The Greeks cheated they should not entered the EU in the first place - they took advantage for several years of cheap interest rates but refused to act upon their own economy - they deserved to be kicked out of the EU.
Ireland,Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Baltic States etc., paid a very stiff price in social benefits and government employees compensation to be able to enter and maintain fiscal discipline.
Hungary PM worked for 1 EUR per year - what did Greece officials do beside bitching and acting as they ARE Europe?
Latvia is going through this ordeal, but its debt is much lower. Its banks are mostly Swedish, creating a buffer. The strategic priority for Baltic states is to embed themselves into Europe's system to keep a revanchiste Russia off their backs, so Latvians have more stomach for austerity.
Professor Rogoff, co-author of This Time It's Different: Eight Centuries Of Financial Folly, said Greece is the world's champion bankrupt, having been in default for half its sovereign history since 1821.
"If a fiscal squeeze locks Greece into permanent recession and flattens the economy, it is not going to be politically sustainable," he said. Historically, defaults creep up late in the crisis, once the patience of creditors and victim runs out. They come in clusters. |
