In post 24, Yosarian2 wrote:In post 20, TDC wrote:In post 18, Yosarian2 wrote:
In the long run, though, (once we get out of this crises) I'd expect the more economically poor Euro Zone countries to have a lot of economic growth and eventually catch up with Germany and France on a wealth per capita basis, so long as the countries have good governance. It was already happening with Ireland, Spain, and Portugal, although of course the current recession is going to reverse that in the short run, probably not in the long run.
I wouldn't be that optimistic. While bad governance certainly played a role in getting the Greeks where they are now, I doubt they can reform their way out of this on their own, especially considering the ridiculous austerity measures forced upon them.
Mmm. The thing is, normally it is better during a recession to borrow money and stimulate the economy, but no matter what the rest of Europe did or didn't do, i just don't think that was an option for Greece at this point. After they defaulted on 50% of their debts, there's just no one in the world, public or private, that is going to want to lend Greece that kind of money again.
Which is precisely why the rest of the Eurozone needs to spend some cash. (Cash earned by exporting their stuff to Greece, mind you).