Greece outright lied to get into the Euro, and the French and Germans didn’t bother auditing those fake numbers. They wanted into the euro, which they did not use as a straight jacket, but as a form of cheap credit…they basically replaced thier independent creditworthiness (which under the Drachma historically meant a 5 to 7%point spread to the Bund, and the realistic threat of a complete devaluation about every 12 years) with one tied to the average and went wild with that credit….even hiring Goldmann Sachs to help them cook the books even more!

The greek people were compicit with this…understand that they have 2 times as many doctors per capita as the OECD average, twice as many MRI and Cat Scan Machines, and a whole other range of things which are the macro-economic equivalent of using dad’s credit card on booze and hookers. They also have 8 times as many federal employees per capita than Germany…8 times!

They have a tonne of nationalized industries, which are no longer nationalized in other european countries, they have extravagant pensions in relation to their wages or productivity.

It was a free lunch, and it is over now….and it is their fault…

If they pull out of the Euro, their credit worthiness goes down to zero, and then they would have to live exclusively with zero deficit….whcih is really hard core austerity.

I also think the Germans are not going to give them any money unless all political parties agree to the austerity.

I recently saw an interview with a Czech politician who properly asked the other EU politicians whether they were also willing to put their own private money into financing the greek debt, and not just promising largesse out of tax payers money.

Is my point exactly. The Germans were war guilted into not calling the greek books into question.

I have tonnes of Greek expat friends, lots who go back to Greece regularly (I live in Germany), and all of them consider the country hopeless. They will need to the Drachma back, they will need to be left helpless and flailing, and then they will have to pick themselves up, but coming to that realisation is goign to take 5 years minimum.

Currently milk is 3 times more expensive in greece than in Germany. It is pretty much the same with all food stuffs. They don’t have very efficient distribution or retail, a lot of that due to protectionist measures they upheld for the last 40 years.

It has been a nightmare to go there as a tourist for years, because they pick the most tourist heavy days for general stikes (much like Italy does)…airports, ferries, anything a tourist would need to get to their destination…..and if you booked oyur vacation in greece and got stuck for a day waiting with your family at a ferry port on the way to the island and then again on the way back, chances are you’re never going to go there again.

Greece is beautiful, they have amazing weather, great food, and some very nice hotels here and there. But you better be very much in love wiht the country and willing to forgive all its “quirks” if you want to go on vacation there…..and to be honest, the turks have made giant inroads into the cheaper market.

Italy is a bit of a con game BTW….Italians are the people with the most accumulated wealth in Europe, due in large part to the avoidance of tax by the wealthy there. They like playing the “bailout” card in hopes that other countries will pay their bills, but in fact they have more than enough wealth in the country to get themselves out of their mess….but they will only do it if no one else helps them.

So I say let them all swim free!