1, Greece, as the most backward country in the old EU 15, enjoys hundreds of millions of euros of EU subsidies every year.
But rich people have to look like rich people, and Greece must meet EU standards in welfare and labor protection policies, which makes Greece suffer from wealth disease. However, in a series of economic indicators, such as labor productivity, the Greeks can't reach the average standard of the European Union, so they have to live by issuing government bonds and borrowing foreign debts. After a long time, the sovereign credit crisis came out.
Greeks enjoy the most generous pension system in the world. The pension is 96% of the income before retirement. The unmarried or divorced daughter of a civil servant can continue to receive a pension after her parents die.
Therefore, the burden of aging in Greece accounts for about 15.9% of GDP. If Greece's existing pension system remains unchanged, its funding gap will accumulate to 400 billion euros in ten years, almost twice the gross national product of Greece.
3. Because the government has problems and lacks credibility! The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-20 10 issued by the World Economic Forum ranks the competitiveness of 133 countries in the world, among which Greece ranks 7 1. The report believes that the inefficiency and corruption of government bureaucrats are the most serious problems in Greece.
Due to social corruption, it is common for people to bribe officials and evade taxes. Due to the low tax revenue, in order to repay the debt of 3 billion euros for hosting the 2004 Olympic Games, the government actually asked citizens to pay income tax in advance for the following year.
As of February this year, Greek debt reached 294 billion euros. According to Greece 1 1 10,000 population, the per capita debt is about 26,700 euros, while Greece's GDP is only 240 billion euros.
Different consequences of Greek bankruptcy and its warning;
Once bankrupt, the creditor's rights will be dissolved; And if it doesn't go bankrupt, the state has the obligation to repay this debt.
For creditors, the cost of active assistance will be weighed against the losses caused by non-assistance, and the possible losses will be minimized. If Greece goes bankrupt, its national credit will deteriorate from now on, because it is equivalent to "default" on the foreign debt owed, thus facing the dilemma that no one will lend it money.
But if Greece can restructure its economy quickly, then Greece can rebuild its national credit, use its own state-owned assets as collateral, issue guaranteed bonds and start over. So it's no big deal that the country goes bankrupt in the economic sense.
No matter how long this farce lasts, whether it is leaving the euro zone or accepting harsh austerity terms, Greeks have to accept the reality of a sudden decline in living standards. Only by "reducing prices" nationwide can we regain our competitiveness. When Greece can sell its goods and services to the global market in exchange for a continuous income stream, people's living standards can return to the upward channel.
"Free" is often "the most expensive". High welfare looks beautiful, but it can't last long. A person's living standard depends on his own income, and income depends on his own efforts and knowledge. Only in this way can life go on. One person is like this, and so is a country. This is an important revelation brought by the "tragedy" of "modern version" Greece.
Reference link: Phoenix Comments: The root of Greece's financial bankruptcy lies in high welfare.