PayPal shuts down in Greece

It could happen here sooner than we think unless the idiots in Washington put a stop to our outrageous debt.

http://seekingalpha.com/news/261275...eece-bitcoin-sees-revival?uprof=46#email_link

 

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no shock.

They just had on the news that a couple in NYC had their charge card declined, and couldn't get home.

Some fellow Greeks donated some money for them to get home

 

Leave it to the bankrupt Greeks to embrace Bitcoins -- that should teach them a lesson they will never forget, when everything goes POOF with their last €uro.

 

Wow, did not think about that.

 

Not to get political, but Bush left a deficit of $1.4 trillion. The current deficit is $483 billion. I think something IS being done about it as two thirds of it is gone now.

More on the federal deficit here: http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.html

Please have a some knowledge of a subject before you write about it.

 

every year we are more and more in debt as a nation.

 

There is a HUGE difference between the budget deficit and the so-called national debt. The first can be "cured" with bogus BLS numbers and rosy-scenario projections; the second is locked in concrete, affecting interest rates and exchange rates all over the world.

The U.S. is already technically insolvent, borrowing money to pay the interest on the debt. At the end of the fiscal year, the national debt will grow some more, depending on the size of the budget deficit after all the bean-counting's done. From Google images, year not specified:





For the numerically challenged, that's $10.1 trillion vs. $17.6 trillion.

 

I buy coins on the Italian Ebay (in Euros) and what I have noticed in the last two years is the dollar is getting stronger and stronger to the Euro and we might see it match the value of the Euro by this time next year.
And that's good news for us.

 

Since you already got political, I was referring to the national DEBT, not the deficit...go drink some more Obamaid and stop blaming Bush.

 

By knowledge to you happen to mean this, which is from the website you linked......

"Although the federal deficit is the amount each year by which federal outlays in the federal budget exceed federal receipts, the gross federal debt increases each year by substantially more than the amount of the deficit each year. That is because a substantial amount of federal borrowing is not counted in the budget."

Yes one should have some knowledge on the subject and knowledge about how numbers and statistics are manipulated.

Insert foot in mouth

Hey now we're not going to be able to have this conversation if you use actual facts...../sarcasm

 

Actually it's bad news for us, as a strong dollar works against exports and weakens American businesses. Example:

Today:
$1 = €0.90 | Price of a U.S. computer in Eurozone = $639 = €575.

Next Year:
$1 = €0.98 | Price of a U.S. computer in Eurozone = $639 = €626.

European sales decline due to price increase; American companies may lay off workers due to lower sales. Eurozone computer users buy from other countries like Taiwan. In addition, we face increasing criticism that a stronger dollar exports INFLATION worldwide.

 

The buying power for the American Dollar is getting stronger and stronger and I'm liking it

I'll take that any day over a weaker Dollar.

 

Greece is not a real proxy for the US. They owe way more as a percent of GDP than we do, they have like 55% of their population working for the government, free college, and can retire with 80% benefits at 48. Now, are we heading down this path? Yeah, but there are at least 20 countries closer to Greece and the US I can think of. I just wonder who would be our "German sugar mama" if it happened to us.....

 

Maybe China, our loyal trading partner

 

China was our great benefactor, more or less, through the 1990s until the crash. They contributed to our prosperity by sending us a LOT of cheap goods which helped keep inflation down for the average American household.

They have their own problems now, including a stock market that's gotten thoroughly whacked the last few weeks. That could be temporary, of course.

As of December 2014, China holds about $1.31 trillion in U.S. debt, and Japan's right behind them, with about $1.23 trillion. The next (four) biggest holders, at much lower levels, are countries in OPEC, Caribbean banks, Brazil, and Belgium (a proxy for the ECB).

Only about a third of our national debt is held by foreign countries.

 

Just wait for 2016 boys....

 

May well be so, could even come this year. What Americans sometimes seem to forget, however, is that the EUR-USD rate has varied widely in the past 15+ years: between 0.825 ($ per €) in October 2000, and 1.599 in July 2008. So another dollar-euro parity would not be big news.

Christian

 

And, as I pointed out previously, it's not necessarily good. Both the Canadian and Australian dollar have been at parity various times since the crash, but hardly anyone talks about it, and it doesn't mean much.

 

I was wondering if any bank-related transfer system would stop functioning for our Greek friends. I would imagine any funds transferred to a Greek banking institution would be trapped, frozen and inaccessible to Greek depositors as capital controls become more stringent. Cash or precious metals will be king until all the issues are sorted out in Greece.

 

Mea culpa!