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Myths about the Greek crisis

29 March 2012 / 17:03:04  GRReporter
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Myth 8: The memorandum ruined Greece. This is also one of the commonly repeated phrases that have nothing to do with the truth. Until the signing of the memorandum of financial aid in May 2010, Greece had been already ruined by a huge foreign debt, zero competitiveness and dying production compared to the needs and capabilities of the country. The memorandum was nothing else but an interstate loan agreement the terms of which stated that Greece must cut budget spending, begin privatizing and liberalize the market, restructure public administration and improve the activities of organizations such as tax, legal and other systems. None of this happened and the country had to take a second loan. Easy solutions to save money like cuts in pensions and salaries bring temporary results, because a deeper recession comes with them. People who opposed the implementation of the memorandum have largely succeeded in their mission and now, they are arguing that the bailout has taken Greece to the bottom.
 
Myth 9: Politicians and big sharks have "eaten" the wealth of Greece. True, but not quite. Of every 100 euro spent by Greece, 70% goes for salaries and pensions, 20% for repayment of interests on external loans and only 10% for public sector investment. After analyzing the data, it appears that the overspending by Greece due to corruption does not exceed 1.5% of total government spending. These practices alone cannot accumulate a foreign debt of 360 billion euro. The conclusion is simply that for a very long time, the country has been spending on average 30 billion euro more than it was producing. At this rate, even if 100% of the Greek debt were written off, in ten years, the country would be in the same miserable condition in which it is today.
 
Myth 10: Greece should return to the drachma and carve its way towards economic growth without depending on its creditors. This outlook is so naive as to believe that George Papandreou is a capable leader. Until Greece reaches the so longed-for economic upturn, the drachma will have led the people to beggary. Their deposits will devaluate and dwindle overnight, the country will not be able to import basic raw materials and products, while the foreign debt will increase many times.

 

Tags: PoliticsEconomyMarketsGreek mythsCrisisBailoutChinaRussia
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