Greece's dilemma

Greece seems to be in one of those downward spirals that is self-reinforcing. Their parliament yesterday approved more budget reductions and austerity measures as part of the deal to receive significant added aid from the European community. At least in Athens, significant unrest that had been percolating became more violent.

The story is well known. The Greek government has, under the mask of the Euro currency, spent excessively. Bankers did not look behind that mask to see the underlying Greek economy. This is exacerbated by a long established cultural bias against paying taxes, at the personal and corporate level. It is further damaged by a culture of patronage and corruption that is long standing.

In some ways we should not be so judgemental. Greece could be a microcosm of what could happen to many countries, even big ones. Let's hope not.

The downward spiral that is Greece is reinforced by what is going on there now. While the news media loves to show over and over again any protests in a country, one has no idea whether much of the country is as pleasant as ever, just poorer and more uncertain. With tourism being the biggest foreign currency earner of little Greece, the images being broadcast are devastating.

As people in Europe and the U.S. look at planning their vacations during the major spring and summer tourist seasons, how many will be deterred based on what they are seeing. Sure, the rowdy Brits will almost certainly continue to show up but the French and Germans may feel that they will not be welcome. Americans and Canadians will have second thoughts. Who wants to plan their special vacation and be subject to strikes that disrupt airlines and basic services, much less have the uncertainty of whether there will be violent protests.

The almost certain downturn in this year's tourist business could be the final straw.