The Crushing Lebanese Sovereign Debt.

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By Ghassan Karam

What is the single most important rationale for government? We agree to have a government and we endow it with many forms of power in the hope that it will maintain law and order, create even leveled fields in all areas, protect our intrinsic rights of congregation, freedom of speech and freedom of belief provided that its collective policies will produce a higher level of welfare than would have existed without it.  Government appears when the members of society delegate to it the power to monopolize decision making in an effort to create an environment that is conducive to economic prosperity.

One can easily conclude  from the above that ultimately it is the question of economic organization that determines the shape of society. Marx actually went further than this by stating that “history of society is a history of class struggle”.  One does not have to be a Marxist to share the view that economic issues and the relations of production form the base upon which society is built.

If economics is so important then it behooves the Lebanese politicians to pay closer attention to the implications of the policies that they have subjected the country to over the past two decades. If they do not then the impending economic disaster will sweep  away the current corrupt and inequitable system at a great cost to the lives of the ordinary citizen.

The world is rapidly coming to the realization that the monopoly power of government to borrow and spend by running deficits is not without its limits. Keynesian economics popularized the notion of an activist role for macroeconomics but it did not support and encourage profligate spending. Government  has an important role to play whenever the economic Gods “conspire” to generate a level of output that is below the level of full employment but that does not mean that government can buy its way into prosperity through borrowing, inefficient spending, corrupt bureaucracies and badly thought investment projects. Those who thought that it is possible “to have a slice of cake and eat it too” have found out to their dismay that the price of excess and abuse is very high indeed. Just ask Argentina, Venezuela, Greece, Portugal and Ireland among others.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Lebanon will most likely be among the others although you would not know it from the Lebanese politicians or even the Lebanese press. What makes the Lebanese so sure that they are immune when they have violated practically every major macroeconomic metric?  It is true that the civil war was costly both in blood and treasure. What civil war isn’t? But to feel that all what had to be done was borrow and spend without addressing the structural constraints has created one of the highest debt/GDP ratios in the world. A high debt ratio by itself might not be enough to indicate imminent problems but when that metric is added to high labour redundancies, dependence on capital inflows from expatriates attracted by artificially high interest rates coupled with an inability to service the national debt without additional borrowing then the outlook starts to become dire.

International capital markets are constantly evaluating the degree of risk that is to be associated with each of the different sovereign bond issues. The most common such  judgment is seen through what is commonly referred to as CDS, credit default swap. A CDS is essentially an insurance premium that the buyer of a risky issue is willing to pay to guarantee the principal involved. All of this dry and technical jargon is important because the professional global money markets have assigned to Lebanese debt the 7th highest CDS premium (the higher the premium the riskier the debt) Yes you heard it right, only six countries in the world have riskier debt than Lebanon and yet no one either at the Parliament, the Cabinet or MSM is talking about this.

Lebanese politicians have, over the short life of this experiment called Lebanon, moved from one political crisis to the next without ever dealing with the root cause of what ails the country. This will not work in economics, not when Lebanon has chosen to use the international capital markets. Denial will only make things worse. The Lebanese national debt has entered a new era of growth both in absolute and in relative terms. There is no way of stopping this trend without taking the bitter pill of debt restructuring. Lebanon is not the US, Japan, Greece or Portugal. Each of these countries can and will adopt an austere fiscal policy to get out of the hole that indebtedness has created but Lebanon cannot do this since there is not that much to cut anyway and since Lebanon cannot borrow at very low interest rates.  The Lebanese debt will only grow and its burden will increase until the whole edifice comes crumbling down like a house of cards that it is. The matter is simple really, it is impossible for the Lebanese economy to grow at a faster rate than that used to finance its debt given the size of the debt and the realistic potential of the economy. Lebanon will be forced to restructure its debt, the sooner that is done the less is the pain.

There is a moral dimension to this story. Those that are elderly have borrowed and possibly experienced some short term prosperity but they are leaving the future generation with an unsolvable problem that is reminiscent of Sisyphus. I pity the next generation.

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Comments

39 responses to “The Crushing Lebanese Sovereign Debt.”

  1. Sebouh80 Avatar
    Sebouh80

    There is a strong correlation between ballooning sovereign debt crisis and the rise of social tensions.

