Biden pledges U.S. support to end Europe’s financial crisis

[The Northerner]

Source: The Hill

Vice President Joseph Biden on Saturday addressed the press with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and pledged the U.S. would support efforts to stem the financial crisis that has befallen Greece and potentially other countries within the European Union.

“We agreed on the importance of a resolute European action to strengthen the European economy and to build confidence in the markets,” Biden said. “And I conveyed the support of the United States of America toward those efforts and was pleased to hear the efforts that were under way on the part of the president.”

The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have pledged $145 billion to bail out the country of Greece, which has recently become overwhelmed with debt. The U.S. is the largest contributor to the IMF.

Zapatero said that ending the financial crisis quickly would go a long way to keep alive the economic recovery that is happening in parts of the EU.

“I’ve told Vice President Biden that economic recovery is under way in Europe and in the euro zone, and that it is key at the present time to overcome the crisis in the markets so as to keep up economic recovery and job creation,” he said.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/96811-biden-pledges-us-support-to-end-europes-financial-crisis

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

1. Europe has a crisis?

What about ours?

[Andy823]

2. The best thing that could happen

Is for the U.S. and the rest of the world, to get tougher regulations on investment firms and banks, to prevent this kind of mess from happening again. If entire world does not get on board, the crooks will simply play their games in countries that don't get tough with them. They all need to put a stop to banks that hide income so the super rich can avoid paying taxes on the money they stash in those countries that help them hide it!

It can be done, but it has to be world wide, and it has to be "tough" new regulations they hit them with.

[Captain Hilts]

3. We have to pay the $30billion dollars in taxes Greeks refused to pay last year? Keep their universal

healthcare system going? No.

[midnight]

5. Interesting. They get universal health care insurance.

How about we just keep that 30 billion here and pay for universal health care here...

[FailureToCommunicate]

19. +1

[DJ13]

4. That wont go over well

Were already spending on two useless wars and trying to keep our own country's finances afloat, we dont need to be propping up the EU too.

[cstanleytech]

26. Actually its 1 needless war (Iraq) and one botched war (botched cause Bush decided to invade Iraq)

but ya with the spending on those two and with us still only beginning to recover from the years of having Bush and the GOP in control (guiding us as they did as if the US was the Titanic and they decided to hit the iceberg on purpose instead of going around it) I dont see how we can honestly afford to help them bail out Greece.

[pampango]

6. Their prosperity is linked to ours. We're all in this together. "A friend in need..." n/t

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. brother. can you spare a dime?

[pampango]

14. Exactly. We build bridges and connections, the repubs build walls and create fear. n/t

[avaistheone1]

20. ~ In general the Europeans are more prosperous than us. They have universal health care for

their people, free public education through college and often beyond, and generous pensions. Europeans also put in a a shorter work-week, have longer vacations, and an earlier retirement.

The Europeans indeed have a higher standard of living, so they should be saving our asses versus the other way around.
In fact I am beginning to wish that the Europeans would invade us and impose their standard of living upon us.

:kick: :kick:

[PSPS]

7. So now US taxpayers are on the hook to the greek banksters too?

[OhioChick]

11. No shit.

:wtf:

[Po_d Mainiac]

25. Not just the Greeks who hold about a third of it

Germany and France combined hold about the same amount.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. Holy.Fuck.

:nuke:

[doc03]

10. That is Europe's problem let them solve it we have

enough problems of our own. What about our deficit?

[underpants]

12. Maybe Israel can pay us back for all the military budget we have paid for them

it's an idea

[doc03]

13. If anything Europe owes us for bailing their sorry ass

out of their wars and being the worlds police force for the last 65 years.

[monmouth]

15. Utterly ridiculous. I'm really, really starting to get p.o'd here...n/t

[Enthusiast]

16. How about we regulate

these destructive derivatives instead.

[Coco2]

17. I was under the impression that...

How can we help them? We've given every last dollar for the next 30 years to Goldman-Sachs already. Where is Geithner and Bernanle going to squeeze anymore out to 'save' Europe? Europe needs ot follow out lead on this and appoint their finance ministers from the Euro-Big-Banks boards...that sure worked well so far for us!

[Meldread]

18. Absolutely No Fucking Way.

I'm fully aware as to why Joe wants this to happen. Once countries start going down because of their insane debt, it's certain that people are going to begin looking at the debt the UK and US holds and start asking questions. So it's in our interest to keep the other bastards afloat before the chickens come home to roost.

However, I don't give a shit. I am absolutely opposed to aiding those countries - not only are their governments corrupt, which is part of why they're in trouble, but the people there are also benefiting tremendously from their government. Hell, in Greece they had 20 hour work weeks and were being paid as if the year was fourteen months long instead of twelve. If I had it that damn good, I'd be rioting too.

