The American subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 and the subsequent crash has everything to do with the current European financial crisis.

American bankers were using risky banking tactics and purposely creating bad financial products that appeared to add up on paper using a method called Collateral Debt Obligation. Bear Stearns was built almost entirely on this tactic, and disappeared as part of the Great Bailout (aka money that went directly into the bankers pockets from taxpayers) The right and the media could easily pin Obama for being a "communist" but any president would have had to do the same thing (not pro-Obama by any stretch of the imagination)

What happened next? The Troubled Asset Relief Program is established (TARP) giving bankers another shady way to move money for nothing, and also the Fed drops interest rates to incredibly low levels, where they remain today. Any talk of raising these rates sends the stock market for a serious loop. The American media and sheeple hardly recognize the magnitude of this crisis in fact its largely ignored by the media, now magically unemployment is back down to 5.3% which is a completely bogus number.

Europe was rocked by the crash of 2008. Many European countries had to "borrow money" for bailouts similar to that of the American banks. The fact is is that there are multiple European countries that should have never joined the Euro currency which is in and of itself an incredible banking conspiracy. In every case, both the bankers and the politicans knew it was a bad idea, but the rich want to stay rich and they went for it anyways.

Greece signed its first μνημόνιο under the leadership of George Papandreou, and the second one under Antonis Samaras a few years later. The fact is is that the debt to GDP ratio of Greece has exploded in the past 5 years disproportionately to anything any Westernized country has ever seen. Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and other smaller countries have experienced the same explosion of debt but they get less coverage in American media due to our romanticization of Greece here.

All of these world leaders (on both sides) are educated at the same American and British elite universities. Papandreou and Samaras both went to Yale and Yianis Varoufakis the as-of-today former Minister of Economics went to Oxford. Its all the same people playing the same game. Varoufakis foresaw the American mortgage crisis of 08 in the early oughts and has several academic publications about the subject.

Europe followed America's moves exactly. Massive amounts of "bailout" money given that "couldn't be repaid." The European Central Bank has slammed interest rates and the bankers are getting money for nothing. TARP exists in Europe as the European Stabilization Mechanism (ESM) Same shit, different day essentially.

The rich have gotten incredibly wealthy from this phenomenon, and its not a coincidence. John Paulsen the famous hedge fund manager bet on the crash of 08, became a billionaire, and just last month gave a $400 million gift to Harvard. Every luxury automaker from Mercedes to Ferrari is reporting record sales and profits (luxury cars have incredible profit margins, everything else has barely any profit)

It is economic neoimperialism. Its not as black and white as "the Greeks borrowed too much money they can't pay back." Its an economic game, and the sheeple are the ones who lose. I know many of us on this server make absolutely dick for money and that isn't gonna change due to our manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas for cheap later as a part of the landmark trade deals of the past 3 decades (NAFTA, and the current one than Obama is trying to pass without the support of the Democrats, and John Boehner very recently just took his first ride on Air Force One last week...coincidence?)

Every Greek (Portuguese, Italian, et. al.) business that has to be "privatized" under the predatory terms of the bailout loans ends up being bought by a German company for pennies on the dollar with loans that have rock bottom interest rates. Greece "borrowed too much money" for the expenses for the 2004 Olympics - however the massive German company Siemens who was contracted for much of the construction was found guilty of mass counts of fraud and embezzlement - the CEO paid a paltry fine of 180k Euro and was sentenced to 24 months in jail. We are seeing the same trends with every Olympics and World Cup (Russia Winter Olympics, World Cup Qatar, World Cup Russia, etcetc) Who ----really----- borrowed that money? Also, think about everyone who doesn't get caught.

The measures against Greece have completely stifled any potential for growth. Greece only has 11 million people, 3 million of which live below the poverty line, and 1.5 million are unemployed. You can't get blood from a stone. Every "bailiout" the rich businessmen get money and the poor are screwed with the bill. The same erosion of a basic standard of living and employment has been happening in America since 2008. The world economy never bounced back, and it won't. China will (and has) emerged as an economic superpower, as well as Russia (BRICS - the Asian equivalent of the European Investment Bank) Everything will be different, and we all have gotten used to "surviving in this economy." We have been placated by the advent of the IPhone and mobile media.

I would recommend reading a book. I understand this cuts into EQ time and running guilds full of grimey, rule-breaking nubs with whom many (few) of us wouldn't even want to associate.

I have read a lot in both English and Greek and would love to have a real discussion BOTH about the global financial crisis and how to play EQ. Very few of us here want to have either one of these discussions.

P.S. Shaman is such a joke to get to 60 (as well as Cleric) which is why we even get so much of this nonsense on this server in the first place. Good luck in Velious guise, you're gonna need it

Point to Troubledour.

great derail tho - lets just hope BDA don't tolerate camp lawyers in their guild.

You've lost this thread by a landslide. Lets derail <3

what was this thread even about before?

BDA's involvement in the subprime mortgage crisis. Geez, did you even read the thread?

I read the thread very well, my friend. Its classic P99 - people who run their mouths and have no clue what they're talking about