One of the best things about Greece is how cheap it is. As a frugal student, I would probably be eating bagels or pasta for dinner, as I did in New Zealand, but here, I can get a nutritious meal for under ten euros. There is also always the option of the 2€ gyro, a Greek specialty.
What the average tourist may not know is, why is everything in this country so under budget. Answer: they are going through an economic crisis. I sit in my room, less than a kilometer from the Acropolis of Athens on the first of June, 2015. Little did I know from earlier today during our discussion in global issues, but in two weeks time, Greece will have gone bankrupt.
According to the 10 Facts of Greek Economic Crisis, Greece joined the European Union and in 1999, the Euro was introduced, but due to equal bonds and low interest, Greece continued to loan money from other countries and increase their debt. During The Great Recession in 2007 caused many countries in the EU to go into economic crisis. In 2010, private agency, Standard and Poor's lowered Greece’s credit worthiness and in 2011, it became the country with the lowest credit rating in the world. There was a possibility of default by mid 2010, so Greece started loan agreements with other Euro-zone countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Central Bank, which is known as the Troika. This initial loan included 110 billion euros and the second loan in July 2011 was 109 billion euros. There was plan create in October that year to reduce Greece’s debt by 50% by 2020. In order to get loans, Greece implemented austerity measures, meaning the public’s spending would be reduced, which made the recession even worse because of rioting and unsettled people. Many citizens were unemployed and ⅓ of the population was considered in poverty. Greece asked for forgiveness from other countries instead of taking another loan in February 2015, but the German Chancellor said Greece would not receive any more loans or have their debt forgiven. It seemed as if Greece would default and remove itself from the Eurozone, leading many others to follow. The Greek politicians were trying to negotiate debt platform and gain a voice in their anti austerity. The financial minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, has made drastic proposals in order to persuade the Troika to decrease their debt. Since it is unlikely that Greece will be able to repay all of its debt, a compromise needs to be made. The social justice in the country must be kept and interest rates should be made lower.
This economic crisis in Greece has gotten way too far out of hand. If the government continues to take out loans, then they will continue to get into trouble with other countries. As stated by Aljazeera in Europe Grants Greece Debt Bailout Extension, “Greece also made the concession to not take any measures that might negatively affect budget targets, economic recovery or financial stability.”
This protest art shows a Greek man throwing the euro sign, which is about to explode. The citizens of Greek obviously do not like the great austerity measures they have had to suffer through. Greece being a part of the Eurozone is a grenade and everything may just blow up out of proportions. I guess we’ll find out if Greece will end up going bankrupt or not in two weeks, which marks the four month extension they received from the European Bank in February.
