They wanted a poor government. Now they absolutely have one.
The failure of the Greek economy will not, though, unravel the rest of the world. Most other countries and citizens realize the commonwealth they share and are not gleeful at the paradox of individual success and public failure. The Greek economy is small and Greeks fully capable of “making it work.”. With few options, they will finally pay their taxes, forgo some of their public benefits and learn to share responsibility for their country and society.
But while the country of my heritage struggles with the ramifications of their “kill the government” past mentalities, I am struck with the growing similarities of some of America’s leaders and citizens.
Together, we are all stockholders of this corporation called the United States. Why would the wealthiest and most powerful among us want anything but this corporation to succeed? Why would they not advocate to pay taxes to keep services and citizens and the commonwealth strong?
Sacrifice is not only for the poorest and weakest. It is a shared sacrifice that has made us strong and could continue to do so. Looking at Greece, the extreme view of a failed democratic social contract, shows the example to me of where we may be heading.
It is a simple lesson really. Let us not become gleeful, but share the sacrifices as we are able.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
Re June 18 AP article, “Greek crisis may complicate choice of IMF leader”: There is a great deal of concern with our national debt, which is expected to grow from $14 trillion to $25 trillion over the next decade. The current average borrowing rate for the federal government is 2.5 percent, way below the three-decade average rate of 5.7 percent. If interest rates normalize to historic levels, in 10 years added interest costs alone will be $800 billion. To put that number into perspective, our total national defense budget in 2010 was $680 billion. These numbers are staggering. If we do not act now to rein in the growth of our federal deficits, we will soon be like Greece. Greece’s 10-year bond was at 5 percent two years ago; it is just under 18 percent today. In other words, Greece is bankrupt. If we do not reduce our debt, we could also be forced by bond vigilantes into economic austerity, which will lower our standard of living and force us to drastically cut our payments for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. How long would it be before we see riots in the streets, as we see today in Greece? The time to address our looming debt bomb is now, while we still have some time to reduce our entitlements in a fair and orderly fashion. Let’s hope the administration and Congress can agree on a sensible and serious reduction in longterm entitlement programs, because that is where cuts are needed most.
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