Exploding the myth of the feckless, lazy Greeks

[girl gone mad]

71. I showed you the Greek data from before the crisis.

There was no indication that the Greek economy was in peril. The financial crisis was, in fact, the cause of Greece's collapse and depression. "*everyone* is not asking for a bailout to maintain solvency" because *everyone* is not subject to the Maastricht straitjacket. The U.S., England, Canada, Japan, China, etc. are sovereign in their currencies and can run deficits as necessary. Sovereign currency issuing nations bailed themselves out. Iceland repudiated its banking debts and devalued its currency to restore competitiveness and ran deficits in the interim.

Since joining the euro, Greece is merely a currency user, not a currency issuer. Its debts are owed in a currency it does not control. Same for Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Notice a trend here?

Germany hasn't needed to run deficits or ask for a bailout because the Maastricht treaty provided Germany with captive trade partners with which to exercise their mercantilist dominance over the last decade. But now even Germany is in trouble. Why do you think that is?