Greece working its way out of debt, toward recovery

Thymios Carabas, Las Vegas

Monday, March 21, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Saturday’s Las Vegas Sun editorial, “GOP fear and loathing,” debunks Mike Huckabee’s attempt to connect President Barack Obama with the Kenyan Mau Mau, but it seems to accept the assertion that Greece — which, of late, is popular with conservatives as an economic boogeyman — is bankrupt.

Like its American ally, Greece is deeply in debt — a situation for which both the Greek right and left are responsible — and is struggling to pay off its creditors. Greece should be considered bankrupt only if it gives up and refuses to pay.

Greece is in trouble because of excessive spending, failure to collect taxes and a corrupt political system. The IMF and the EU have demanded political reforms accompany fiscal responsibility.

The Greek government expects to stabilize the country’s economy in the next four or five years. The Greeks, in hopes that political reform will bring greater economic opportunity and prosperity, have been unusually calm despite widespread economic suffering.

Keep in mind that one way Greece went into debt was by investing in its infrastructure: subways in Athens and Thessaloniki, new universities and colleges and electric trains to connect the mainland. The list is long. When Greece recovers, it will still have these improvements.

When the U.S. gets its economic house in order, it will still have an out-of-date, decaying infrastructure, an educational system in shambles and the memory of budget surpluses wasted on foreign wars and tax cuts for the superrich.