Greece’s current economy looks a lot that that of the United States—circa 1930. “You had the Great Depression in the United States,” Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras told former U.S. president Bill Clinton. “This is exactly what we’re going through in Greece – it’s our version of the Great Depression,” writes Reuters.
Greece came to terms on a €130-billion bailout with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund last March, reports the Financial Post, but must bring its budget deficit below 3 per cent GDP by 2014. The current government must find an additional €12 billion through service cuts or increased taxes on top of the €17 billion in cuts already put in motion.
CNN notes Greece faces a €3.1 billion bond redemption on August 20 that the government could cover by selling short-term bills.