Regarding the Greek financial crisis, why would a Greek default sink the euro? If the European central bank held tough and let Greece work through its troubles without a bailout, that tough stance should STRENGTHEN the euro, no? Instead euro investors are acting as though they want a central bank bailout. If I’m a holder of euros and I see the European central bank bailing out first Greece, then Portugal, Spain and Ireland with newly minted money, how would that bolster confidence in the euro?

The movie was Being There with Peter Sellers. You’re probably thinking of Dustin Hoffman as Rain Man.
Jerzy Kosiński’s novel was a sort of zen koan about how stupidity manages to rise to the top. After seeing the movie, and being impressed by the philosophical-sounding title, I went to find the book and was mildly surprised to find it a lot more zen than German existentialist. The book reads almost like a screen play, there is so little difference between the two.

The passage quoted above neatly matches our political moment in the U.S., but with Larry Summers cast improbably in the Chance role. Of course, that analogy depends on equating Chance the momentary ‘economic advisor’ to Summers. During the movie Chance moves from ‘intellectually challenged’ (is that the term Palin approves of?) domestic employee, to trusted confidant of a billionaire, lover of said billionaire’s soon-to-inherit gold-digging spouse, economic advisor to the president, nominee presumptive of the (one can only assume) Republican party, and apparent second-coming of Christ.

Starting instead with the ‘nominee presumptive’ role, the analogy to the half-term Governor of Alaska is probably a better fit. (Half-Baked Alaska?)

Actually, there is so much tax revenue left on the table that raising the money is the least of their problems. They did the same shit to window-dress their way into the Eurozone. They’ll do the same to get out of this mess…anything to avoid a bailout. They are so against a bailout that, should they be given one, they’d piss away the money just for spite.

The trick will be to do this without scuttling the economy and/or popping asset bubbles…when you start taxing someone that has a house, a condo, a summer place on the islands, a yacht, three cars, yet declares 15k Euro income (and you let him because you don’t have tracking infrastructure in place), shit’s going to jump off.

Will gobal finance find itself dependent on a lone Spartan gurding the Acropolis with a pan-style Greek pizza ?

Atlas, where are you ?

http://www.well.com/user/davidu/atlas_jp40.jpg

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6191#more

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/jim-grant-california-and-greece

I remember mentioning that on May 24th of last year – among OTHER things on that same thread…

Glad you’re a FAN… :-)

cvienne

I remember watching that movie long ago and being totally confused as to what was going on. Intriguing how memorable it was. I guess I can’t have been too young the first time I saw it and I think I must have seen it since with better understanding. I can’t remember the name of it. Dustin Hoffman was Chance the Gardener.