Discussions

Greece

Given that Greece’s accession into the European Union required a pre-accession transitional period before full institutional integration for the country to implement “necessary economic reforms,” in conjunction with its 2009 ranking on the EU’s Index of Economic Freedom, it isn’t difficult to understand why it finds itself in its current financial straits.

While I agree with comments regarding the dissociation of the Greek economy from that of the EU as a whole, given its long history of difficulty in reducing its debt and controlling corruption, it begs the question of the legitimacy of the EU’s decision to retain Greece as one of its member nations. Unlike the United States, the EU can penalize one of its member nations for economic noncompliance. Despite the many appeals to “wait and see,” the time for waiting has come and gone. While politically unsavory, as the majority of the reason for association is economic, the decision to continue extending membership to a nation which fails to meet the requirements year after year should be reconsidered.

New Dangers for the World Economy

There seem to be valid points in the Economist’s perception of the new dangers for the world economy, but in general, I disagree. “Governments helped save the world economy and now they are the problem” is the problem. The governments were already the problems. To add to those problems by increasing domestic spending, printing more money, and aggressive borrowing does nothing more than put large countries, specifically the US, in the same position it found itself in the 1970s. Stagflation, anyone? The parallel with the Great Depression is constantly drawn, but the rampant inflation of the 1970s is just as frightening. We find ourselves in a similar situation, rampant government spending both domestically and abroad, the devaluation of the dollar (partly as a result of all the new money), and government policies intended to ease the pain of a recession and...