Greece's Financial Crisis : Greece

The Golden Age of Greece is well known for its sculptures, buildings, rulers, and philosophies. Today, modern Greece is known for having economic crisis's as well as political turmoils. Greece's problems began when they joined the European Union. Greek drachma was officially replaced by the euro when they joined. Greece approved the euro in 2001, not knowing what they were getting in to. When the Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis came to power he realized that the budget deficit was not 1.5%, but 8.3%. That outstanding amount greatly hurt the economy. By 2008, Greece's tax collection crumpled and unemployment was at an all time high. Unfortunately, by 2014, 30% of Greek's population did not have a job (Greece Debt Crisis). In contrast, today's Greece is a complete different from the Golden Age. Greek unemployment soared as austerity took its toll.

political scientists have argued that the root of Greece’s economic crisis is political. Greece has a

Greece’s government trying to impose stringent austerity measures such as tax hikes and salary and pension cuts that cause the economy to contract. Besides, the country has given another 6.8 billion euros in July from the European Union,

The roots of Greece’s economic problems extend deep down into the recesses of history. After the government dropped the drachma for the euro in 2001, the economy started to grow by an average of 4% annually, almost twice the European Union average. Interest rates were low, unemployment was dropping, and trade was at an all-time high. However, these promising indicators masked horrible fiscal governance, growing government debt and declining current account balances. Greece was banking on the rapid economic growth to build upwards on highly unstable foundations. In 2008, the inevitable happened – the Greek debt crisis.

In the academic paper Monetary Policy before and after the euro: Greece the author, Michael G. Arghyrou, asks the question of how Greece managed to join the Eurozone with very high inflation in the 1990’s. Arghyrou also discusses whether or not Greece’s economy fits the Euro Central Bank’s policies. The major conclusions from the study that are relevant to my study include: foreign markets have determined monetary policy in Greece since the 1990’s and Greece has not been compatible with the Eurozone policy since it joined in 2001.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, located at the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula, including more than 2000 islands in the Aegean Sea and the Sea Ionic, with an area of 131,957 square kilometers and 11 million people, Greece, a European nation, exists, with a political parliamentary republican structure established since 1974 (CIA, 2014). Furthermore, and relevant to this analysis, more than half of Greece’s economic industry is concentrated in the metropolitan area of the capital, Athens, with activities dedicated in its majority to agriculture, tourism, construction, among others.

Today, the global economic crisis is centered around the struggles of the European Union to protect its very existence. At the start of its second decade of existence, the common currency form of the Euro, shared by 17 of the European Union's 27 member states, is imperiled by the threat that some of its struggling member might depart from the Eurozone. With a particular focus on Greece, which balanced the question of its status in the Eurozone over the course of its recent elections, the discussion here considers the possible consequences of a breakup of the Eurozone. By and large, the discussion will demonstrate that the consequences would be catastrophic for the global community as a whole.

In 1999, ten European nations joined together to create an economic and monetary union known as the Eurozone. Countries, such as Germany, have thrived with the euro but nations, like Greece, have deteriorated since its adoption of the euro in 2001. The Eurozone was created in 1999 and currently consists of eighteen European nations united under the European Central Bank and all use the euro. The Eurozone has a one point six percent inflation rate and an eleven point six percent unemployment rate in 2014. Greece joined the Eurozone in 2001 and was the poorest European Union member at the time with a two point six percent inflation rate3 (James, 2000). Greece had a long economic history before joining the Eurozone. The economy flourished from 1960 to 1970 with low inflation and modernization and industrialization occurring. The market crash in the late 1970’s led Greece into a state of recession that the nation is still struggling with. Military failures, the PASOK party and the introduction of the euro have further tarnished Greece’s economic stability. The nation struggles with lack of competitiveness, high deficit, and inflation. Greece has many options like bailouts, rescue packages, and PPP to help dig it out of this recession. The best option is to abandon the Eurozone and go back to the drachma. Greece’s inflation and deficit are increasing more and more and loans and bailouts have not worked in the past. Leaving the Eurozone will allow Greece to restructure and rebuild

(Pavlakis, 2013) With so much to lose we have seen European “bailout” agreements that mostly front the Greek government more money coupled with crippling austerity in an effort to “rebuild” the economy. Austerity discourages growth as it cuts the spending of the government who is by far the biggest spender in the economy. (Kentikelenis et al., 2011) The effects of austerity can be devastating, but the true effects are often hidden beneath the messages we get from mainstream news sources. The stereotype of the Greek people as lazy and tax evading has desensitized the public and has made austerity seem like more of a sensible option. The media messages have made strict austerity measures seem justified and in effect have galvanized the Greek people.