    Today most advanced capitalist nations are resorting to brutal austerity measures in the hope of keeping their finances under check,and this phenomenon has provided massive social discontent among the poor and working class populations in these respective countries.
    Recently, the Obama administration through bipartisn agreement agreed in massive cuts totaling 4 trillion dollars for the next decade and these measures will target social programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The reality is that US federal government debt at present has surpassed 14 trillion debt ceiling.
    At the same time, Obama administration left the taxes of the super rich at their historic lows and the administration is adamantly determined to fund the endless imperialist wars which has drained too much resources from public coffers.
    In both cases, however, the implementation of brutal austerity against working people on both sides of Atlantic, which will inevitably provoke mass protests and resistance of the kind that have already swept Spain, Greece and other countries.

    How did this all start?
    The former Greek Prime Minister Kostantinos Karamanlis and his government vastly underestimated the Greek budget deficits. The Greek government at that time hired the infamous US financial giant Goldman Sachs to coverup their financial shortfalls and make it appear that Greek finances are sound and healthy.
    Once George Papandreou became Prime Minister in late 2009 revealed to the world capital markets that the country’s finances are far worse than previous announcements with a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP, four times more than the Eurozone’s limit, and a public debt of 410 billion dollars. This announcement only served to worsen the severe crisis the Greeek economy was undergoing and spread the contagion  to other debt fuelled economies like Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy.
    In order to avert bankruptcy, Greek government  went to the IMF and European Union for rescue. In return, both IMF and European Union demanded tough austerity measures which made matters far worth then expected.

    Currently the politicians are panicking once again. Their latest recipe to raise cash is to privatise on a massive scale. In a desperate attempt to raise cash, the Spanish government is selling the family jewels. They are privatising state lottery, as well as the state airports authority. The sale of the state lottery is expected to raise between 6.5 billion euros and 7.5 billion euros. If completed it would create Europe’s most valuable listed gaming group. That will make lot of money for big business, but it will lose money for spanish state. The state lottery earned a net profit of just under 3 billion euros in 2009, with 2.92 billion going to spanish treasury. This is an excellent example of the plundering of the state: nationalizing the losses and privitizing the profits.

    Already the big banks are queuing up to get their hands on this highly profitable business. Lazard is viewed by company insiders as a favorite to manage the process, the Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley among several others that are in the running for other roles, which count among the prestigious investment banking outfits. Given their record in gambling and losing billions of their clients money, thus provoking a collapse of the world banking system three years ago, they seemed to be well qualified for running of the world’s largest gambling company.
    But the main concern is still Greece, which they are pressurizing to privatise more than the previously agreed 50 billion euros. The only snag is that the EU doesn’t trust the Greeks to do it themselves. Instead,  they want “independent commission” to do their dirty work.
    Now a growing number of economists believe Greece’s debt, already at about 150% of GDP, cannot be repaid. But they cannot agree on what is to be done about it. Some advocate “hard” structuring, which would mean imposing losses on creditors.

    Since most of the creditors are German, Germany is naturally unenthusiastic about this remedy, prefering instead a “softer” rescheduling of the debt repayments. That means “softer” for the German creditors, of course, not for the people of Greece. Like the merciless of money lender in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, the Shylocks in Brussels will demand their pound of flesh. The only discussion is about when and where to stick the knife.

    Finally, moving to Lebanon, the ruling elites have for a long time somehow convinced the Lebanese population that they are in absolute control of the financial situation due to the wizdom of the Lebanese central bank policies. The truth is we really do not have a clue of the reality of our public finances. For example, the government claims that our national debt is around 53 billion dollars and other outside sources put the number in the vicinity of 65 billion dollars.
    Mr.Karam, my personel judgement is that the ruling Lebanese bourgeoisie will not restructure the debt as this would exacerbate social tensions and threaten their grip on power. They would probably count on debt relief rather then restructuring. The late premier Rafic Hariri during the 90s and early 2000s borrowed enormously for the reconstruction of downtown Beirut, and all were made under the false assumption that we are heading towards peace and eventually our debts will be forgiven.

    Also not forgetting the astronomical high interest rates at that time that further contributed to this ballooing sovereign debt. Remember what Karl Marx said more then 150 years ago “An accumulation of wealth at one pole of society indicates an accumulation of misery and overwork at the other”

    1. libnan1 Avatar
      libnan1

       Great analysis by both of you, I wish the Lebanese government hires you as consultants. I’m not an economist but I had good dealings with the investment banking on the software side.
      I strongly believe that Lebanon needs to get its house in order as you both emphasized. They might not have many choices and the only thing that’s keeping Lebanon afloat is the massive foreign investments that can’t be liquidated by its owners at the present time. Few thing I believe will help.

