Friday, February 10, 2012

Catholics and Greeks


CONTRACEPTION CONTROVERSY


So the insurance plan format includes contraception, which did not surprise me for the following reasons:

• Cost Effectiveness: contraception is cheaper than pregnancy coverage.

• Social Costs: Population growth is not a desirable outcome when unemployment rates are high.

• Population growth is not a desirable outcome when welfare rolls are high and rising.

• Religious Implications: A church is attempting to dominate what should be a business decision.

• Contraception is legal and is the custom of the people, whether the church likes it or not.

Other implications would encourage discouraging immigration while the unemployment rate is so high. I know the implications of the educated immigrants but our own population needs to be hired. High Tech industries should be ready to invest in educating workers. I am also aware of the social value of welcoming educated immigrants, as it develops ties between the countries.

GREEK ECONOMIC CRISIS

The Greek economic crisis is now beginning to mention the plight of the people vs the plight of the lienholders. I heard a 40% rise in suicides in Greece. People standing in bread lines. Molotov cocktails within view of the Parthenon. All this to pay debts. A default would put the Greek government within 10% of the needed budget cuts to balance revenue with expenditure. I don't know who those lienholders are or why they are so desperate for money they would actually decimate a whole economy to pay for it, but it's haircut time.

A little research into the Greek entry into the eurozone is in order. Since the Greek government had so much debt upon entry into the zone and the zone was now beholden to pay it off, where was the debt before it became apparent? Did a big investment bank set up a deal that hid the debt? If they did, they should be liable for all Greek default debts. Clean them out. Governments and people are not pawns.