Buckets and Holes
Protestors have been taking to the streets of Athens again.
In the forlorn hope that if they make enough noise and fuss - someone else will take responsibility for the mess that Greece has made of its own economy.
I heard one person saying that the answer to the country's ills - lies in spending their way out of trouble.
By 'growing' the Greek economy - and using the country's future income to pay off all their debts - which could only happen of course if they borrow even more money - since the country is technically bankrupt.
And no it wasn't a tousle-haired Gordon Brown - sporting a stubbly beard - doing a bad imitation of Zorba the Greek.
The problem with this approach is not so much the underlying - demand management - Keynsian philosophy.
But the expectation that Greece would suddenly acquire a previously unheard of appetite - for behaving responsibly and devising a way of living within its means - in the longer-term.
At the moment Greece has insufficient money to keep the country going - to pay government salaries and pensions, for example - without borrowing hand over fist from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
So unless the Greece puts its own house in order and comes up with a credible plan for paying down its debts in the longer-term - no one is going to believe a word they say.
In fact it's a bit like someone trying to put out a fire - with a bucket that's full of holes.
First thing to do is to plug the holes - then you might get somewhere.
In the forlorn hope that if they make enough noise and fuss - someone else will take responsibility for the mess that Greece has made of its own economy.
I heard one person saying that the answer to the country's ills - lies in spending their way out of trouble.
By 'growing' the Greek economy - and using the country's future income to pay off all their debts - which could only happen of course if they borrow even more money - since the country is technically bankrupt.
And no it wasn't a tousle-haired Gordon Brown - sporting a stubbly beard - doing a bad imitation of Zorba the Greek.
The problem with this approach is not so much the underlying - demand management - Keynsian philosophy.
But the expectation that Greece would suddenly acquire a previously unheard of appetite - for behaving responsibly and devising a way of living within its means - in the longer-term.
At the moment Greece has insufficient money to keep the country going - to pay government salaries and pensions, for example - without borrowing hand over fist from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
So unless the Greece puts its own house in order and comes up with a credible plan for paying down its debts in the longer-term - no one is going to believe a word they say.
In fact it's a bit like someone trying to put out a fire - with a bucket that's full of holes.
First thing to do is to plug the holes - then you might get somewhere.
