Gabe Menezes posted: The national debt is at its highest in more than a century. The last time the country saw anything resembling economic growth was back in 2000. Everywhere there is a fear that, after a lost decade, there might come yet another. Portugal appears to be undergoing a process of economic decay. - snip - The dust of the electoral fray had hardly settled when the Portuguese were confronted with a reality quite different from the one presented by Sócrates. The 2009 budget deficit, reported to Brussels in September as 5.6%, turned out to be 9.3%. Political moves such as the Socialist party's decision to increase public servants' pay and benefits had backfired.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Folks, Calling for a new king or a different political party to be in charge is not going to solve the financial problems that a LOT of governments are facing today. The financial problems have just one cause. Governments spent far more than they received in revenues. Everyone knows what happens to an individual or family when they spend more than their income. The exact same thing is going to happen to some governments and countries. Things are going to get much worse for the people in jurisdictions where the government does not have to balance its budget. Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain have relatively small economies. The financial crises in those countries have, so far, effected the residents there the hardest. What is hurling your way is the financial crises of the US. Almost half the states are already bankrupt. The US government now spends more money servicing its debt than it does on military expenditure. Keep in mind that the US is fighting three wars today and yet military expenditure is not its biggest expense. The US and every other country with a Quantitative Easing program is trying to solve its financial problems by printing money. This is the Robert Mugabe school of economics. The end result for all these countries will be the same i.e. the value of their currency will plummet. There is a lot of wealth to be made with this knowledge. Mervyn1430Lobo