      1. The Central bank should move quickly to devalue the Lebanese currency or let it float instead of having it pegged to the dollar.
      2. Solidere must be taxed heavily since it the beneficiary of most of the debt spending.
      3. Privatize the utility and phone companies with government as the majority owner to avoid the exclusion of lower income people.
      4. Cut the red tape to encourage investment in agriculture instead of putting up buildings. After all successful societies are the ones that don’t rely on food imports.
      5. Make available government owned property for long term leases for inverters that are willing to build manufacturing facilities; this provide jobs and increase the export which in turn will add to the GDP.   

      1. Sebouh80 Avatar
        Sebouh80

        Okay let me highlight my opinion to your suggestions.

        Fist of all, I have strong conviction that reforming under this political framework will not work. The country has too many contradictions on all fronts starting with political, economic and social.  What Lebanon needs is a radical revolution and I think the current political status quo since 1943 has failed in every respect. Like Mr Karam has said in his article above without dealing with the root causes of what ails this country will be counterproductive.

        Now going back to your suggestions, I think your first and third suggestions will further exacerbate the social tensions in the country. Bear in mind that the government  and the Capitalist class are the same “vultures”.

      2. Ghassan Karam Avatar
        Ghassan Karam

        Liban1,
                 I am in favour of your reform program as a whole and in particular the possibility of floating the currency. I thimk that Solidere as well as all other enterprises should be taxes equitably. Solidere as an ongoing enterprise is profitable but the profits , as per the audited statements are no as large as many think. Privatization will help by introducing discipline to these enterprises. Less bureaucratic red tape is essential for creating a more efficient and competitive environment and of course food security is a worthy goal.

      3. 5thDrawer Avatar

        Adding manufacturing to the Lebanese output could be good for the economy … but if you’re going to add industrial waste to what’s under the olive trees now, forget it … I think it’s already dangerous to eat Lebanese olives.
        Anyone on that ? Any ‘testers’ out there ??

    2. Ghassan Karam Avatar
      Ghassan Karam

      Sebouh,
                 Thank you for supplying some of the details regarding the background which I could not do within th espace confines.
                 I understand your point regarding debt forgiveness. that is what was ultimately was done to iraq, Haiti and a few other countries. Debt forgiveness will become more probable if the chances for an over all Arab Israeli solution improve materially. If that is not forthcoming on a large scale then I see no way out of a restructuring.

    3. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Thanks to various little despots, the people are forgetting the important bits in history … again.
        “ The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” — Cicero , 55 B.C. 
      Although, finding a job seems to be a problem now … who can afford the necessary health-insurance that makes a country strong?

  2. Sebouh80 Avatar
    Sebouh80

    There is a strong correlation between ballooning sovereign debt crisis and the rise of social tensions.

    Today most advanced capitalist nations are resorting to brutal austerity measures in the hope of keeping their finances under check,and this phenomenon has provided massive social discontent among the poor and working class populations in these respective countries.
    Recently, the Obama administration through bipartisn agreement agreed in massive cuts totaling 4 trillion dollars for the next decade and these measures will target social programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The reality is that US federal government debt at present has surpassed 14 trillion debt ceiling.
    At the same time, Obama administration left the taxes of the super rich at their historic lows and the administration is adamantly determined to fund the endless imperialist wars which has drained too much resources from public coffers.
    In both cases, however, the implementation of brutal austerity against working people on both sides of Atlantic, which will inevitably provoke mass protests and resistance of the kind that have already swept Spain, Greece and other countries.

    How did this all start?
    The former Greek Prime Minister Kostantinos Karamanlis and his government vastly underestimated the Greek budget deficits. The Greek government at that time hired the infamous US financial giant Goldman Sachs to coverup their financial shortfalls and make it appear that Greek finances are sound and healthy.
    Once George Papandreou became Prime Minister in late 2009 revealed to the world capital markets that the country’s finances are far worse than previous announcements with a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP, four times more than the Eurozone’s limit, and a public debt of 410 billion dollars. This announcement only served to worsen the severe crisis the Greeek economy was undergoing and spread the contagion  to other debt fuelled economies like Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy.
    In order to avert bankruptcy, Greek government  went to the IMF and European Union for rescue. In return, both IMF and European Union demanded tough austerity measures which made matters far worth then expected.

