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Greek economy, continued ...Published: September 01, 2012
Milton talks about Greece's economic woes.For months, Greece and its collapsing currency and downtrodden economy
has been the focus of intense international debate. Money markets
worldwide have risen and fallen on the hopes of saving this country from
bankruptcy and sparing the rest of Europe and the U.S. from the
crippling domino effect its fall could have on their own sputtering
recoveries.
While the world waits for this fiscal drama to
play out, many Greeks are returning from late-summer vacation. Even in
the face of political strife that Milton says may spill into the streets
and crater what stability remains, this nation, as it has done forever,
essentially shuts down for the August holiday.
“It’s the
Greek way,” says Milton, offering a mild defense for behavior that seems
so incongruous to the state of affairs here. It speaks to the maddening
indifference some world leaders have railed about when it comes to
rescuing this country. Greek’s geopolitical importance as a democratic
port located on the doorstep of the volatile Middle East has long been
noted by American and Western European leaders.
Over the last
decade, Greece went on a debt binge that came crashing to an end in
late 2009, an economic crisis that has decimated the nation’s economy,
brought down its government and unleashed increasing social unrest. A
delicately knitted bailout supported by European economic consortiums
has failed to reverse the free fall because most of the billions of
euros sent to Greece has simply been used to pay interest on those
loans, not principal. So the Greek economy continues to struggle.
But
this seems to matter less to Milton, who prefers to talk about Athens’
beaches and his oldest son, a yacht captain for a well-heeled Greek
business scion.
“Greece has been around a long time,” he says
near the end of my 90-minute cab ride from the Athens airport through
the center of the city to the harbor. “We are survivors, and we will
weather the storm. At what price, I just don’t know.”
Go HERE to read all of Steve Churm's blogs from the Mediterranean.
<<< PREVIOUS PAGE
Readers Feedback:
I'm relaly into it, thanks for this great stuff!
Comment at 10/4/2012
You can awalys tell an expert! Thanks for contributing.
Comment at 10/24/2012
| Greek economy, continued ...Published: September 01, 2012 |
Milton talks about Greece's economic woes.
While the world waits for this fiscal drama to play out, many Greeks are returning from late-summer vacation. Even in the face of political strife that Milton says may spill into the streets and crater what stability remains, this nation, as it has done forever, essentially shuts down for the August holiday.
“It’s the Greek way,” says Milton, offering a mild defense for behavior that seems so incongruous to the state of affairs here. It speaks to the maddening indifference some world leaders have railed about when it comes to rescuing this country. Greek’s geopolitical importance as a democratic port located on the doorstep of the volatile Middle East has long been noted by American and Western European leaders.
Over the last decade, Greece went on a debt binge that came crashing to an end in late 2009, an economic crisis that has decimated the nation’s economy, brought down its government and unleashed increasing social unrest. A delicately knitted bailout supported by European economic consortiums has failed to reverse the free fall because most of the billions of euros sent to Greece has simply been used to pay interest on those loans, not principal. So the Greek economy continues to struggle.
But this seems to matter less to Milton, who prefers to talk about Athens’ beaches and his oldest son, a yacht captain for a well-heeled Greek business scion.
“Greece has been around a long time,” he says near the end of my 90-minute cab ride from the Athens airport through the center of the city to the harbor. “We are survivors, and we will weather the storm. At what price, I just don’t know.”
Go HERE to read all of Steve Churm's blogs from the Mediterranean.
<<< PREVIOUS PAGE
Readers Feedback:
I'm relaly into it, thanks for this great stuff!
| Comment at 10/4/2012 |
You can awalys tell an expert! Thanks for contributing.
| Comment at 10/24/2012 |
