It emerges that Greeks have a long history of spending the money they do not have. The country has been in debt for the most part of its modern history. Fiscal management is a crucial skill, and the country that does not possesses it condemns itself to poverty and decay.
“Greece’s first recorded debt default was in the fourth century B.C., and the country “has defaulted on its external sovereign debt obligations at least five previous times in the modern era (1826, 1843, 1860, 1894 and 1932).” Thus, debt defaults are certainly not unheard of in modern Greece. In fact, five defaults during a century appears rather common.
Looking at the historical record, it is easy to understand why Germany is concerned over Greece’s economic management skills — or lack thereof. History is a powerful teacher, and it clearly shows that Greece has a debt problem that didn’t just emerge following the recent financial crisis. It had been festering since the 1980s. Greece was already carrying far too much debt well before 2007. And in the not-too-distant past, Greece has both seen its debt explode to even higher levels than at present and also defaulted on the debt. All of which must worry the more fiscally prudent members of the EU.”(from the article)
Read the article here.
