There is absolutely no reason for Germany to lift a finger to save Greece or any of the other profligate countries in the Euro community. Greece created its own nightmare. What a country! George Papandreou and his father Andreas (an economist I am dishearteded to note) were probably the two people most responsible for Greece's current situation. Both George and Andreas were noted socialists and helped take Greece down the path to massive entitlements and a nearly 50 percent share of the economy for the government. What little is left over for the private sector is so heavily regulated that businesses have no real hope. So, Greece is doomed. Yes, there is no hope for Greece -- bailout or no bailout -- unless Greece backs off from absurd entitlements and ridiculous deals for government employees. No hope at all. Any temporary help from Germany just postpones the inevitable. (The same, by the way, is true of California and New York as we shall all soon see).
So what is Papandreou saying. He is blaming the European Commission for "failing to crack down on [Greece's] previous government record in falsifying statistics. Oh, really! Where was George when this was going.
George Papandreou is a complete hypocrite. German Chancellor Merkel is right to demand that Greece take very specific steps toward putting their own house in order before anyone else contemplates a rescue. Three cheers for Angela Merkel. Hopefully, the IMF (think USA) will stay away as well.
