The Future Of The Greek Economy

Additionally, the Greek government has also implement healthcare and pension reforms, banning increases of pensions for at least three years. (Hewitt. Gavin, 2010). On the other hand, the super-national government ECB has also launched the Securities Market Program, which allows the ECB to start buying government bonds in order to fight the crisis. Hoping to able to pump more money

The Troika, made up of the International Monetary Fund, European Commissions and the European Central Bank have the most to lose in this debt crisis as they own 78% of Greek debt. 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. 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 hegemozined the Greek people.

Greece or any other Eurozone member shouldn’t be a scapegoat of the failed project - Norman Lamont and his counterparts the so called pioneers of Federal Europe are equally responsible.

The Greek Government beloved that if they adopted the Euro that they then could use it as

Initially Merkel was against giving bailouts. Thus with the Greco-European crisis being the forefront, Merkel pushed for greater private-sector investors to absorb some of the rescue burden. She saw to it that European Union bureaucrats went to Athens where they quietly insisted on simple but important things like shortened vacations for the civil servants, higher taxes on swimming pools and lower expenditures on public housing (Applebaum, 2013). In consideration of these reforms, Angela Merkel stated at political rally in Germany “It's not just about getting any further into debt in countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal, people should not be allowed to receive pension before their German counterparts. We all have to put in some effort. This is important, we cannot have the same currency, yet some have an abundance of holiday leave and others have very little.”The German Chancellor continues “We cannot stand by these countries and allow them to act the way they have up until now. Germany will help, but only if these countries demonstrate they are putting in the necessary effort"(Asymptotix, 2011). Merkel made multiple attempts with banks and governments to reform policies to prevent taxpayers from absorbing the burden of paying bailouts to the indebted countries. Unfortunately, her efforts failed, and European taxpayers suffered the burden of rescuing the Euro (Engelen, 2011). Merkel stated “the reforms that

History tends to repeat itself and Greece is no exception. Greece’s current economic crisis can be partly blamed on Greek mythology. It can be seen with Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras decisions in policy which have resulted in similar repercussions as the myths. For example,

In the cabinet that was convened yesterday to discuss about the refugees, so that it can finalize the government’s stance in the EU-Turkish summit, the prime minister said about the situation in the country that it was difficult, but – in any case – manageable. He also added that immediate initiatives had to be taken to prevent further deterioration. Concerning the supreme Greece-Turkey cooperation council to be held in Izmir, Tsipras said that the country's goal was the active intervention, as Greece had a key role in Turkey's relations with Europe.

Ever since the end of 2009, Greece has been involved in a financial and economic crisis that has been record breaking and shattered world records in terms of its severity and worldwide effects. The Greek government, since the beginning of the crisis, has attempted to take several governmental measures to try and “stop the bleeding,” including economy policy changes, dramatic government spending and budget cuts and the implementation of new taxes for citizens. In addition to this, the government has tried to alter the perceptions of Greek government and economy by the rest of the world in an effort to appear both more liberal and more democratic. Greece has also been working to privatize many previous

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 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

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

Greece, the overloaded with enormous debt, defaulted and could not pay 1.5 billion euros ($ 1.7 billion) to the International Monetary Fund on Monday (June 29). The country stands today in front of two options; either to say ‘yes’ to the bailout plan or reject it and proceed into the unknown. ‘Yes’ vote would mean the Greeks accept the terms of the creditors which require Athens to continue austerity policies, tax increases (especially on the middle and wealthy classes), freeze early retirement programs, accept direct European supervision on its finance; and last but not least pay off the debt and interests to the lenders without delay. ‘Yes’ will open the door for creditors to extend loans and financing to Athens and, thus, solving the problem from the standpoint of the troika (European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the European Commission). But this is a very long term program that requires the Greek people to be very patient and bear with its toughness knowing that their economy is weak, the country’s debt exceeds 312 billion euros (177% of GDP), trade balance suffers constant deficit (-1.8 billion euros in last May), while more than 25% of the labor force is unemployed, and about 40% of Greek young people have no job!

Although a commonly accepted view is that the hidden budget deficit in Greece is the beginning of the European sovereign debt crisis, the real causes of this economic crisis can be various. To reveal the whole event, a comprehensive review of the background is

"Europe must prevent Greece from becoming an out-and-out catastrophe and make sure that the same fiscal 'remedy' is not applied to other weak economies" -- Franziska Brantner

The first bailout was occurred in 2010 when the Troika started handling Greece loans in exchange for spending cuts and tax hikes. A second later bailout brought the total amount given to Greece roughly £169 billion. The government still has a debt load. By 2011, the EU and the IMF have provided €240 billion in emergency funds In return for even more austerity measures. Unfortunately, the measures further reduced the Greek economy, falling the tax revenues required to repay the debt. Unemployment reached 25%. Many Greek economists blame the austerity measures for much of the country’s continuing issues.