German tabloid tells Greeks to get up earlier

In Washington this past week - one lonely Senator demanded that some unemployment benefits be paid for in the federal budget, instead of adding to defecit spending. He was accused of being "cruel and heartless." What a joke.

America, and our new president, is marching on the Greek path to economic suicide, but in a bigger way. The voice of the BILD newspaper in this, must become the voice of all sane people in the western world. We must stop this political behavior that will destory us all.

Having been on vacation in Greece for two weeks....I have to agree with Bild. I don't believe you can find a single Greek in the whole country.....who puts in 40 hours of real work a week.....for an entire year. Four Germans probably could do the work of six Greeks...and still leave work an hour early each day.

I don't want to knock Greece much.....because it is an interesting place and certainly loaded with history. But their culture in the past forty years.....has turned into this union slum of sorts. For every $100 they pay in taxes....they are getting $102 back.....and you'd eventually have to ask where the $2 came from....which spoils the whole dream.

Comment is hard, but also absolutely true. Greece has been pulling everyone's nerves all-around, from Turkey about the EU entry and Cyprus, Macedonia couldn't even name their country. etc.... and all the time they where lazy arses enjoying the EU funds.... Germans and anyone else shouldn't give them a cent

@Edin:

Amen. They show all characteristics of arrogance. Although I dislike Bild, I have to agree with them in taking a harsh position towards Greece. They our simply spoiled and they have never been in the position that allows to behave like that.

Things said in haste and vitrol often come back to haunt a nation. Encouraging advice and protestant work ethics would probably help greece more than attacks. If the Americans didn 't foot so much of Germany's defence bills, it might effect the programs in that society.

If the US can forgive and forget with a Marshall Plan, why not a European Union, which Grece is part of? Useful advice and support will bind two people, harrasment will only make enemies. Germany already has enough of them.

I have to agree with Merkel. This mud throwing through the media is not helpful and has to stop now.

Priority nr.1 is to stop financial games ongoing against Greece behind the scenes. They worsen the crisis and are clearly aimed at destabilizing the European currency as a whole.

It doesnt really matter how short-sighted and most of all self-destructive the strikes in Greece are.

Although it may seem tempting to let the Greek protestors be hit in the face by the reality they got used to ignore by living on a loan , nothing good for Germany will come out of it

Letting the whole country fall flat on its face would be a catastrophy for the entire EU and especially Germany as it once again would be the one that has to pay the car back out of the mudpit.

Should Germany give Greece a financial injection if there is really no other way left. Absolutely.

No matter if the tax payer likes that. Because the alternative would be much MUCH more costly than the average german tax payer can even imagine at the moment.

Its not worth letting the Euro and with that the EU go down the toilet just for the sake of putting one over on the stupid part of Greece's population or letting the average Bild reader wallow in the mud like a happy pig.

Because bringing the Euro down to its knees and further fuel conflicts between EU members is exactly what the instigators of the financial games aimed at worsening Greece's sitation are aimed at.

"If the US can forgive and forget with a Marshall Plan, why not a European Union, which Greece is part of?"

(wenddiver)

You're comparing apples and oranges. The German people always have had a hard work ethic and strong industry, so the key ingredients already were in place for future growth when the Marshall Plan went into effect. It was just a matter of injecting fuel into an already well-oiled and powerful engine.

In contrast, Greece's economic engine is a sad busted and rusty 2-stroke that hasn't been productive in many decades. It needs a major and powerful overhaul before it can take any fuel. Too many of its nationals are lazy left-leaning socialists who would prefer to paint their rowboats and drink Ouzo and bad wine all day. Throwing money at Greece now would be akin to throwing it out the window.

While it's true that a "bailout" would be much cheaper in the long run, it's equally true that the Greeks must accept the responsibility that goes with self-government, namely self control.

We all know that we cannot live indefinitely by continuing to borrow. Eventually those bills must come due, and with interest! Far too many unions have priced their workers out of the market, and government workers are often poster children for this exact situation. They moan that "essential services" will be cut if their numbers are cut, yet demand ever higher wages and perks.

While the cure for this disease may be painful, it's nothing to the agony of death. It's time for the Greek government, and the Greek people, to step up and accept the responsibilities that come with nationhood.

wa

Thoroughly ironic that The Republic was written in such a nation

Well, every nation is ultimately responsible for their own finances. It's unfortunate that Greece is faced with such a crises. But the country must look within, and realze that it has the ability to re-create itself. Difficult moments offer opprotunites to change and grow.

There will always be problems with governmants that don't operate conservatively and efficiently. Every world leader should realize this.

YES, NOW THE PROBLEM IS ... SLEEPING ...

SO, TELL US THE NUMBER OF GERMANY'S UNEMPLOYED 20-40 Y.O. WHO GET THE BENEFIT FROM THE STATE (E.U.) .... AND THEY CAN SLEEP ALL THE DAY !!!! FOR ALL THEIR LIFE !!!!

ALL THE CAMPUS LIKE IN BOCHUM IS LIKE THAT AND YOU KNOW IT ...

