It is hard not to feel some sympathy for Greeks who have seen their standard of living collapse along with the Greek economy, in part because of the fraudulent financial manipulations of past governments. Greece's economic figures were rigged so that it could qualify for membership of the eurozone. As the crisis hit home, the government covered up the full extent of the country's indebtedness, so that effectively, two separate bail outs totaling $330 billion had to be mounted by the rest of the eurozone. Now it looks as if a further, mini-bail of $16 billion is necessary. Moreover, there is considerable dissatisfaction in Brussels with the failure of the Greek government to cut expenditure and raise income. The former requires the privatization of state assets and a reduction in the number of workers in the state sector and the featherbedding that most of them were given over the years. For instance, civil servants have since the late 1980s been allowed time off in recognition of the extra effort involved in using computers! Meanwhile the sell-off of state investments continues but slowly. The disposal of the highly profitable national lottery was surrounded by questions over its probity. Indeed, it was asked with some justice, why the government should be getting rid of an asset that actually made money? Given the shenanigans practiced by their politicians, ordinary Greeks who have seen jobs disappearing and wages frozen, if not indeed slashed, feel a sense of betrayal and outrage. It is however, not simply Greek political leaders who are to blame for the country's economic mess. The rest of the eurozone bears a significant amount of responsibility, as indeed do the Greeks themselves. Greece has long been a by-word for tax avoidance. The tax inspection regime was notoriously corrupt. Whether at a corporate or personal level, a relatively small payment would see a legitimate tax obligation slashed or even eradicated. Meanwhile, glorying in the use of the single European currency with its low interest rates and strong international value, all of Greece, individuals and companies no less than the government itself, went on an insane borrowing and spending spree. When the global recession hit, Greece, along with fellow eurozone countries, Ireland, Portugal and Spain discovered they had debts that were impossible to service. In the case of the Greeks, fiscal profligacy was compounded by the refusal to do anything about the meagre tax take. Thus most ordinary Greeks, who did very well in the good times, should recognize that they are paying a price for their own financial improvidence. Nor should the role of the rest of the European Union be underestimated. The political drivers behind the single currency caused politicians, along with the financial chiefs in the European Central Bank (ECB), to ignore the serious financial fissures that were opening up in the single currency, and believe that these could be papered over until times had gotten better. The euro had become a world currency and ought to rise above questions over its inherent worth and stability. Currency values are often a case of smoke and mirrors. After all, look at the US, where quantitative easing - the effective printing of new money - has quadrupled the number of dollars in circulation, yet far from tumbling in value, the dollar remains strong. But given the confidence-sapping Greek eurozone disaster, can the ECB continue to pull off the same trick?
