The Patriot Post® · Greece Gets Another Handout With a Bailout

For the third time since 2010, Greece may be spared the full-blown consequences of an economic tailspin of its own making, at least for now. Over the weekend, negotiators reached a tentative bailout agreement that, if implemented, would infuse upward of $96 billion (€86 billion) into the country’s floundering economy. Greece would retain its membership with the Eurozone in return for additional, albeit stricter, austerity measures. However, the deal hinges on the approval of Athens’ Parliament, and a history of broken promises have fostered a pessimistic outlook. Entitled and disgruntled Greek citizens recently voted against a referendum, the terms of which, ironically, are an integral part of the new bailout. As The Wall Street Journal reports, “Athens’s Parliament has to pass pension overhauls and sales tax increases that voters overwhelmingly rejected in a referendum just one week ago.” Will that stop lawmakers, who face voters’ contempt, from approving the bailout? “Before the country can get better, it will have to get a lot worse,” notes Investor’s Business Daily. Greece’s GDP has dropped roughly 33% since 2009, yet time and again Greeks have demonstrated how reluctant they are to abandon socialist enslavement. “To grow again, Greece will need to make deeper spending cuts, reduce public pensions, introduce free-market reforms, lighten regulations and tackle endemic political corruption,” IBD adds. That will be a tough sell, but it’s the only way forward.