RICH COUNTRIES TRASHED GREECE AND SPAIN

During the housing boom and bubble, people from rich countries bought vacations homes at increasingly high prices. Some greedy "investors" bought dozens of vacations homes, thinking to make a killing renting them out.

People who live in Greece and Spain were encouraged to get loans on their homes. It was considered to be old fashioned to just pay off your home so one could have someplace to live during retirement.

Vacation homes in Greece and Spain were snapped up by people in Great Britain, Germany and France.

When the recession hit, foreigners just allowed the vacation homes to go into foreclosure. However, the Greeks and Spaniards tried to keep the homes that had been in their families for generations.

No one seems to care that the Greeks and Spaniards were trying to keep their homes when there was almost no money coming from their major industry, tourism. Did you know that some government workers in Spain are continuing to work even when they have not been paid AT ALL in over a year?

The rich countries are almost entirely responsible for ruining Greece and Spain. And the rich countries feel NO responsibility for allowing rich taxpayers in Greece and Spain to hide their money in Switzerland.

AUSTERITY DOES NOT WORK. It makes people suffer needlessly.

Think of money as if it were stored grain. You store the grain for the time of great harvests and give it out during the times of poor harvest so people do not starve. Sometimes it is necessary to go into debt to buy grain from other countries so that your people do not starve.

YOU IGNORE THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR PROFITABLE ACTS AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

Europe is teaching us all how to get countries together for the profit of all. Did you think there was no down side? It is like you all saying, "Join our family and we will all do better together. But do not expect us to help you if you get into trouble. OUR money is our own. YOUR money is useful to make us all rich, but that is all you second class citizens are worth to us."

If this makes you feel guilty, you can help by going on vacation to Spain or Greece.