Is there a future for the Greek people, the Greek government and the Greek nation? There is no time for either daydreaming or guessing, nor for nightmarish scenarios, nor for wishful thinking. The present ailing system need be dismantled and restructured on new foundations.
The primary budget surplus that many Greeks are hoping for will prove impossible to achieve if the hugely inflated Greek debt bubble is not completely removed from the Greek society. Behavior does not change by handing out orders or an attitude of slandering. The only thing that will help change the way of thinking and the everyday mentality is a slow but effective realization that development has lacked balance and stood precariously on a bubble.
The Greek bubble includes, surrounds and defines every ‘modern-era’ Greek citizen. It intensifies social injustice and the resulting social inequality.
This bubble has skyrocketed consumerism but with no productive results. Success and prosperity increased mainly as a result of corruption, illegal transactions, the generous granting of privileges to certain workers and unions, tax evasion and the embezzlement of state and social security funds. Hard and fraudulent acts brought wealth to many Greeks, regardless of industry.
It is undisputable that those bubbles are a political issue, and thus needs to be resolved by politicians. Action should be taken and decisions should be made. However, that is not an easy task.
For many years inequality has existed in Greece. Political leaders have been benefitting wealthy, powerful and well-connected citizens to the cost of indigent citizens, unemployed citizens and pensioners. This has to change and if it does not, the debt will never resolve.
Greek politicians fail to acknowledge the issues at hand. In a press conference three days ago, Evangelos Venizelos, the country’s Minister of Finance, claimed that the “sacrifices [of] the Greek people have paid off.”
“These harsh measures are the country’s ticket towards alleviation of the national debt,” he continued.
I cannot help but dissent. These sacrifices have not paid off yet and we still do not know if Greece will be alleviated of its huge debt. Such ear-caressing, political statements are cliché, outdated and Greek citizens are fed up with them. We are trying to get rid of this bubble. Such statements may have been effective in the past, in mild situations, but now the country is on fire! Today’s reality demands political acts, self-criticism, clear messages that will support and unify the nation. Greek politicians should finally consider acting like how they are supposed to act: like leaders.
No one can say for sure to what extent the crisis will affect us or how long it will continue to harass the Greek population. Greeks have lived for the past 20 years in a state of albeit fictitious security; now, they are asked to jump into a state of controlled bankruptcy.
The whole nation has had to radically change its rhythm of life, mentality and everyday habits and continue living in a new society, where everything will be completely different. Greeks need visible and radical political action to be taken that will bring more just changes to the lives of every citizen.
“Absolute poverty is not the problem in our societies. In the developed world we are not in need of more wealth but of more justice,” British epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson said, who studied the relation between inequality and social problems in more than twenty countries — including Greece.
In an interview with a Greek newspaper, Wilkinson supported that “equality must come about as a result of free choice.”
“The citizens must understand that the more social equality exists in a society, the better life quality will exist in all levels of that society,” he said. “It is a matter of societal education.”
So what would the benefits be? Many: better physical and mental health, longer life expectancy, better education, lower crime and drug-use rate, more social trust and greater involvement in community acts.
Recession may aggravate inequality but it may also take the edge off it. Let’s look at the previous economic crisis, in the 1930s: The British Government passed laws that dropped the price of goods at a faster rate than that of salaries. Therefore, inequality was very much limited, as people could buy more, with less money!
Although it is risky to compare the recession of the 1930s with that of the modern day, we can reach one conclusion: some Greek citizens are paying the price and some others are refusing to pay the cost of the crisis. The crisis that they brought to the Greek nation. That is the bubble.