Quote Originally Posted by FunkyDexter View Post
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Ah, I think I get where you're coming from. You're talking about the relative pain between the position you were in when you were spending vs the position you're in when you're trying to pay it back. I'm talking about the actual pain you're in at any given point in time. Both are useful measures and need considering. It's the actual pain that truly constrains how much the Greek government can pay back but it's the relative pain that the people will feel because that describes the drop in their living standards.

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Couple this with your link to a rather interesting article regarding Deficit: it shows deficit as a measure of GDP. Since the UK and the US - two strong currencies - are in a similar position to Greece, why is Greece having a hard time? Obviously, we are taking these numbers at face value.

This is part of the economists folly. There's a very small band in which economic indicators hold true. Once a divergence occurs, there are so many variables that it becomes hard to predict. The ability to determine the major influences at any given time is rare.

As an example, the US feds controlling base interest rates can, to a certain extent, steer economic activity. However, as we can see, it is doing nothing, currently (some argue that it'd be worse without it - but that just demonstrates ignorance). So, an economic rudder goes from a clear controller to completely and utterly broken.

At the end of the day, we are dealing with people, who, ultimately, are irrational. No matter how smart, well intentioned, or influential, there's no getting away from the Furby effect.