Portugal

So now we can add Portugal to the ever-growing list of submerged economies. Is that the sound of cracked Castanet's I hear? Ola financial ruin Espana. When Spain goes - duck - in fact hide.

For the Portuguese govt. to have squandered 80 billion on its citizenry they'd have to have pointlessly tossed about a million at each one of them - seems unlikely. So again we're looking at the cost of retching money into a bankrupt banking system at the taxpaying public's expense and depravation. Unfortunately there is not enough money in the wide, wide world to do that for everyone - the banks have already sucked most of it up. Like continually putting ever more fuel into an engine with a cracked block - still won't go.

We're now at the point of asking the financially blind to lead the economically headless. The final result may be a pair of empty smoking shoes formerly the property of Milton Friedman. For those still mired in the illusion of the Washington Consensus on economic brilliance - fuck you very much.

On just how cabalistic the system has become the NZ government yesterday acted like a private bank and loaned money to a private company - a commercial TV and Radio company facing financial oblivion due to falling ad revenues and lacking sufficient security to get a real commercial loan - and did so, it would appear, after heavy lobbying by the politically well-connected owners and against the advice of it's own Treasury dept.! I'd like a Neocon explanation to that one. Adam Smith is spinning in his grave and so is Milton - and so they should be. Oh, and on the same day they also underwrote NZ's second largest insurance company. I think I hear Castanets clicking here.

You can continue talking to your politicians, bankers and economists but in reality they're as much, if not more, in the dark as anyone else - this is horrendous territory which they just can't admit having led us into. Bunch of tossers.

I'd be grateful to know as to how you'd resolve this - monetary easing? - austerity? - default? - running around in circles waving your arms in the air? - or simply sticking your head up your arse and hoping it'll all get better courtesy of, now reduced to one extended finger, the invisible hand. Unfortunately the invisible hand may be too busy tossing-off your politicians, bankers and economists.

Best,