and not only the case of Greece. This is not happening in a vacuum due to the "antics" of Greeks. (That kind of rhetoric defaming a nation deserves a much stronger answer, but I don't want this post deleted.) This is happening in dozens of nations, and Greece is merely the poster child for a program that eventually will also be imposed on the American people. When they come to cut Social Security here, it will be attributed to the "antics" of spendthrift Americans.

Your CNN-assisted talking point is the same bullshit that right-wingers say about the US: that half the people in the US "don't pay taxes." It is a lie. The majority of working Greeks pay payroll taxes, sales taxes, and a variety of charges. They provide most of the revenues. A lot of people don't pay income tax because they don't make enough income -- just like in the United States. (You are blaming the poor. As punishment, I wish I could stick you in a Greek town to work for 700 euros a month and fight for survival, and then have ignorant Americans complain that you're not paying enough in income taxes.) Meanwhile, rich Greek people evade income taxes, very much like the rich in the United States.

The Slovakia point is a pawn forwarded to justify a program that actually benefits German and French banks -- NOT Greeks. Actually, we agree. The taxpayers of other nations should not pay for the "Greek" debt, which mostly consists of interest on prior bridge loans and "bailouts." Greece should default on the odious debt. The TBTFs should be liquidated.