Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Special Report: A tale of two Europes

By Harry Papachristou and Josie Cox THEBES, Greece/STUTTGART, Germany

THEBES, Greece/STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -Petzetakis likes to call itself the first Greek multinational. The company began making plastic pipes and hoses in the early 1960s and grew steadily over the next couple of decades, opening a plant in Portugal and pushing into Germany. Proud of its role as a pioneer, the firm dreamed of bigger things.

Opportunity came when Athens joined the euro at the turn of the millennium. Like other Greek companies, Petzetakis feasted on the easy credit that was suddenly available to it, snapping up smaller rivals around the world.


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4 comments:

  1. Greeks = Fun, friendly, highly intellegent, creative BUT overpaid, lazy, tax dodgers with too many benefits.

    Germans = Boring but dependable, hardworking.

    It's called "Work Ethic" and sorry but the Greeks as a whole don't have it.

    Their riots aren't just about the IMF screwing them over...It's anger that the benefits they NEVER should have recieved are being cut down or off since they never pay for them.

    Just wait till it hits the millions of lazy Americans with 2-3 kids on Section 8, WIC, food stamps, welfare, social security that have NEVER worked.

    Tip of the day: If you don't work don't have children because the day is coming that there will be no more social benefits.

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  2. " But the German plant is busier than ever"

    How can that be - given the current global meltdown and depression?

    1;03 guess again; the liberal progressives will NOT NOT NOT ever let go of these handout and entitlement programs as that is the foundation basis for their very existence! Your and my life is about to get very, very expensive though
    as WE pay for THEM

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  3. 1:03, you make a good case. But half of the American population is on food stamps (44 million HOUSEHOLDS - not people), those who work any kind of job regardless aren't living any better.

    There are many hard working people that use food stamps to supplement their ability to make a living. No, they won't run out of food, and they aren't buying lobster or beer with them. There are also those not on food stamps that have to work 100 hours a week for a meager income. So who do you think is better off?

    When I go anywhere the people look miserable whether it is a gas station, grocery store, resturaunt, an office building, etc. Seldom do you see these working Americans smiling about.

    Not to mention most of them under 30 are living at home with their parents (if they are smart), those older might have a spouse or kids, there are many disabled people, people in prison or mental institutions, drug addicts on the streets (or in politics), veterans who can't get work, and of course the octomoms like you mentioned.

    Imagine how high the real unemployment level is, and I mean NOT working as opposed to UNemployed. There must be 50% not working.

    What about the brilliant minds in this country? I'm not saying it takes a college degree to make one smart, but what jobs really exist that require degrees? You'll start out in the mail room for fuck's sake. Not that many youth nowadays have the work ethic to start at the bottom.

    They thought they could get a degree and be handed automatically a high paying job. Reality is there are 40 year olds with PhDs driving pizza trucks. Is writing articles for websites without getting paid the future for college graduates?

    It takes forever to explain any of that to the uninitiated (unawake) Americans. Only a minority comprehend what this nation has really turned into, most still picture life to be the way it was in the 80s. We're pretty much becoming glued to the youtube or boobtube, but nothing of real life is being addressed anymore.

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  4. Greeks = Fun, friendly, highly intellegent, creative BUT overpaid, lazy, tax dodgers with too many benefits.

    Germans = Boring but dependable, hardworking.

    Chinese = ?

    ReplyDelete

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