Looking at the current debt crisis facing Greece, I cant help but see that there really isn't much difference between nations and its peoples - When things go wrong, we like to lay faults on others but most often than not we are not completely faultless ourselves. Blaming others is always the most convenient excuse to avoid self examination. Blame the credit rating agencies for giving a bad image to your debt service records, blame the banks for imposing high interest rates, blame the regulators for putting up stringent borrowing regulations or rather blame the shops and the car dealers for offering attractive discounts and sales. we stop short of blaming ourselves for our own profligacy.
In Greece, the blame game has just started. Its citizens are now going out to the streets blaming the Government for the new austerity measures affecting just about everyone. Politicians are blaming the speculators and the credit rating agencies whilst its Government is now looking at the Currency Union and the IMF for a bailout. Of course Germany being the strongest and the richest member in the Union is expected to contribute to the bailout the biggest. Obviously, for the ordinary Germans they are not happy and balked at the idea of helping a very extravagant friend down south. Their Government would probably have little choice but offer a rescue package- this is part of the rules of the game. when you are in a currency union, you no longer have the independent right to manipulate your own currency. before this, Greece could probably be able to devalue its drachma or print as much. but now they couldn't. The Euro is a centralised currency and a member simply gives up that monetary sovereignty for a regional monetary union. You will have to follow certain rules. Of course as a condition of the billions of dollars bailout, Greece is now forced to adopt some austerity measures. In the good old days Greece could spend, spend and spend. It actually borrowed so much from the private banks to support its public sector spending. When the country ran into a huge deficit, -beyond the 3% cap to the GDP- imposed by the Euro Zone, Greece ability to pay its public debt became suspect and their Government bonds downgraded to become junks. Comparatively speaking the Greek’s public sector work less with better pay than the Germans. They have far better social safety nets than the wealthier compatriots up north. Their labour laws are far more pro socialist cum populist fervour than anywhere else in Europe which really is punishing individual entrepreneurship. Infact Greece ranks amongst the lowest in the Economic Freedom Index. In plain term, If you are lazy you are better off in Greece than in Germany because of its generous welfare system. But now things have changed, the richer countries in the Euro Zone are now picking up the tab for Greece’s profligacy. The big question in most Germans' mind now must be- why should we pay for the Greek's extravagance?
So the next time you are taking your credit card out for a spin, THINK of Greece before you get your card swiped. Unless you have a deep pocket or a wealthy friend to bail you out and once the debt becomes a real burden, you don’t really have anyone else to blame but yourself..remember that.
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