Greek Recovery Will Take Years
Lael Brainard, undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury Department, today told a congressional committee that Greece will need to continue reforming its economy “for many years” before a recovery is sustainable. She noted that the country faces a…
Lael Brainard, undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury Department, today told a congressional committee that Greece will need to continue reforming its economy “for many years” before a recovery is sustainable. She noted that the country faces a “challenging path” to reduce its debt, coupled with a “significant lack” of competitiveness to help it stay on that path.
Brainard’s statement is diplomatic-speak for the quandary that Greece faces: in order to get a second bailout package from the EU-IMF-ECB troika, the country must adopt strict austerity measures that make it impossible for Greece to grow its GDP. Without some chance to grow its economy — a chance that is all but derailed by the troika’s demands — there is little hope that Greece can avoid default eventually.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.