    Currently the politicians are panicking once again. Their latest recipe to raise cash is to privatise on a massive scale. In a desperate attempt to raise cash, the Spanish government is selling the family jewels. They are privatising state lottery, as well as the state airports authority. The sale of the state lottery is expected to raise between 6.5 billion euros and 7.5 billion euros. If completed it would create Europe’s most valuable listed gaming group. That will make lot of money for big business, but it will lose money for spanish state. The state lottery earned a net profit of just under 3 billion euros in 2009, with 2.92 billion going to spanish treasury. This is an excellent example of the plundering of the state: nationalizing the losses and privitizing the profits.

    Already the big banks are queuing up to get their hands on this highly profitable business. Lazard is viewed by company insiders as a favorite to manage the process, the Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley among several others that are in the running for other roles, which count among the prestigious investment banking outfits. Given their record in gambling and losing billions of their clients money, thus provoking a collapse of the world banking system three years ago, they seemed to be well qualified for running of the world’s largest gambling company.
    But the main concern is still Greece, which they are pressurizing to privatise more than the previously agreed 50 billion euros. The only snag is that the EU doesn’t trust the Greeks to do it themselves. Instead,  they want “independent commission” to do their dirty work.
    Now a growing number of economists believe Greece’s debt, already at about 150% of GDP, cannot be repaid. But they cannot agree on what is to be done about it. Some advocate “hard” structuring, which would mean imposing losses on creditors.

    Since most of the creditors are German, Germany is naturally unenthusiastic about this remedy, prefering instead a “softer” rescheduling of the debt repayments. That means “softer” for the German creditors, of course, not for the people of Greece. Like the merciless of money lender in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, the Shylocks in Brussels will demand their pound of flesh. The only discussion is about when and where to stick the knife.

    Finally, moving to Lebanon, the ruling elites have for a long time somehow convinced the Lebanese population that they are in absolute control of the financial situation due to the wizdom of the Lebanese central bank policies. The truth is we really do not have a clue of the reality of our public finances. For example, the government claims that our national debt is around 53 billion dollars and other outside sources put the number in the vicinity of 65 billion dollars.
    Mr.Karam, my personel judgement is that the ruling Lebanese bourgeoisie will not restructure the debt as this would exacerbate social tensions and threaten their grip on power. They would probably count on debt relief rather then restructuring. The late premier Rafic Hariri during the 90s and early 2000s borrowed enormously for the reconstruction of downtown Beirut, and all were made under the false assumption that we are heading towards peace and eventually our debts will be forgiven.

    Also not forgetting the astronomical high interest rates at that time that further contributed to this ballooing sovereign debt. Remember what Karl Marx said more then 150 years ago “An accumulation of wealth at one pole of society indicates an accumulation of misery and overwork at the other”

    1. libnan1 Avatar
      libnan1

       Great analysis by both of you, I wish the Lebanese government hires you as consultants. I’m not an economist but I had good dealings with the investment banking on the software side.
      I strongly believe that Lebanon needs to get its house in order as you both emphasized. They might not have many choices and the only thing that’s keeping Lebanon afloat is the massive foreign investments that can’t be liquidated by its owners at the present time. Few thing I believe will help.

      1. The Central bank should move quickly to devalue the Lebanese currency or let it float instead of having it pegged to the dollar.
      2. Solidere must be taxed heavily since it the beneficiary of most of the debt spending.
      3. Privatize the utility and phone companies with government as the majority owner to avoid the exclusion of lower income people.
      4. Cut the red tape to encourage investment in agriculture instead of putting up buildings. After all successful societies are the ones that don’t rely on food imports.
      5. Make available government owned property for long term leases for inverters that are willing to build manufacturing facilities; this provide jobs and increase the export which in turn will add to the GDP.   

      1. Ghassan Karam Avatar
        Ghassan Karam

        Liban1,
                 I am in favour of your reform program as a whole and in particular the possibility of floating the currency. I thimk that Solidere as well as all other enterprises should be taxes equitably. Solidere as an ongoing enterprise is profitable but the profits , as per the audited statements are no as large as many think. Privatization will help by introducing discipline to these enterprises. Less bureaucratic red tape is essential for creating a more efficient and competitive environment and of course food security is a worthy goal.

