Kathimerini - Greece | Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Greece is a failed state
The EU task force that is meant to help Greece implement the reforms prescribed by the troika on Tuesday called on Athens to pay outstanding bills amounting to several billion euros. The government won't be able to wring the money required to do this out of its citizens, the conservative daily Kathimerini predicts: "The troika made up of the ECB, the EU Commission and the IMF will discover that the state's revenues don't tally with the rigid and far too optimistic forecasts - not just because the taxpayers can't pay any more but also because the collection of taxes is deliberately being delayed to avoid a negative impact on the voters ahead of the parliamentary elections. ... This foolish tactic of delaying tax returns until after the elections simply means postponing an explosion. ... The people won't pay their taxes - not because they are disobedient but because they simply don't have the money. ... Athens has set targets that are out of reach and by foolishly attempting to achieve them regardless the state is 'destroying' the citizens and subjecting them to international humiliation. A destroyed state and defenceless citizens: this is the definition of a failed state."
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