Is Greece better off inside the EU or outside of it? July 24 2011

Evritania

July 24, 2011

"Greece is better off inside Europe than outside it" - Nation

Survey of the issues facing Greece in an article by Steven Hill at the Nation. The writer compares the United States and Greece as facing similar issues and makes a comparison between New Democracy/American Republicans and Papandreou and USA President Obama. Further, he makes a list of assets which Greece possesses giving it a position in which to grow toward prosperity if forms of modernization and anti-corruption in government and unions can be combated.

Related:

Howard Schneider "Greek contagion quarantined"at the Washington Post "...there are major open questions about whether, for example, the amount of money committed by euro-area governments so far is adequate to pay for the policies they have approved. "

Robert Picard at Forbes on the dilemma of the invisible small business in Greece:
- "...Greece sometimes acts as if it small business does not exist and it is doing little to promote small enterprises in a time public agencies and large employers are laying off workers because of the economic crisis.
- This is hardly surprising because small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been continually overlooked in government policy...
- If you ask how many SMEs exist in Greece or how many people they employ, the government can’t tell you.
- If you inquire about startup and survival rates for SME in Greece, the government has no data.
- If you ask in what business sectors do SME play crucial economic roles, the government has no idea.
- It should be no surprise then that it is difficult to begin a small business in the country and that startup businesses and SME employment are unlikely to play a role in the nation’s recovery. The legal and regulatory processes alone for starting a business in Greece require 3 months to a year to be completed, depending upon the type of business...."
Associated Press article at Washington Post "In Greece, a few entrepreneurs think positive in forbidding landscape of anger and entitlement"