Mr Changsha wrote:thegreekdog wrote:natty_dread wrote:thegreekdog wrote:all the hardworking Greeks came to the United States.
Is that why Greek economy failed?
This is what my grandfather thinks. From what I understand, the Greek economy failed because people and companies don't pay the taxes they are supposed to pay and because of state pensions. But that's Mr. Changsha's expertise.
Well...the greek economy? I have some understanding (and views) on both political and economic concepts, but remember I live in something of a news-free environment. Of course I could read newspapers online etc etc but ever since the conservatives kicked those lying little shits out of power I have basically felt that the world is all fine again (yep...pretty narrow, uk, china, us, eu), or at least a whole lot better, and promptly turned my mind off current events for the first time in about ten years.
I would suppose, however, that if a brain drain was serious and heavy enough, and new immigrants of equal quality were not found, that it is possible that a country couldn't produce enough actual contributors to the public purse. But it is more likely to be a case of ridiculous government spending linked to tax avoidance, overly-strong unions depressing growth, an unrealistic and self-delusional body politic and media etc etc.
Well... my grandfather is a 93 year old man who barely speaks English (although he's been here for 77 years). He's a pretty smart guy (and was successful in business), but I doubt he has the answers as to why Greece has failed.