Greece cheated! Or not?

By Emmanuel Bouhalakis

The voices of some EU officials and other high standing people keep multiplying about the issue of how Greece supposedly cheated the European Union with falsified statistics to enter the common currency. Although it is common practice for many countries to use numbers in their budget in a "creative" way to appear healthier financially and attract investments, Greece is believed by some to have gone too far in presenting a much smaller deficit. This is true especially with the previous conservative government which presented a 6% deficit whereas the actual one was almost 15%, 5 times more than the allowed one according to the Maastricht Treaty criteria. 

Also, the Treaty states that the the ratio of gross government debt to GDP must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Even if the target cannot be achieved due to the specific conditions, the ratio must have sufficiently diminished and must be approaching the reference value at a satisfactory pace. In 2002 when Greece adopted the Euro, the deficit was around 4% and the debt was around 102% of GDP.  There had been considerable speculation that Goldman Sachs had helped the Greek government to present a better outlook for its economy. The European Commission also reported that the Greek National Statistical Service was not totally impartial and it received frequent interventions from the Greek Ministry of Economics.

Whether part of the above or all are true or not, in joining the Euro zone the average Greek has not seen tremendous improvement in their quality of life nor have they become jet setters. Greeks have bought lots of German cars (and weapons) but still they are outstandingly far away from buying yachts and spending astronomical sums of money in casinos, furs or diamonds. Many of them received low interest loans to finish their house construction or got credit cards with outrageous interest rates (the European Central Bank interest was 1 or 2 % at one time and the credit card interest was 18%).

Concerning the lower working classes, they found life had become a lot more miserable as they would buy celery for 50 drachmas before (15 cents) and suddenly they bought it for 50 cents (170 drachmas).  A big number of important goods was adjusted upwards not downwards in terms of price. 

With the economic crisis, a huge number of middle class families became trapped in increasing mortgage interests and all of a sudden the banks literally halted their credit supply for fear of massive losses. This in turn has stopped cash flow to businesses which desperately needed new loans or refinancing of their old ones and many of them closed. Banks now approve 2 out of 10 of car loans and thousands of car dealers have also closed.

In the private sector thousands of businesses have fired staff and reduced salaries and insurance payments to millions of employees. Many businesses still owe their clerks salaries since January of 2011. 

One thing is certain in this environment and that is that the average Greek was not there when some politicians allegedly falsified statistics. The average Greek expected to enjoy a better quality of life based on their already many working hours. They anticipated a form of respect from the rest of Europe on the basis of their achievements in sciences, research sports and way of life in the same way they honor Europe by sending thousands of their students to study in European Universities and visiting Europe's countries as tourists.

If some thought about "looting" EU funds or trying to cheat the Eurostat, these are definitely not among the average Greek people.

It is therefore suitable that these average people feel cheated rather than cheating. Cheated because bureaucrats keep their nation under the axe of bankruptcy and push for more austerity measures, as if it was the Greek farmer or student who is to pay for a Europe dreamed otherwise but proven otherwise.

For these reasons and for the feeling of being cheated rather than cheating, it is no wonder that the Greek people protest and fight against a fate that was decided upon them when they want to determine their very own one.