Sorry, they need to suck it the fuck up and cut back. I don't feel like paying for the Universal Healthcare of Europeans when we don't even have it at home. The fact that it could potentially take us down as well - due to our own out of whack fiscal policies - well, again, that's the fault of Americans and our elected leaders. It's the fault of American's who never met a war they didn't love, it's the fault of American's in line to get things like Social Security - when we knew it was unsustainable decades ago - for not demanding immediate reform.

The shit may hit the fan, and I may have to eat my fair share - but at least let it be my shit, not someone else's.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. I think this means that the US will use its votes in the IMF in favour of the proposed package

See http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imf-board-to-vote-on-40-bln-loan-to-greece-sunday-2010-05-04

This does not mean money going from the US to Europe, or Greece, directly (the US, being a member of the IMF, contributes to it, as do the other members).

[treestar]

23. Thank you.

It took 21 posts to hear someone sensible.

[avaistheone1]

24. The US by far is the largest contributer to the IMF.

IMF money comes from contributions paid by each member country. The U.S. is the biggest IMF contributor, and therefore, under the IMF's structure, has greater voting strength in IMF decisions than other countries. The biggest IMF donors are the U.S. (18% of the total); Germany (6%), Japan (6%), Britain (5%), France (5%), and Saudi Arabia (3.5%).

http://lpa.igc.org/lpv33/imf.htm

[high density]

22. Why don't they devalue the euro to more sane levels

Then we can talk.

[happyslug]

28. The Euro is UNDERVALUED based on the non-PIIGS countries

The problem with the "PIIGS", Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain", is NONE of them should have been let into the EURO-ZONE. If you exclude those four countries the EURO is doing quite well, better the the Dollar (Most OPEC Countries do most of their non-oil business with EURO countries then the US which is the chief reason the EURO is still worth $1.25, when the intention of the EURO system is that the EURO and Dollar should be One to One in value, with just slight differences of no more then a few pennies at a time).

As to the PIIGS, none of them (including Italy, through Italy may be the exception to the rule do to the level of trade between it and the rest of the Euro Countries) should have been permitted in until they meet the same finance as the rest of the Euro countries. The problem is the PIIGS are in the Euro zone and the main Euro countries have to help them solve their problems, but this means the rest of the EURO Zone have to bail the PIIGS out. How much debts of the PIIGS will Germany and France agree to take over? This is like Mississippi and Alabama in the "Dollar Zone", they are in the Dollar Zone so we can NOT leave them go under so if things go bad we have to bail them out (Thus Social Security and most of our Safety net, and the interstate highway system. have become Federal duties since WWII, so that states like Alabama and Mississippi can NOT go deeper in debt then the US as a whole if they wanted to provide such services but run out of money while doing so). Right now, each Euro country provides its own social safety net, thus it is LOCAL taxes that support such Safety nets (including roads, Railroads and even Air Service). Given the above, if a EURO country goes through economic crisis the PIIGS are undergoing today, the PIIGS biggest internal costs is the above programs and the tendency is to cut them during such economic hard times. In the US, the states provide very little of these costs so much cut something else (I.e. cut Education and Police NOT Welfare and please note much of Education is FEDERALLY funded and mandated).

France and Germany has a choice, cut the PIIGS free or do what the Federal US Government does, provide the funding of the Safety net. It is a choice the rest of the EURO Zone do NOT want to make, but it is what is facing the EURO zone today. Does the EURO zone want to be a United Country or a weak federation? A united country take care of its weakest members for the members believe ALL of their members are important AND the members believe they need EVERY member and each will sacrifice for the betterment of another member undergoing hardship. On the other hand a Federation leaves each federal member survive on its own, if one member fails the other leave it go. France and Germany (and the rest of the Euro Zone) must decide are they independent states of member of the same state as the PIIGS.

Side note: While the US is technically a Federation of independent states, but for all practical purposes we have been one country since we won out Independence from Britain. Thus the US is a united country (And the Federal Government has slowly been taking over States functions for 200 years as the US becomes more and more a united country), and the Euro zone has to decide what it is, a weak federation or a united country? What the EURO zone decides to do with the PIIGS will show if the leadership of the EURO zone view themselves as a united country or a weak federation.

[sarcasmo]

27. Job talk here, put that money to use in this Country. No more World Policing.

We police financially and with our military. When will they talk about jobs, during the election cycle. More money borrowed off of our backs to be payed back by future generations.

[unkachuck]

29. sorry Joe....

....I ain't buying it....

....the free-market capitalists created these ponzi schemes and bubbles, suckered everyone in, profited, raided government treasuries with blackmail bailouts and now they expect us, the people of the world, to pick up their tab?

....last week the people of Greece were saying 'fuck you' and now the wall street casino gang and their Washington stooges are beginning to sweat....since they were going to pull this same austerity shit here in the US, next year after after the election....

....time to stop playing take-it-up-your-ass capitalism and SOCIALIZE! (for the outlandish sum we've paid in homage to capitalist banking, we could have had a beautiful profitless government run national banking system serving the public interest)

....default, go back to your own currency, take care of your own domestic needs, devalue if necessary and stop playing global capitalism....it doesn't work.