Written by As American’s shake off their Independence Day hangovers, Greeks will head to the polls for a referendum that many predict will result in their exit from the Eurozone. The ballot measure, recently deemed constitutional by the top court in Greece, is on whether to accept the terms of a bailout package offered by the nation’s creditors. Without some kind of debt assistance, it is pretty universally understood that the birthplace of Western civilization will be crushed by its obligations.
The package makes demands for austerity measures in Greece. Cuts to government spending, privatization of industry, and other measures none too appetizing to the ruling party or the people who elected them. Syriza, the “Coalition of the Radical Left” led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, was elected specifically to do away with the austerity measures imposed by the last bailout package the country had accepted. Greeks took to the streets with molotov cocktails and rioted in protest of the measures, before voting in Syriza which is made up of open Marxists and Trotskyites.
It would seem that the majority of Greek voters are not exactly Austrian economists. Running a country’s economy in debt to the tune of 175% of GDP, and then electing a communist government to straighten it out, is not a strategy anyone with a study of history would think a wise plan. So when they go to the polls and are asked to vote on whether or not they should be compelled to live within their means, well, let’s just say I don’t see the point of this referendum. The answer will be an emphatic “No!” just as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has advised his people to vote.