We were told by a few that yesterday's post was extremely long to read...
Sawwy..
Sometimes we forget this is 2013 and attention spans tend to be rather short in comparison to days gone by..
For instance, the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 went on for Hours... Hour upon Hour of verbal grandiosity and the people who sat and listened, did so with total eagerness and enthrallment--
To people of the mid 19th century, listening to two orators bloviate was entertainment...
To people of the mid 19th century, listening to two orators bloviate was entertainment...
Now we live in a soundbite age..
So we'll see if we can be accommodating in today's post. We're going to try to summarize the whole Cyprus situation up to the present through a Q&A with each answer no more than 25 words... Some responses, we may only use 1 or 2 words...
Let's begin..
Q: The Cyprus banks are finally open after 13 days including weekends... All is well right?
A: Um, no...
Q: How so?
A: The banks in Cyprus are nothing more than humanized ATMs-- 300 euro limit withdraw per person per day..
Q: That's not good.. but if that's the worst, well not bad considering, right?
A: People leaving Cyprus are not allowed to take more than 3000 euros with them... The rest will be confiscated...
Q: Oh.. well just those two things, right?
A: In addition, a ban on cashing of checks and barring businesses from transferring money abroad unless showing it is for imports.
Q: So what is the currency rate between euros to US dollars?
A: One euro = $1.28. 300 euros = $384
Q: That's really not much is it to withdraw... quite a pittance, yes?
A: Yes but people get what they deserve.
Q: What do you mean?
A: Twelve days of Cyprus banks closed and people protesting peaceably with signs and singing; they don't get it..
Q: Get what?
A: They have no future.. no nation.. no hope.. Poof. Their one economic lifeblood-- offshore banking now killed. No revenue stream to pay back loans.
Q: Well Cyprus knew what they were doing right?
A: No. Parliamentary vote on deal was skipped; Nation utterly naive about need to stay in eurozone.
Q: Well Cyprus was/is in a real economic bind.. what would you have done differently Smarty?
A: Would have negotiated with Germany: 'FULL 100% bailout loan or we leave EU instantly'; No bluff.. Comply or Die
Q: Well how much power do you really think you would have had? Cyprus is a tiny-tiny nation with population less than a million...
A: If Cyprus was so unimportant the troika would have offered Zero. But they are.. Once a dam breaks...
Q: Anything else on Cyprus real quick?
A: Deposits of more than 100,000 euros will be frozen i.e. No access.
Q: Two brief questions as we close this Q&A.. The first is why does it seem people keep taking 'It' from their governments such as going on in Cyprus?
A: Complacency, disbelief, fear of standing out, fear of losing stuff, blind trust in System, etc. Very little different than Jews of early 1930s Nazi Germany...
Q: You Must explain..
A: Jews had rights slowly stripped; assets seized.. capital controls placed. When they tried escaping, they were searched- cash confiscated.. like in Cyprus.
Q: Last question for now... Can any of this happen in the US?
A: Absolutely. Going to feel even worse when it happens because we're kept in dark.. We WANT to be kept in dark.
Q: That's not true..
A: If Cyprus-like money controls happened here, we'd freeze up. Plenty of opportunity to withdraw cash presently; to prepare-- so few do... One big joke.
Q: Good point..
A: Can't prepare for the unexpected After it occurs folks...
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