This morning, the Financial Times reports that even if the agreement is passed by the Greek Parliament, the matter of insolvency is hardly resolved.

Independent research suggests, however, that Greece will struggle to raise much more than a quarter of the €50bn it needs from the assets sales and privatisations unless it adds more prime land and cultural heritage to its sales list. 

Ominously, just what exactly and specifically does "cultural heritage" mean?  How does one sell the asset of something that is a "cultural heritage"?  I rather doubt that Disney is going to purchase the Parthenon and move it marble block by marble block to Orlando as part of a new Greece exhibit at the EPOCT world heritage show case.  Regardless it does not sound good.

The press has deliberately chosen to ignore how Greece got here and why they are having such troubles.  Sure, the press (and the Greeks themselves) have already laid the blame at banks, and politicians and to be sure these institutions and people are certainly a significant part of the problem.  They are also blaming the US, Germany, the dollar, oil prices, and lack of tourism as well.

What is ignored in all of this reporting is what has really caused this mess in the first place.  The underlying and foundational problem is socialism.

Separating people from the consequences of their behaviors, removing financial rewards for hard work, rewarding laziness, punishing risk taking and success, all of these are systemic in socialist societies, and they always lead to unsustainable results -- both individually and corporately.  In a country where nearly half of the people work for the state, did anyone write about the idiocy of that financial model?  Who is paying for all those state workers?  This is truly amazing that journalists and commentators are stepping over this glaring reality.  Greece has run out of other people's money, and whether the bailouts and austerity measures pass or not is going to be irrelevant if the underlying economic model is not changed. 

It is not hard to envision the money running out- again -- in just a matter of 3-4 years.

Socialism is for dreamers and people who are intellectually lazy.  It draws to its flame those who willfully ignore economic realities and eventually leads to the impoverishment of its own citizens, putting society on a steady downward path of economic and cultural decline.

If I were a teacher, I would be instructing my students to watch, listen and learn.  This is, very truthfully, a teachable moment for everyone.

Class dismissed