The economic crisis of 2008 in New York had ripple effects around the world, causing deep structural problems within the European Union to crumble the economies of several countries. These countries, known as the PIGS, are made up of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, and collectively hold most of the sovereign debt problems of the European Union. After fast growth early in the decade, these countries were spending too much money and not securing their own banking sectors with enough capital. Soon, the debt the PIGS owed caused massive problems throughout the EU, and Germany and France had to come to the rescue of these poorly managed countries. (Greek Crisis Timeline, 1) Now, in 2012, the issue has yet to be fully resolved. Greece is still sinking, and a massive bailout for Greece's banks is required. The debate is whether Germany should continue bailing out Greece and collecting interest on its loans, or whether Greece should try to separate itself from the broader European Union, in an attempt to manage its own finances and declare bankruptcy in order to save itself from crippling interest payments. Each path offers an escape from the present situation that Greece finds itself in, but only the path of bailout results in a harmonious European Union. If Greece fragments off from the EU, then the entire union is weakened as a result. I believe that Greece should accept the terms of the bailout that Germany has provided, and should undergo several years

The Greek sovereign debt crisis has required multiple controversial bailouts; due to deflation and tense political that have caused Greek citizens to unsatisfied current economic condition. This is a large problem of economic stability and political unity facing the European Union. This study seeks to answer two main questions. Firstly, why should European Union help Greece bailouts its economy woes? Secondly, should Greece change its domestic economic policies in response to demands from the EU?

Greece has many historical aspects such as the acropolis where many polytheistic worshipers came to worship the Gods, the first Olympics, as well as the first democracy, however one question that the whole world is asking is “will Greece’s debt soon be history”? The prime minister, Alexis Tripras, is unwilling to pay of the billions of euros of its debt. Germany and France has loaned billions of euros and are now trying to create a plan to solve this problem. The International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and other organizations have declined all of Greece’s request for more loans. Although the majority countries in the world have debt, Greece has been loaned billions of euros from many european countries, the EU, and other international organizations; this is a problem because this country is doing all in its power to accept more grants, unwilling to give the overdue credits back.

The European debt crisis created a damaging health crisis for Greek citizens. In response to the EU crisis and rising debt, the Greek government implemented austerity measures on Greece (Kentikelenis, Karanikolos, Reeves, McKee, & Stuckler, 2014, p. 748). However, these austerity policies proved controversial and negatively impacted the Grecian society. To reduce the budget deficit, Greece’s government introduced the 2010 Stability Programme (Heise & Lierse, 2011, p. 506). This strategy included tax increases on pension provisions, as well as pension reforms to make finances sustainable. These changes included raising the retirement age, reducing pension funds, and adapting pension amounts to income fluctuations (Heise & Lierse, 2011, p. 506). Although this program cut spending, the negative effects on the Grecian citizens were numerous. Austerity

Over the 15 years the German has been widely viewed as the economic catalyst and stabilizer for its fellow European Union states. Even following the Financial Crisis in 2008, the German economy was able to bounce back quicker than neighboring Eurozone states the source of German success points to a high export led growth economy with a competitive manufacturing sector, lower unemployment, balanced budget, and low costs to borrow. With most economic indicators pointing to strong future growth, it remains to be seen whether a spillover effect occurs to the rest of the EU. Despite a number of reforms, EU countries continue to suffer due to lack of global competitiveness. In dire straits, Greece continues to leverage the support of the European Central Bank and Eurozone states to avoid another financial collapse. In support of Greece, Germany itself lent the country €56 billion, however Germany has begun to lose patience over Greece’s attempts to renegotiate terms of its bailout. As the German economy has persevered through economic turmoil, while Eurozone has struggled, Germany continues to be a shining light of prosperity in the European Union.

Since 2008, the Hellenic Republic (Greece) has been suffering from one the worst economical and financial depressions in its history. From its beginning, the nation 's banking system has teetered on the brink of collapse and over 20% of its citizens have been unemployed. This essay will discuss the history of the crisis, its causes, and comparative study between Greece 's economic situation with that of the United States. The paper will close with my future predictions about Greece 's response to the crisis based on experiences I shared with friends and family members in Greece.