The root of pessimism
Greece is not unaffected by the global economic downswing. Even government officials who brag about rescuing the national economy from its mammoth debts and deficits admit that we are only halfway there and that the economy still has many structural challenges to overcome. That said, I was surprised to read the recent Eurobarometer findings according to which more than four in five Greeks hold that the economy is in «bad» (49 percent) or «very bad» (33 percent) shape. One explanation would be that all these people watch the 8 p.m. news on Mega channel which depicts Greece as a vale of tears, but the ratings don’t back that up. A more convincing explanation is that, according to official reports, 20 percent of the population is living under the poverty line. Another 20 percent leads a rather comfortable life. Every night Poseidonos Avenue is jam-packed, the expensive nightclubs crammed to the brim, SUVs overflow the sidewalks. Of course, there’s a lot of black money going around and tax evasion is raging, but the gray economy – which is about 30 percent of GDP – supports a segment of the population that is larger than this and this is indicated by the large turnover in shops and consumption that is indifferent to price hikes. Therefore, the pessimism must be based on public disappointment in a dysfunctional and corrupt state apparatus. In other words, the worsening problems of daily life make people see the economy through black-tinted glasses. Perhaps a boost to public confidence would come through painful reform measures to streamline the labor and social security system. Moreover, people must realize that the time of low interest rates that lasted for six years resulting in extraordinary household borrowing is over. When you borrow money and the rates go up, the installments get bigger so you are more concerned about the future.
