Greece wants to be prosperous without being competitive. It wants to run a five-star welfare state with a two-star economy; modernity without efficiency or transparency; wealth without work. Greece wants control over its own destiny—but it also wants someone else to pick up the check.
In what the WSJ’s Bret Stephens calls a flight from reality, Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 177%, which means that this year Greece will produce barely half as much as it owes. Greece also spends close to 18% of GDP on public pensions, compared to about 7% in Ireland and 5% in the U.S. And this is what the Greek government calls austerity?
Bret Stephens writes, “Pride goeth before destruction, goes the proverb. So does stupidity.” Read more from Mr. Stephens here.
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