Being in Debt

At the age of 8, my parents gave me allowance that did not provide me with all the necessary funds that I thought I needed to buy what I thought I wanted; so, I decided to mow lawns around the neighborhood to generate even income.  My plan worked perfectly until I had to explain to my parents why I wanted to use their lawnmower and gasoline.  In return for the use of the lawnmower, I had to save half of what I earned with the understanding that I could spend the other half at my discretion.

Even though I was angry at my parents for forcing me save money, it was a lesson that I carried with me throughout my entire life; however, there were years that I could only save less than half and there were years that I was able to save more than half. Saving allowed me to live within my income and never exceed what was earned and 10 years ago managed to pay off all my debts, remaining debt free ever since, even though there were many items that I thought, just like when I was a child, that I thought I needed; but, like most toys after a few weeks or months of play sit in the yard gathering dust.

There are many people in this country and all over the world that have learned how to manage money but a majority of them have remained like I was when a child and buy toys that they do not really need; but, more importantly, not only have individuals and families lived above their means, so too have governments.

  

In fact, Greece is in such bad financial crisis that it has put its islands up for sell along with other assets.

The Afantou property consists of two neighbouring beachfront land plots located

in the Afantou area of the island of Rhodes. The Rhodes International Airport, the city of

Rhodes and the Rhodes Hospital are only 20 km away. Both plots are very close to the

Rhodes-Lindos Highway, the major road artery of the island.

Got some cash to spend? How about a piece of the Greek islands of Rhodes or Corfu? Or a royal palace, a marina, or even a consulate building?

As Greece is struggling to appease international lenders and live up to the conditions of its bailout, the debt-choked nation is speeding up the sale of state assets by expanding its privatization program.

Greece’s state fund (Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund or HRADF) now has more than 70,000 state-owned properties on offer for investors and it aims to generate 19 billion euro ($24.5 billion) by 2015 via the sales.

The state’s properties include a 119,800 square-meter peninsula with a palace hotel complex and a marina, a 450,000 square-meter area in Rhodes with an 18-hole golf course and four miles of beach, a coastline in Corfu, an airport area in Athens and the 2004 Athens Olympics broadcast center.

Can you imagine a huge country like Greece having to sell off its assets because of bad fiscal responsibility?

Can you imagine countries as weak as individuals?

Can you imagine an entire world in debt to someone else, including the United States?