    2. Ghassan Karam Avatar
      Ghassan Karam

      Sebouh,
                 Thank you for supplying some of the details regarding the background which I could not do within th espace confines.
                 I understand your point regarding debt forgiveness. that is what was ultimately was done to iraq, Haiti and a few other countries. Debt forgiveness will become more probable if the chances for an over all Arab Israeli solution improve materially. If that is not forthcoming on a large scale then I see no way out of a restructuring.

  3.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    There is a strong correlation between ballooning sovereign debt crisis and the rise of social tensions.

    Today most advanced capitalist nations are resorting to brutal austerity measures in the hope of keeping their finances under check,and this phenomenon has provided massive social discontent among the poor and working class populations in these respective countries.
    Recently, the Obama administration through bipartisn agreement agreed in massive cuts totaling 4 trillion dollars for the next decade and these measures will target social programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The reality is that US federal government debt at present has surpassed 14 trillion debt ceiling.
    At the same time, Obama administration left the taxes of the super rich at their historic lows and the administration is adamantly determined to fund the endless imperialist wars which has drained too much resources from public coffers.
    In both cases, however, the implementation of brutal austerity against working people on both sides of Atlantic, which will inevitably provoke mass protests and resistance of the kind that have already swept Spain, Greece and other countries.

    How did this all start?
    The former Greek Prime Minister Kostantinos Karamanlis and his government vastly underestimated the Greek budget deficits. The Greek government at that time hired the infamous US financial giant Goldman Sachs to coverup their financial shortfalls and make it appear that Greek finances are sound and healthy.
    Once George Papandreou became Prime Minister in late 2009 revealed to the world capital markets that the country’s finances are far worse than previous announcements with a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP, four times more than the Eurozone’s limit, and a public debt of 410 billion dollars. This announcement only served to worsen the severe crisis the Greeek economy was undergoing and spread the contagion  to other debt fuelled economies like Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy.
    In order to avert bankruptcy, Greek government  went to the IMF and European Union for rescue. In return, both IMF and European Union demanded tough austerity measures which made matters far worth then expected.

    Currently the politicians are panicking once again. Their latest recipe to raise cash is to privatise on a massive scale. In a desperate attempt to raise cash, the Spanish government is selling the family jewels. They are privatising state lottery, as well as the state airports authority. The sale of the state lottery is expected to raise between 6.5 billion euros and 7.5 billion euros. If completed it would create Europe’s most valuable listed gaming group. That will make lot of money for big business, but it will lose money for spanish state. The state lottery earned a net profit of just under 3 billion euros in 2009, with 2.92 billion going to spanish treasury. This is an excellent example of the plundering of the state: nationalizing the losses and privitizing the profits.

    Already the big banks are queuing up to get their hands on this highly profitable business. Lazard is viewed by company insiders as a favorite to manage the process, the Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley among several others that are in the running for other roles, which count among the prestigious investment banking outfits. Given their record in gambling and losing billions of their clients money, thus provoking a collapse of the world banking system three years ago, they seemed to be well qualified for running of the world’s largest gambling company.
    But the main concern is still Greece, which they are pressurizing to privatise more than the previously agreed 50 billion euros. The only snag is that the EU doesn’t trust the Greeks to do it themselves. Instead,  they want “independent commission” to do their dirty work.
    Now a growing number of economists believe Greece’s debt, already at about 150% of GDP, cannot be repaid. But they cannot agree on what is to be done about it. Some advocate “hard” structuring, which would mean imposing losses on creditors.

    Since most of the creditors are German, Germany is naturally unenthusiastic about this remedy, prefering instead a “softer” rescheduling of the debt repayments. That means “softer” for the German creditors, of course, not for the people of Greece. Like the merciless of money lender in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, the Shylocks in Brussels will demand their pound of flesh. The only discussion is about when and where to stick the knife.

    Finally, moving to Lebanon, the ruling elites have for a long time somehow convinced the Lebanese population that they are in absolute control of the financial situation due to the wizdom of the Lebanese central bank policies. The truth is we really do not have a clue of the reality of our public finances. For example, the government claims that our national debt is around 53 billion dollars and other outside sources put the number in the vicinity of 65 billion dollars.
    Mr.Karam, my personel judgement is that the ruling Lebanese bourgeoisie will not restructure the debt as this would exacerbate social tensions and threaten their grip on power. They would probably count on debt relief rather then restructuring. The late premier Rafic Hariri during the 90s and early 2000s borrowed enormously for the reconstruction of downtown Beirut, and all were made under the false assumption that we are heading towards peace and eventually our debts will be forgiven.

