Here's Jim Geraghty: "
I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts."
Take a good look, young people. This is where quasi-socialism, with unaffordably generous pension programs and early retirement, runaway borrowing and spending, and a kleptocratic unenforced system of tax collection leaves you: helpless, penniless, and crying in the streets.
Geraghty points out that about 75% of Greeks go on pensions by age 61, which
puts a tremendous strain on the government:
Greece is still near the top, though it’s not so far from the eurozone average. Moreover, Greece’s high spending is largely the result of bad demographics: 20% of Greeks are over age 65, one of the highest percentages in the eurozone.
So there a lot of not-so-old pensioners in Greece. Who is going to pay for this? As
Mark Steyn notes, not Greeks:
The United States has a fertility rate of around 2.1 — or just over two kids per couple. Greece, as I pointed out in America Alone, has one of the lowest fertility rates on the planet - 1.3 children per couple, which places it in the "lowest-low" demographic category from which no society has recovered and, according to the UN, 178th out of 195 countries. In practical terms, it means 100 grandparents have 42 grandkids – ie, the family tree is upside down.
As Steyn concludes: "
how likely is it that the debts run up by 100 people will be paid off by 42?" It's not and a responsible government would have trimmed sails a long time ago. But, as we know from American entitlement reform (or lack thereof), it's much easier to keep the checks printing and pass the debt on to future generations.
Greece - the latest socialist paradise to discover what happens when you run out of other people's money.
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