Threats Of Civil War

The Market Ticker

Thursday, April 29. 2010
Posted by Karl Denninger

Just reported: Greece will not cut public salaries or there wll be civil war.

There's the gauntlet folks. It means that no "assistance" can actually succeed, because it is not possible to get the fiscal situation under control without significant cuts in public spending.

This, incidentally, is the same problem we have in the US, and why attempts to deal with our fiscal situation at both state and federal levels is going to end up in the same place eventually. The majority of our budget is comprised of handouts of one form or another, whether they be Social Security, Medicare, or public-sector salaries.

The "unified opposition" by public-sector employee unions (just look at what Florida teachers ran when their pension handouts and tenure were threatened) says everything you need to know.

Greece has to be cut loose. The best way to do it is for Germany to walk away from the Euro and return to the Mark for its currency, leaving the rest of Europe to twist in the wind.

I see no other solution. Threats of civil war, which are effectively what the public sector unions here in the US have also threatened repeatedly since 2008 (and to which we have responded by refusing to cut their salaries and benefits) mean that we have the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.

All such governments who refuse to take on these bullies and meet that threat with immediate charges of inciting overthrow of the government by force (in the US this charge is known as seditious conspiracy) will fail.

We have refused to make clear that such threats will result in charges of this sort - and so have other nations such as Greece. Yet unless this is made crystal clear and this sort of approach by these unions is put down immediately all nations beset by this sort of action will fail both politically and economically.

Simply put the artificial support proffered to the financial sector should have never been put forward, but having done so, the public must now bear the cost, here, today, and immediately.

Those are the only choices folks. Greece, and indeed the entire European Union, will ultimately disintegrate (as will America) if this is not done.