    Also not forgetting the astronomical high interest rates at that time that further contributed to this ballooing sovereign debt. Remember what Karl Marx said more then 150 years ago “An accumulation of wealth at one pole of society indicates an accumulation of misery and overwork at the other”

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

       Great analysis by both of you, I wish the Lebanese government hires you as consultants. I’m not an economist but I had good dealings with the investment banking on the software side.
      I strongly believe that Lebanon needs to get its house in order as you both emphasized. They might not have many choices and the only thing that’s keeping Lebanon afloat is the massive foreign investments that can’t be liquidated by its owners at the present time. Few thing I believe will help.

      1. The Central bank should move quickly to devalue the Lebanese currency or let it float instead of having it pegged to the dollar.
      2. Solidere must be taxed heavily since it the beneficiary of most of the debt spending.
      3. Privatize the utility and phone companies with government as the majority owner to avoid the exclusion of lower income people.
      4. Cut the red tape to encourage investment in agriculture instead of putting up buildings. After all successful societies are the ones that don’t rely on food imports.
      5. Make available government owned property for long term leases for inverters that are willing to build manufacturing facilities; this provide jobs and increase the export which in turn will add to the GDP.   

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        Okay let me highlight my opinion to your suggestions.

        Fist of all, I have strong conviction that reforming under this political framework will not work. The country has too many contradictions on all fronts starting with political, economic and social.  What Lebanon needs is a radical revolution and I think the current political status quo since 1943 has failed in every respect. Like Mr Karam has said in his article above without dealing with the root causes of what ails this country will be counterproductive.

        Now going back to your suggestions, I think your first and third suggestions will further exacerbate the social tensions in the country. Bear in mind that the government  and the Capitalist class are the same “vultures”.

      2. Liban1,
                 I am in favour of your reform program as a whole and in particular the possibility of floating the currency. I thimk that Solidere as well as all other enterprises should be taxes equitably. Solidere as an ongoing enterprise is profitable but the profits , as per the audited statements are no as large as many think. Privatization will help by introducing discipline to these enterprises. Less bureaucratic red tape is essential for creating a more efficient and competitive environment and of course food security is a worthy goal.

      3. Liban1,
                 I am in favour of your reform program as a whole and in particular the possibility of floating the currency. I thimk that Solidere as well as all other enterprises should be taxes equitably. Solidere as an ongoing enterprise is profitable but the profits , as per the audited statements are no as large as many think. Privatization will help by introducing discipline to these enterprises. Less bureaucratic red tape is essential for creating a more efficient and competitive environment and of course food security is a worthy goal.

      4.  Avatar

        Adding manufacturing to the Lebanese output could be good for the economy … but if you’re going to add industrial waste to what’s under the olive trees now, forget it … I think it’s already dangerous to eat Lebanese olives.
        Anyone on that ? Any ‘testers’ out there ??

    2. Sebouh,
                 Thank you for supplying some of the details regarding the background which I could not do within th espace confines.
                 I understand your point regarding debt forgiveness. that is what was ultimately was done to iraq, Haiti and a few other countries. Debt forgiveness will become more probable if the chances for an over all Arab Israeli solution improve materially. If that is not forthcoming on a large scale then I see no way out of a restructuring.

    3.  Avatar

      Thanks to various little despots, the people are forgetting the important bits in history … again.
        “ The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” — Cicero , 55 B.C. 
      Although, finding a job seems to be a problem now … who can afford the necessary health-insurance that makes a country strong?

    4.  Avatar

      Thanks to various little despots, the people are forgetting the important bits in history … again.
        “ The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” — Cicero , 55 B.C. 
      Although, finding a job seems to be a problem now … who can afford the necessary health-insurance that makes a country strong?

  4. antar2011 Avatar
    antar2011

    in a time when lebanon is witnessing an unprecedent political and systemic dysfunction, the timing of this article for the ordinary lebanese is just right.

    thank you Mr Karam.

  5.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    in a time when lebanon is witnessing an unprecedent political and systemic dysfunction, the timing of this article for the ordinary lebanese is just right.

    thank you Mr Karam.

