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Fear and Loathing In Athens

Wall Street Journal Original article ›

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Greece's problem says Carney, is that borrowed money simply financed the incomes of the large number of government employees- with one third of the workforce in the public sector- the unemployed and those on state pensions. It was not achieved by increasing productivity or increase in production. Nominal private sector labor costs went up by 62% in Greece from 2000 to 2008, when they increased by 15% in Germany. All this was done by using borrowed money after Greece joined the EU in 2001. And all this reckless borrowing was not visible to ordinary Greeks- worse it was being covered up till 2009 by the government till the IMF's Traa pointed this out. And Greeks still cannot come to terms with what happened.

Causes of the debt crisis in Greece and the failure to come to terms with the problem inside Greece

03/03/2010

A estimated one third of the workforce is in the public sector in Greece placing a large burden on the government budget. Nominal private sector labor costs went up by 62% in Greece compared to 15% in Germany for the period 2000-2008. Much of this was done through the government spending of borrowed money. The smaller private sector with only small productivity gains and the weak tax collection was never going to be able to support the large number of civil servants. Carney says the 30,000 reduction in the number of civil servants agreed to for 2010 has not been done, raising questions about implementation of the 150,000 in reductions required by the EU.

Grouped Articles

Greek Debt Crisis: The Back Story

New York Times 08/13/2011

Europe's Original Sin

Wall Street Journal 03/03/2010

Athens's Love Affair With the Euro Persists

Wall Street Journal 11/04/2013

Life Amid the Ruins

BusinessWeek 06/24/2010

The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink Greece

Wall Street Journal 07/10/2010

In Greece, Bailout May Hinge on Pursuing Tycoons

New York Times 02/26/2015


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