Between realism and cynism

On Saturday 19th of February people of Internet are trying to organize some protests in support of Greek people: We are all Greeks.
The leitmotiv is against corrupted governments, mean banks, nazi-Germans and the hideous politics that are killing the innocent Greek people.

The Greek debt crisis is such a complex subject that can allow different approach.
The opinion of these protestors is one of the two easiest.
The other easy one is to say the Greeks are lazy corrupted folks that don’t want to pay for their errors.

I will try to picture a quick history, trying to give a broad point of view on the Greek disaster.
Information comes from two main articles, from the New York Times and from LaVoce, an Italian blog where university economic teachers add opinions and analysis.

In 1997 Greece obtained the organization of 2004 Olympics, a very important occasion to boost economy and international position.
Before that year Greece economy had a very small grow rate (1,7% per year), compared to other Mediterranean countries like Italy, Spain and Portugal.
From 1997 to 2007 the average grow rate was 3,2%: based on public investments paid with borrowed money from financial markets, that dealt easily with Greek government because of the Olympics but also because of the next joining to the Euro Zone.

Now the basic rule of borrowing money is that soon or later (you know when), you have to give it back with interests.
When you get a debts, the freedom of your choices is already limited, because you have an obligations, a serious ties with someone else, in a weak position.

Greek government fakes financial statistics and had hidden agreement with financial institutions (the evil Standard&Poors & co.) to keep low interests on this debts.
The borrowed money was not use to create a strong economy, but was spread over useless projects, corruptions, populistic internal policies. At once, Greece was no more a relatively poor country of South East Europe, but was the blessed paradise of the grey, boring North Europe.
Millions of useless public jobs were created, privates discovered the magic of buying luxury on credit, “from olives to cheese, the main topic of conversation was stock exchange”.

The 2007 arrived, the year in which financial market bubble exploded in North America.
Borrowing money was not a pleasure anymore, and debts came expired. But Greece did not have resources to give back the money used to create fake wealth.

The result of bank bills is the social and civil disaster Greek people are living now.
Since they cannot pay their debts, Greek people have to go back to the wealth standards of 15 years ago.

Is just fault of banks? Banks for sure are on the strong side of the deal. But they did not obliged anyone to take debts.
What are the Greek protestors asking? To keep rights and privilegies that they can’t sustain.
They are not fighting for a better world.

Now let me ask, if a friend of yours would ask you 5.000€, with a regular contract where it’s stated when he will return the amount and with which interest, and then at that day he refuse to give back the amount he used to buy a 20″ television, he insults you because you are a “fucking mean nazi bastard”, what would you do?

This is the quick big picture.
The solutions:
Greece decides not to pay its debts, probably leaving EU and Euro, and from one day to the other people will have really nothing, medicines, foods, all the goods they used to buy on debts. They will have nothing for a long while (no one would borrow money to Greece for like 15/20 years), but they keep their “national sovereignty”.
Greece decides to pay the debts, something can cannot be done by any politicians that in the last 15 years dealt just with corruptions and “fakelaki” (that’s why foreign creditors imposed a non-elected government).
Paying debts will take a long process of institutional and social changes, to adapt to lower wealth status, but also to build a mentality of legality necessary in civilized countries.

The nightmare in Greece is an important example for all the other troubled countries.
Yesterday Mr.Monti decided not to back the 2020 Olympics in Rome.
Thinking about Athens 2004, Italy can stop holding breathe.

On April, Greek citizens will finally vote for their government.
The answer will be chosen soon.