[pan69]

>> Governments do not produce money; they take it from taxes.

Exactly. Where does Greece thinks the bail out money they received came from? That's right, the tax payers in the other EU countries.

Greece saying NO is not Greece giving the finger to Europe, it's Greece giving the finger to the people of Europe.

[dragonwriter]

> Greece saying NO is not Greece giving the finger to Europe, it's Greece giving the finger to the people of Europe.

Its not giving the finger to anyone. The Greek government was offered terms, which it could accept or reject (neither of which constitutes "giving the finger" to anyone, choosing to accept or reject an offer is just a routine part of negotiating.) The government gave this choice to the voters with a recommendation, rather than acting unilaterally on it. The voters made a choice to reject the terms, which was the recommendation given by the government.

[dguaraglia]

Greece is giving the finger to the EU in the same way Argentina gave the finger to the IMF: it wasn't the people that "chose" to bail out the banks, it was the government at the time. Why should every Greek person today be held accountable for what a very small subset of them did back then?

I really dislike people saying "the Greek are doing this or that". Taken to an extreme, that is that kind of generalization and simplification that leads to xenophobia.

[atemerev]

The bailout was also wrong, of course. But the damage was done long time ago, and it is irrecoverable in any moral way. It's impossible to make Greek politicians and government workers sell back their possessions and privileges.

[moogly]

Please. The EU != Europe

I'm a citizen of a European country (Sweden), but I don't feel that I was given the finger at all. I would've voted the same if I were in their shoes.

[zbyte64]

So the money that the Banks lent to Greece and collect interest on is actually EU tax money?