Greece as a Demonstration Project

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from Dollars & Sense:



Greece as a Demonstration Project
Will the Black Sheep Bite Back? Will the PIIGS? What about US?

By Mike-Frank Epitropoulos


There has been an avalanche of coverage on Greece’s economic situation in the past few months. Most of the coverage rightly attempts to diagnose the underlying problems of Greece’s dual deficits of the public sector and its national debt, and how this might affect the value of the euro and the integrity of the Euro Zone. But, as anyone who has followed this story knows, Greece is not alone in this precarious situation. They are lumped into a group of EU countries that have been labeled the “PIIGS”—Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Additionally, it is known that some of the other countries have worse problems and are larger than Greece, which could have even greater negative impact on the EU and the value of the euro. So, why the focus on Greece?

The Greek situation is both complicated and simple.

Greece has long had a bloated public sector that has employed disproportionate numbers of the population. This schema has not operated on market or even traditional public sector principles, but rather on rousféti—or patronage—principles of political convenience. This means that there were typically more civil servants employed than were necessary, their working hours were shorter, and their service more lax than one would expect or like. All of these things have become targets for neoliberal reform around the world, as we are seeing harsh, IMF-style austerity measures once again being pushed as conditions on countries who find themselves in a bind.

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Beyond this, Greece is at the top of the list in military spending as a percentage of GDP in the EU. At the same time, Greek teachers are next to last in salaries in the EU. In fact, in the past few years, riot police have beaten and tear-gassed teachers and students more frequently than any other group. The point here is that both ND and their competitors in Greece’s two-party stranglehold, the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) have consistently been more in line with the neoliberal economic agenda and tougher in the social arena than their reputation in the West as the “black sheep” of Europe would suggest.

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Big business does not desire and will not stand for insubordination at this juncture. The non-productive paper economy that has taken control of the global economy is not sustainable for people or governments. There is frustration across the ideological spectrum around the world. The selfish interests that global financial capital is pursuing are naked. We must demand that these people be reined in. It is time for the “black sheep” to bite back. But then there are the PIIGS of Europe and us, here, in the United States. Let us recall the late Howard Zinn and ask: Which is worse at this moment in history—civil disobedience or civil obedience? ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2010/0510epitropoulos.html