My Letter to the NY Times re: The Greek Financial Crisis

Sent: Fri 4/16/10 4:28 PM
To: NY Times (letters@nytimes.com)

Re: Debt Worries Shift to Portugal, Spurred by Rising Bond Rates, by Landon Thomas, Jr.

Dear Sirs:
This may be the understatement of the Greek crisis so far--

"The aid package agreed on last weekend--aimed at calming fears of a Greek default--has not yet had its desired effect."

As if "desired effect" has any meaning in the reality of financial markets. Serious economists have questioned the rationale for believing that a Greek bailout would solve anything, since the Greek government and, especially, the Greek people seem bent on self-destruction through the self-delusion that they can spend more than they earn...forever...and someone else MUST bail them out. Greece is the EU's no-good kid brother living in your basement and mooching off you, throwing a temper tantrum when you mention the four-letter word "WORK". Now his buddies are crashing at your place, raiding the fridge and demanding more beer. The EU's solution is the equivalence of you telling your wife to get a second job to make ends meet. Divorce is in the air.


Patrick Barron
Adjunct Instructor in Austrian Economics
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA