Greece: the lesson to be learned
Theodore Dalrymple:
In fact, Greece is only a particularly acute or virulent case of the sickness that afflicts much of the Western world. Greece’s overall debt is higher, no doubt, and its deficit larger, than those of other countries, but the difference is one of degree, not of kind. Like most of the rest of us, the Greeks have been living beyond their means.
When the crowd tried to storm the Greek parliament, shouting, “Thieves! Thieves!,” its anger was misdirected. It was a classic case of what Freudians call projection: the attribution to others of one’s own faults.
Sound familiar to a certain government’s expected budget tonight?
When will Western governments and individuals reign it in a bit?
Until Greece is alowed to fail (cruel but true) Governments will not get the lesson that spending more than you earn and combining that with a welfare entitlement mindset is a recipie for disaster.
But there’s no way the EU would allow a failed state to run amok within its borders. Let’s just hope the bailout is pretty draconian. Recovery is possible. We saw that after the IMF put in place some pretty draconian measures that many Asian countries had to follow after the meltdown here 12-odd years ago.