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY GET SOME EXTRA MONEY IN THE MAIN TRAIN STATION, WHERE IS FULL OF JUNKIES AND WHERE THE DRUG DEALING IS REALLY "ON" .... THE HAD WORKERS WITH THE BOTTLE OF BEER IN THE HAND ... AND THE JOIN IN THE OTHER !!!!!

.... IF WE SLEEP ALL DAY, HOW WE HAVE BUILD OUR COUNTRY AFTER YOUR "VISIT" ???

DON'T ASK HOW YOU BUILD YOURS, BECAUSE THE ANSWER IS, WITH WHAT YOU GRAB AND YOU NEVER GIVE BACK FROM ALL EUROPE ....

THIEVES ... YOU'RE REALLY PATHETIC AND SICK ...

HAGUE IS NEXT TO NUREMBERG FOR CRIMINAL NATIONS LIKE YOU . AND IF THIS A LIE, WHAT IS MERGEL DOING THERE???? WHY SHE ASKS FOR SOME EXTRA "TIME" TO PAY YOUR DEPT????

FOR THE GERMANS TO HAVE THEIR FREE JOINS, AND HAVE ALL THE TIME TO PLAY THE "CLEVER" ????

WAIT AND YOU WILL SEE ..

YOUR NEXT HUMILIATION YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, IS REALLY NEAR ....

MAYBE THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SO NERVOUS ....

Edin!! the Turk!! Is unhappy becouse the greeks are lasy people!! Jesus Christ!!! 10.000.000 greeks have a PIB of 300.000.000.000 $ almost the same of 85.000.000.000 Turks!!! 8,5 times more productives!! The Turk has a oppinion about the european issues!!! What a decadance!! This is the result of this kind interior conftotations!! Germans!! Think about it! The Greeks are the last frontiere!

One of the main problems with the EU is trying to blend cultures.

We can complain about the Greeks all we want but they have been living their lifestyle this way for many years. Also compared to the work life in THe USA most all Europeans would be considered lazy.

The Greeks are a differant culture than the Germans or other northern Eurpoeans and British. However, that is why people from the Americas like to vacation in Europe is to see the differant cuiltures especially the ones that their families emigrated from. The EU is helping to destroy the ethnic cultures and this eventually will kill tourism. Tourism is big business in Europe. Without tourism Europe will lose lots of foreign money.

Europe best find a way for this to work or the EU will eventually fall apart.

As for me I say all the better. Find some new arrangement. Maybe the EU just needs to get a little smaller or become a loose confederation. There is no need for a United States of Europe.

Let's see some of the laughable theories at play in the responses.

A guy vacations in Greece, and decides people there don't work. Hard facts there I tell ya.

Another talks about Greeks spending lavishly. Without realizing that Greece has the lowest private debt of any Eurozone nation. Half as much as the average. It was the state sector that overspent, so at best you can accuse Greeks of having a massively inflated form of workfare.

Yet another talks about why the Marshall plan could take root in Germany but not in genetically inferior Greece. Neglecting the fact that Germany took all the hard currency out of Greece with a horrid punishing loan enacted to allow Germany to occupy Greece, and what they left behind was an internecine fight that saw Communist and Slav countries to the north funding the guerrillas who resisted the Nazis, in the hopes of rending northern Greece into the Communist Bloc. The 82% of Greek Marshall plan monies were spent on the military to establish a bulwark during the Civil War. In other words, Germany decimated the country, took a huge onerous loan, and for its behavior, was rewarded with the equivalent of $37 billion in today's money (if you look at what the USA paid in relation to GDP). Yes, I know, Germany has a well-oiled and powerful engine, you don't have to remind Greeks of that.

Then there's the matter of Germany giving Greece $33 billion over the years in structural funds. of course, what isn't noted, is that Greece also bought $170 billion worth of German exports in the last 1o years. How is this high-cost, low-interest thing working out for Germany anyways? I hear their businesses squash the competition, as the strength of an absurdly high Euro doesn't seem to be impacting Germany's export machine. The South part of the Eurozone hears a giant sucking sound howeever as the economies rely on construction and the like. If Greece had control of its currency, maybe it could address the imbalance, but Germany is keeping a tight fist on monetary policy. In the USA, we say the Germans are channeling Herbert Hoover.

Lastly, Germany's banks dabbled in credit default swaps, and now you're on the hook. Germans are insulting Greeks looking for bailouts. It's funny, as a US taxpayer, I didn't complain when my tax money went to Germany last year. Over $20 billion came your way to bail you out because your state-owned bank KfW got into massive trouble with bad investments and bad bets. So the Greek gov't is profligate. Then Germans are horrible gamblers who can't pay their debts. Why look to Americans when your banks lost their bets? Why did you go looking for handouts?

Encouraging them to get up earlier is a start, but the real problem is getting them to do something once they're up.

germany can't stand that no one in europe want their leading.

not greece, but no one want to hear from germany, what time they want us to wake up, what we have to do when we, if we have the right to go swimming, or what time we're going to f@@@, just because germans are not able to ... !!!

we all know, and you do the best in all your miserable history to make us know, that you really have many complex and when you feel feeble, you act spasmodic.

you know guys, we're tired of your complex, and many times till now, all europe pays your spasmodic reactions, just because you're not so smart as you believe. as a matter of fact you're not smart at all ...

big factories, ports, industries, cities, is not the best when periodically you do something very stupid, and you destroy everything.

