the single currency in six months. "If you look at this global market, this is a bitch of a problem with this dollar currency ratio," Welch said. "I think the Fed would be crazy to raise rates at this point with the dollar where it is."