I ll give you some insight from Athens.
As far as our economy is concerned, there has been some massive and tragic mistakes made from our govs in the past decades.
We are a country that has no industry, no resources (it is said there is oil under our island but the Turks claim it and wont let us drill it), pretty much nothing to export of profit from, rather than tourism.
After the wars, we have been destroyed 3 times, we had to borrow money to rebuild our economy and become a developed country.
But ever since, we have reached a stalemate, since the salaries increased and services has risen, we cannot be a cheap turistic dedication, like other nearby countries.
Our most precious sculpts are scattered in Europe the biggest museums.
Up until the eighties, we were forced to pay tribute to the US, at the form of spending the largest part of our GDP to buy weapons from them, so that our safety can be guaranteed.
Whilst in the same time, we have been paying doses of the loan we took after world wars and despite paying many times the amount we were lent, we are still in debt because the doses could hardly keep up with the interest.
This happens for decades, it didnt happen yesterday, within a day.
The two families that dominate the 2 major parties in Greece, were also well aware of this for decades.
But they have been fooling themselves and the Greek people, because our national policy was bound by the US interests.
At the 80s the father of the current prime minister, took another huge loan, bound to put in debt the next 2-3 generation of Greeks, but instead of spending it on weapons, like the ones before him, he gave it to the ppl.
To gain momentary popularity and put us in debt forever.
Since when, we have in denial, the incompetent and corrupted govs that took over, passed on the situation upon the next one and give the blame to each other.
But in recent times, as the European Union rises in power, our politics made a pro-European turn, teaming up with the French and German and rapidly losing US favor. They still have influence upon us, as they have proved by canceling the agreement with Putin and the previous gov, for the gas conduct.
That would help Greece escape from the imposed misery.
But having partial control is not enough, when we made agreements to buy German submarines and tanks and French aircraft and frigates, the US realized that we have slipped of their control and tried to intimidate us by unleashing the regional bulldog upon us (Turkey invaded one of our islands)
attack us on national and cultural level, by harming our tourism with delusional claims of terrorism in Greece, every summer etc
But the European Union is not as weak, as the US assumed.
Despite the best efforts to delude our influence and ethnic existence
"The Greek people is hard to govern and this we must hit deep in their civilising foundations. Then, maybe, it shall concede. That is I mean, to knock the language, the religion, the spiritual and historical legacies, to neutralise all their possibilities to develop, to be distinguished, to prevail, so as not to disturb us in the Balkans, not to disturb in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the Middle East, throughout all this crucial region of great strategic significance for us, for USA's policies"
Kissinger
We still managed with the help of Europe to keep Turkey out of Europe, as long as they dont respect civil, human and international rights/justice and the Skopians, as long as they are claiming that they are more Greeks than us.
"Bush vowed that his last act as president would be to help "Macedonia" enter Europe with that stolen name"
So, here we are now, in 2011, the EU coin and influence is rapidly growing and threatening the US influence, no one countries like Greece, dare to challenge the US policy directly and win Bucharests summits over them.
In a time that the US economy faces a serious financial crisis, in a time that the $ is rapidly losing ground to the EURO, the US ought to bounce back and do what it is necessary to win the new age financial cold war with Europe.
And they did it with the typical American way, they have systematically attacked the weakest circle of the chain, undermining the income from the tourism for a few years and then by full blown press war about the debs that were known since the WW.
The current prime minister is yet another US puppet, born in US, raised in Canada, studied in US, when he came back to Greece, he was speaking Greek with US accent.
For more than a year now US media are waging a war on the Greek economy,
with the utter goal to bankrupt us and deal a decisive blow to the EU economy. Make no mistake, if the euro coin fails in Greece, it will fail in international level and even if it survives, its credibility wont.
One way or another the US wins, they are almost bankrupt anyway, they punish the Greeks for being notty, deal a decisive blow to Euro and at worst case scenario, they all going down, not just the $
Its genius really. The last part of the plan was to impose the US controlled, IMF to chain Greece and do with her what it did with the rest of its victims.
Some Greek politics saw the danger and tried to react.
They somehow even convinced the US puppet, current prime minister to vow that we would prefer bankruptcy to IMF
The only global power that tried to make a difference then and there and had an interest to make a difference was China.
They offered Greece a way out with huge loans of minimal interest.But the US puppet managed to delay and abort the deal, by claiming that we dont need it and Europe will help us through it.
Such a claim was well founded, because France and Germany guaranteed help.
The gave us a few loans, despite the fact that we were inevitable going for bankruptcy. They have secured that those loans will be refunded on them, by our acquisitions, of German cars, German submarines that float with inclination etc
And then, when we were made loan dose junkies they made us sign with the devil IMF, so that they share spoils, with each dose, they impose more and more drastic measures.
Measures that are imposed only in countries that are paying tribute to the ones that occupied them.
They were forcing us to sell every national agency to German and French banks/companies.
To take a better control of the situation, the US managed to take out the EU control, by doing what they do best.
Discredit politicians with sex scandals, now the US want to take their share as well. And now Obama favors IMF efforts to further loan us and put us in debts we will never afford and interests 20x higher of what the Chinese offered.
And all of a shudden, smth happened than no one expected, the stupid Greek ppl starting rioting vs the 300 mercenary thieves that have been voting for the past 2-3 decades and everybody is in panic again, as their plans are in danger.
What if we dont pay?
Europe cannot afford that, they have to loan us anyways to save Euro, its really interesting to see what happens, not to my pl, we are going to suffer anyway, but to the US-EU cold war, the US were losing ground, but with the stross scandal, they are back in business.
How are they going to negotiate/manipulate their way our of bankruptcy and turn things on their favor, by using the Greek economy card?
To be continued...