Guess What Greece Has To Jettison?

[Guest SUNTZU]

Policy Failure: Greece was told that if it wanted a bailout, it needed to consider privatizing its government health care system. So tell us again why the U.S. is following Europe's welfare state model.

The requirement, part of a deal arranged by the IMF, the European Union and the European Central bank, is a tacit admission that national health care programs are unsustainable. Along with transportation and energy, the bailout group, according to the New York Times, wants the Greek government to remove "the state from the marketplace in crucial sectors."

This is not some cranky or politically motivated demand. It is a condition based on the ugly reality of government medicine. The Times reports that economists - not right-wingers opposed to health care who want to blow up Times Square - say liberalizing "the health care industry would help bring down prices in these areas, which are among the highest in Europe."

Of course most of the media have been largely silent about the health care privatization measure for Greece, as it conflicts with their universal, single-payer health care narrative.

The public health system in the Hellenic Republic is operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, where centralized decisions and rules are made.

It provides free or low-cost treatment through what is essentially a single-payer system established in 1983 when the Socialist Party was in power. Family members and retirees are also covered. Like the systems in Britain and Canada, it has agonizingly long waiting lists.

It should be no surprise that in Greece, health care spending as a percentage of the economy is relatively steep. According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development data, it's higher than that in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan. Despite all the spending, Greece could never cover 100% of its citizens, reaching only about 83% for primary care.

Today, the patient most in need of a room in the intensive-care ward is Greece itself - what with government debt nearing 120% of GDP and the deficit at 13% of GDP.

The mere possibility of government spending cuts sent striking workers and public employees into the streets. Groups upset with the budget cuts have protested, rioted, looted and killed.

On May 5, three died in a bank fire fueled by a Molotov cocktail during a riot against the austerity measures that have been intended to save the government from bankruptcy and, as well, secure aid from other nations.

After much wrangling, a bailout (an ill-advised reward for bad behavior) of roughly $145 billion is in line for a government that could not control its spending addiction.

The U.S. won't be the next Greece. Other nations, all of them with some version of government health care dragging them down, will fail first. But we are next in line among developed nations to turn over our health care to politically minded lawmakers and rule-making bureaucrats who operate in their own self-interest.

At what point will this nation realize that ObamaCare, lumped onto the pile of entitlements that are already headed into a financial abyss, is an expense that the nation cannot afford?

Already we've seen government agencies tell us that the initial estimates for the Democrats' health care overhaul were too low. We've watched as patients have suffered in Britain and Canada because the large demand placed on their "free" health care systems caused them to be overloaded.

We've stood in awe as Washington, refusing to hear the strong message from voters, forced on the American people a new health care system that most clearly did not want.

What more do we need to see?

Life provides us with an infinite number of situations that can teach us valuable lessons. The problems in Greece are teaching us one of those right now. If we don't learn from this history lesson, we are bound to repeat it.

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[Mike.357]

from your title I speculated that they were advised to sell off priceless items such as the Partheonon, statues and the like.

Imagine that single payer does not work. Who'd a thunk

[Guest 6.8 AR]

What's not good for them is good for us. Interesting, isn't it?

[Guest HvyMtl]

FAIR WARNING: If this bail out does not work for Greece, expect the Euro and the European Union to tank...

When/if this bail out tanks, the international stock markets will, too, taking ours with it...

We might get a SHTF event from this...

Our Parthenon is better than theirs anyway

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

FAIR WARNING: If this bail out does not work for Greece, expect the Euro and the European Union to tank...

When/if this bail out tanks, the international stock markets will, too, taking ours with it...

We might get a SHTF event from this...

Our Parthenon is better than theirs anyway

And if it DOES work at least temporally, watch the list of other countries line up for the free money.....either way the only way this could do some good is if it woke up our leaders to the fact that their plan wont work.

But since I think most of those in charge dont care and rather we fail this can only lead to more troubles and SHTF gets closer.

[Guest jackdm3]

A double-dip recession looks probable.

[seez52]

I'm afraid we may have a somewhat L shaped recession, ain't no recovery.

[Guest Dragonman]

Good ol Europe. Looking down on America laughing for the past few years. Telling the whole world we're done for as they lined up expecting to take over the leadership role once America was outta the way. Now it's their turn as has been warned to them for the past several years. And they didn't listen.

With Europeans obsession of enjoying life, aging population, and slow economic growth, their recession will last much longer and be more severe than what has already happened here in America. If the expected major recession that is predicted to hit China in a year the worlds gonna be in for a really rough ride.

[Chief07]

Save your money and stock up. It's gonna be a long bumpy ride.

[eapking]

What they need to do is jettison Socialism.

[Smith]

This is not some cranky or politically motivated demand. It is a condition based on the ugly reality of government medicine. The Times reports that economists - not right-wingers opposed to health care who want to blow up Times Square - say liberalizing "the health care industry would help bring down prices in these areas, which are among the highest in Europe."

What the heck is that!!!

[Guest 6.8 AR]

What they need to do is jettison Socialism.

What we need to do is jettison Socialism.

It won't be a double dip recession, or L-shaped. We're already on the edge of a depression.

[StPatrick]

On the plus side, the ChiComs increased their holdings of US debt by 2% today, so I guess we can put off being Europe for a few minutes, since China likes us better. If the Eurozone continues to tank, we'll keep that spot...until the Chinese real estate bubble crashes next year or in 2012. Shanghai apartments are out of control, and the central planners have not been able to put on the brakes. Combined with what appears to be mostly artificial growth (i.e. selling millions of cars domestically with no increase in gasoline consumption), our house of cards may be built on China's house of cards.