IMAGINE YOU'RE THE ONLY NATION WHO ARE SO PROUD FOR MERCEDES, BUT YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING AND YOU STAND, AND YOU TRY NOT TO THINK, THAT ALL THE GUNS OF THE U.S. CAMP IN STUTTGART ARE TURNED ON MERCEDES FACTORY .... TILL TODAY !!!!

WHAT A HUMILIATION.....

and after that situation that you put your self from time to time, you want us to follow you !!!!!

are you crazy or you think that all europeans are having Alzheimer????

ANY WAY, IS RAINING HERE, AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR PATHETIC COMMENTS ABOUT US. WE DON'T HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO DO, SO WE HAVE ALL THE TIME TO "PLAY" WITH YOUR " BIG PROBLEM" ....

BUT SOME TIME YOU MAST SEE A DOCTOR ALSO .... SUMMER IS NEAR HERE, AND NO ONE IS CRAZY TO DEAL WITH YOUR SITUATION ....

YOU KNOW WELL THAT NO ONE TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY, AND THAT'S WHY YOU ACT LIKE KIDS. ALSO, ALL EUROPE KNOWS HOW YOU LOVE MONEY, AND HOW MISERS YOU'RE. AND THIS IS THE REASON YOU LOOSE THEM ALL FROM TIME TO TIME ... BECAUSE YOU THINK "MONEY" EVERY FU@@ING HOUR ....

HEHEHEHE

MY MONEY

MY MONEY

MAMMY .....

I feel sorry of this depressive people. Sorry guys that's life there is up and there is down.If somebody cannot accept that they are down ,then they really have a big problems...relax....

@Dan Asta : thank you for being objective...

What you, Germans, don't know is that your country is a model, prototypical, ideal country for us, Greeks.

We never fail to refer to your system, because ours sucks, and how much we would love to have your discipline in the state.

We always mention the perfection of your roads when we hit a bump -sometimes crater- and we thank God we weren't hurt.

We feel jealous of you because you have the highest percentage of solar produced electricity when we SHOULD have had it.

We admire how clean your country is, because in some areas garbage is disposed of once a month.

We buy your cars, even if affording them means three-year family austerity measures.

But, you can't insult us when you haven't the slightest freaking idea what life is for the average Greek; how many hours we have to work a week, month, year to make half of your lowest salary; when we pay 18% interest to our credit cards.....and so on.

Please, don't be biased and insulting, if you don't really know what's going on.

These words and actions are part of a larger growing part of Nationalism that will bring down Germany...Again...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4bede68a-2aef-11df-886b-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss&nclick_check=1

the historic truth that you can't stand ............

Hello, I am Greek and I am not afraid to say so. I am tired of us saying all the time "Oh the civilisation we had", this is over, and this was due to Ancient Greeks. Anyway people must prove what they worth all the time.

I agree that the situation in Greece is very deeply corrupted. But here I want to have your help :

When you have 2 parties only which govern, one after the other, and in fact the only thing that they have achieved is stealing public money and bying so much equipment for our defense because all the other things that they have achieved must be considered as mandatory not achievements. ( Ok maybe the entry in the European Union )and at the same time there is not any other serious party to choose when voting.. whom to choose to govern? And among who? shall we choose the communist party? which I must tell you here that it obtains so much money which could have saved Greece but they are hypocritical, more than the others because they do not want to govern, just criticize from a safe side without taking any responsibilities. I would like that you propose us a solution, what would you do in our place?

Secondly, Greek people who work in the private sector take as an average salary per month net, from 750 to 780 euro. And they do work from the morning ( 08:00 until sometimes 19:00 or 20:00 pm ). When you see Greek people sitting in the cafeterias not working those ones are either some public sector people ( who start working ok from 08:00 and they leave at 13:00 or 14:00 in many public sector jobs), the unemployed who take every month an amount of 640 maybe. Not all of us. For example my mother, 54 years old, works at a department store selling children clothing, she gets 840 euro monthly net and she works all day until 21:00 pm. She does work also on Saturdays and maybe some Mondays she take this day off if there is not a problem. So, she usually works 6 days per week. All the people working in Greece in department stores work like that and they are not many.

Unfortunately I must admit something but I will ask you what would you do if you were in my place : If you knew that your government steals your money, and all the public money and you had a chance to save some money by not paying for a doctor's visit ( when other people would pay ) because this doctor is your friend, what would you do? You would find another doctor in order to pay him or you would do this small corruption which adds to this huge system of corruption. So, who is really to blame? The politicians are staling but they keep on getting elected from us, so they steal and because they steal and we know it we say to ourselves "with the first chance given to me I will also steal because I will not be the victim, and everyone would do the same in my place".Now do you have a proposal to give to me?

All the politicians everywhere in the world steal, but they hide better.

Thank you

My best

Kelly