- “Anxious Greeks emptying their bank accounts,” spiegel.de. “Many Greeks are draining their savings accounts because they are out of work, face rising taxes or are afraid the country will be forced to leave the euro zone. By withdrawing money, they are forcing banks to scale back their lending — and are inadvertently making the recession even worse.” (H/T Brian Johnson).
- Michael Jaffarian, missionary researcher in England, reports: “From a missionary report last week at Bulstrode: Christian workers in Greece had been praying for years that God would humble the pride of the people so their hearts would be open to the gospel. Now many have lost jobs, many are not receiving their paychecks, and many can’t pay their taxes (which means their electricity gets shut off). And yes, they are seeing a new openness to the gospel.” (not necessarily a causal link, mind you!—but thank God for openness in the midst of crisis)
- Stratfor on the Geopolitics of Greece (subscription required). Greek’s geography gives it natural defenses but also makes the transportation of goods and the growing of food very difficult, meaning the creation of capital is also very difficult. “Low capital growth, considerable infrastructure costs lead to uneven distribution of wealth”: them that has the [infrastructure], make the rules. Complicating this is the relationship between Greece and Turkey which requires the government to invest in defense—which is expensive. During the Cold War the West invested in Greece. Not now. Without outside subsidization as a strategy ally, Greece began borrowing to maintain its status quo as a 1st-world state. “Ultimately, Greece needs to find a way to become useful again to one or more great powers [unlikely without a war] or to sue for lasting peace with Turkey and begin learning how to live within its geopolitical means. Either way, the next three years will be defining ones in Greek history.”
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