re: #279 Gus

That might be true but typically I’m asking myself “what austerity?” Greece didn’t get to this point through austerity but the other way around combined with other wide and mitigating factors. Not the least of which a retirement age of 50-53 and a large segment of the population that didn’t even pay into that retirement program through taxes. That’s just for starters. Also, if they’re going to ask for Germany’s help then they have to accept Merkel’s conditions or go somewhere else.

That’s only half the story, though. The other half is that foreign banks were very happy to loan the Greeks vast amounts of money to subsidize the fiscal situation you’re describing. And of course, they never foresaw the possibility that, in the event of a global downturn, the Greeks might be unable to pay them back.