  6. The Arenal beach area, has many bars and restaurants catering for all budgets, a great time to eat is midday, where the majority of restaurants offer a menu of the day, usually this is 3 courses and includes drinks, around 10 euros a head, depending on the restaurant. In a small back street bar you will often find a very cheap menu and usually pretty good quality. It often works out cheaper to eat out than to cook at home, leaving the washing up for someone else.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      As long as we can still smoke … 🙂

  7. The Arenal beach area, has many bars and restaurants catering for all budgets, a great time to eat is midday, where the majority of restaurants offer a menu of the day, usually this is 3 courses and includes drinks, around 10 euros a head, depending on the restaurant. In a small back street bar you will often find a very cheap menu and usually pretty good quality. It often works out cheaper to eat out than to cook at home, leaving the washing up for someone else.

  8. The Arenal beach area, has many bars and restaurants catering for all budgets, a great time to eat is midday, where the majority of restaurants offer a menu of the day, usually this is 3 courses and includes drinks, around 10 euros a head, depending on the restaurant. In a small back street bar you will often find a very cheap menu and usually pretty good quality. It often works out cheaper to eat out than to cook at home, leaving the washing up for someone else.

    1.  Avatar

      As long as we can still smoke … 🙂

  9. The Arenal beach area, has many bars and restaurants catering for all budgets, a great time to eat is midday, where the majority of restaurants offer a menu of the day, usually this is 3 courses and includes drinks, around 10 euros a head, depending on the restaurant. In a small back street bar you will often find a very cheap menu and usually pretty good quality. It often works out cheaper to eat out than to cook at home, leaving the washing up for someone else.

  10. Invest in your lifestyle and come and have a look at the wonderful apartments available in Javea today. Buying property abroad is a significant way to increase your quality of life as you will always have a great place to visit and stay when you go overseas, not to mention your investment will give you strong returns on your lifestyle as well as your finances.

  11. Invest in your lifestyle and come and have a look at the wonderful apartments available in Javea today. Buying property abroad is a significant way to increase your quality of life as you will always have a great place to visit and stay when you go overseas, not to mention your investment will give you strong returns on your lifestyle as well as your finances.

  12. Restaurants: Javea has a fantastic choice of restaurants, including Karma Lounge, Pizzeria Pepa, Restaurante Masena and La Boheme. Javea’s port area is very popular, with restaurants offering anything from pizza to paella. The old town also has some restaurants which are cheaper than the more popular tourist areas. Arenal beachfront is where most tourists like to dine out and the choice is fantastic, from fast food to Indian.

  13. Restaurants: Javea has a fantastic choice of restaurants, including Karma Lounge, Pizzeria Pepa, Restaurante Masena and La Boheme. Javea’s port area is very popular, with restaurants offering anything from pizza to paella. The old town also has some restaurants which are cheaper than the more popular tourist areas. Arenal beachfront is where most tourists like to dine out and the choice is fantastic, from fast food to Indian.

  14. Depending on your needs you can begin your search before ever arriving in Valencia. This can be done by following rentals on the internet at such sites as Craigslist or sites that offer vacation rentals. Another choice is to contact realtors directly. You can tell them your needs and they can begin your search for you. Many of the rentals are already taken by people interested in moving to this beautiful country. They are visiting the area to “experiment” with the seasons of the year, the areas, the neighborhoods, and so forth.

  15. Depending on your needs you can begin your search before ever arriving in Valencia. This can be done by following rentals on the internet at such sites as Craigslist or sites that offer vacation rentals. Another choice is to contact realtors directly. You can tell them your needs and they can begin your search for you. Many of the rentals are already taken by people interested in moving to this beautiful country. They are visiting the area to “experiment” with the seasons of the year, the areas, the neighborhoods, and so forth.

  16. Costa Blanca has a large English speaking ex-pat community, so while you will be in a foreign country experiencing new and exciting things, there are always going to be places you can go to keep you from getting homesick while you are on holiday. There are large enclaves of Brits who have moved to Javea, who are always more than happy to help out.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Gassan … are you making money on these adverts ?? Bad enough the tourists are staying away, without sending them to play with Brits. !! 😉

  17. Costa Blanca has a large English speaking ex-pat community, so while you will be in a foreign country experiencing new and exciting things, there are always going to be places you can go to keep you from getting homesick while you are on holiday. There are large enclaves of Brits who have moved to Javea, who are always more than happy to help out.

    1.  Avatar

      Gassan … are you making money on these adverts ?? Bad enough the tourists are staying away, without sending them to play with Brits. !! 😉

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